The World of Lone Wolf series puts you in the role of Grey Star, a young boy who survived a shipwreck and was raised by Shianti wizards. You are then sent to the mainland to recover a Shianti artifact and defeat the evil lord of the land. This series has 4 books in it, and takes place in the Southern portion of Magnamund, the continent where the Lone Wolf series takes place, though the origninal series is in the North. This series is written by Ian Page, a friend of Joe Dever (the creator of Lone Wolf, who has the role of editor for this series).
This series uses a system similar to that in the Lone Wolf series. There is an additional attribute, WILLPOWER, that you use in combat and to power spells. You also get to choose from among 7 Magical Powers (replacing the Kai Disciplines of the original series), which you can use at various times during the adventure. It is very important that you don't run low on WILLPOWER, as if you do your death is pretty much assured. For further comments on the system, see the Lone Wolf section.
The World of Lone Wolf book 1, 1985, Ian Page and Joe Dever
I had such high hopes for this book. I love the Lone Wolf series, so when I first saw this book in a local drugstore I immediately bought it, took it home, and blew many hours reading it. And it started out so well, too. I liked the game system, I liked the character, and I liked the writing. Yes, everything was going along at a great pace, until this book fell flat on its face, and fell hard.
You see, roughly half-way through the book you encounter a creature called a Kleasu. And there is no way to kill this creature. It literally can't be done. I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the fact that the Kleasu is so incredibly tough that you can't survive the encounter. Trust me, I've tried; it can't be done. First, the absolute best you can possibly do for combat ratio is -5. Second, this sucker takes away some WILLPOWER and ENDURANCE every round you fight it. Add in the factor that you have to use WILLPOWER to fight with your Wizard's Staff and you can see that you run out of WILLPOWER very fast. Of course, that doesn't really matter that much as the Kleasu beats you to a pulp and you lose all your ENDURANCE points. This sucks. The only way past the Kleasu is to cheat, and I despise books that force you to cheat to complete them. Make them hard, yes, but don't make them impossible. Anytime you lose over a dozen characters at the SAME SPOT in the book you know the encounter is too tough.
That's the primary annoyance, but there are others. There are a number of items that you can get that are not fully explained. As an example, take the Tarama Seed. This handy little item lets you cast a spell or use your Wizard's Staff without using WILLPOWER points. However, you don't know if this allows you to use more than one WILLPOWER point with your staff or not. And if you can, then why not pump 1,000,000 WILLPOWER equivalent through your staff and completely obliterate your opponent with one strike? The potential for abuse is great. That is just one of many minor annoyances in the book.
So only two stars to Grey Star the Wizard. What started out so sweetly quickly turned bitter. If you have interest in this series I recommend skipping the first book and going straight to the second. It's better.
The World of Lone Wolf book 2, 1986, Ian Page and Joe Dever
Well, this book is definitely better than the first one in this series, detailed above. I was actually able to finish it! In The Forbidden City, Grey Star continues his quest for the Moonstone of the Shianti. He gains a Kundi guide and searches for the Shadow Gate, the portal to the Plane of Daziarn. I should note that, because I did not finish the first book, I played through this book as a beginning character, with just 5 magical powers and WILLPOWER as rolled.
This book seems short, and it is, at 310 sections. The book also isn't unnecessarily difficult. I died 5 times, I think, and the final time I was only in 1 combat throughout the entire book. However, there are not easy fights in this book, so that was a good thing. I recommend avoiding combat wherever possible if you've got a COMBAT SKILL of 15 or less. It's just not worth it here, as there are no easy fights. I actually like this, though, as most wizards would be avoiding combat, anyway. The pacing seemed the same as the first book. It was average, but could have been better.
The book is somewhat difficult, due to the fact that the author likes to find ways to drain your ENDURANCE points away without using combat. Here's a helpful hint: choose the Evocation power. You will need it. You'll find out why.
The actual writing is okay, on par with the first book. It is unnecessarily terse at times, but so was Joe Dever when he first started. There are some plot elements that are not properly developed, however, which I find annoying. All told, the book is an average effort, thus earning it three stars. If you want to read this series, I recommend starting with this book. You're a little under-powered, but you can find your way through.
The World of Lone Wolf book 3, 1986, Ian Page and Joe Dever
The third book in this series takes you to the Daziarn Plane, a sort of alternate dimension that cuts across normal space/time, at least as we perceive it. The Daziarn is made up of numerous different sub-realms, all of which are connected to at least one other realm. Actually, you might even say that the World of Magnamund is actually just another realm of the Dazairn, depending on how you look at things. But you're not there to sight-see. No, you're there to fulfill the first part of your quest, and retrieve the Moonstone of the Shianti so you can go whack the evil bad guy with it. That, of course, happens in the next book.
This book was okay, I guess. It was somewhat odd, but that is to be expected when the subject matter is another realm where reality is an illusion that can change at whim. This is where I really wish that Mr. Page was more than just a mediocre writer, as I often felt like I should be getting a better feel for this alien land than I was. Don't just write that mountains are standing on their points, and the sky is actually a rolling sea. Make me feel like I'm seeing this. Help me bring out the proper emotions.
There are a number of elements that aren't properly utilized, either. For example, the Jahksa. The Jahksa is you, but isn't. However, he supposedly knows everything you're going to do. He is also very powerful, probably more so than you are. So why doesn't he just whack you and be done with it? He's more like an inane nincompoop, a total failure at his job. A very uninspiring opponent. And you know what? I had to go through the book three times to finish it, and never once did I get into a combat. Not once. Granted, the intelligent wizard-player will avoid combat where possible, but none? That's just poor. Even I want to bust heads once in a while on the way to my goal. I could go on, but I see no point. Just don't read this book, OK? Save yourself the trouble.