Flight from the Dark
Encyclopedia
Flight from the Dark is the first installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf
book series created by Joe Dever
.
It was shortlisted for the 2008 Origins Fiction Award (Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design).
Lone Wolf (gamebooks)
Lone Wolf is a series of 28 gamebooks, created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated by Gary Chalk. The series began publishing in July 1984 and sold more than 10.2 million copies worldwide....
book series created by Joe Dever
Joe Dever
Joe Dever is an award-winning British fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Championship of America in 1982....
.
Gameplay
The reader is allowed to choose five Kai Disciplines from a list of ten, and is given meagre equipment. Because the reader has no equipment from previous books, some disciplines, most notably Weapon Skill, may not be useful at the start of the adventure. This makes initial discipline choices and careful movement through the book more important than in some later books. It is however possible to get through the adventure with little to no combat, allowing an astute reader to succeed even with weak Combat Skill and Endurance.Plot
In the land of Sommerlund, a young Kai initiate called Silent Wolf is preparing for the feastday of Fehmarn, when all of the Kai Lords gather at their monastery. As a punishment for his inattention in class, Silent Wolf is sent to cut wood from the surrounding forest. While he is away, a surprise attack is launched from the neighboring Darklands at several places along the Sommerlund border. The Kai Monastery is assaulted and the gathered Kai Lords are overwhelmed and massacred. Returning from the woods to find himself the only survivor, Silent Wolf renames himself Lone Wolf and sets out for the capital, Holmgard, to inform King Ulnar of the tragedy that has befallen the Kai.Reception
According to sales figures, this first book sold over 100,000 copies in its first month of publication alone, but the book itself is considered to be among the least exciting of the series. Conversely, the 2007 extended version (Mongoose Publishing) has benefited from a thorough re-working of the story and has been lauded enthusiastically by critics and readers alike.Re-Release
Mongoose Publishing republished this gamebook in the summer of 2007, featuring new internal artwork by Richard Longmore, and an extended director's cut version of the story, extensively rewritten by Joe Dever. Among the changes made, the start of the adventure is different than in the original version of the book. Instead of being knocked out by a branch, Silent Wolf is present at the Monastery at the time of the attack of the Darklords. He fights his way to the top of Tower of the Sun to activate a beacon that will alert all of Sommerlund of the attack.It was shortlisted for the 2008 Origins Fiction Award (Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design).