LW Series

[MikeH]

Hi guys. I've only recently become aware of the forum on Project Aon, so after having had a very interesting read through many of the threads I thought I'd start one up to get to know you a little better (and apologies if this has been done before, which it almost certainly has, but indulge me...).

What was your introduction to LW (first book purchased or how you came to be aware of the series), and how long did you collect them before stopping either through waning interest or being unable to find the books?

For my part, my first book was Castle Death (it took me a couple of years to find out about the gamebook phenomena, as I think it's fair to call it) and I religiously collected all of them prior to that, plus Grey Star, Freeway Warrior & Magnamund Companion, until Darke Crusade, when I stopped for a reason I just can't figure out now. Since then I've managed to find all the subsequent books barring a couple of New Orders. And of course I regret not continuing to buy them at the time because many of the books after DC were some of the better ones (not to mention that I'm sure they would have been cheaper to purchase at the time).

Anyone else feel like a trip down memory lane?

[longhairyuppiescum]

Hi Mike. Welcome to the forums!

Well, my first one was "Flucht aus dem Dunkel" (German Ed. of FftD) in 1984. Yeah, the very start of the series!
It was shortly after I got to know of the roleplaying hobby as a whole. - It was my very first roleplaying book at all.
I continued to collect all upcoming books (either german or english (british) ed. - depending on which I got my hands on first) till book eleven. Then my interest kind of waned because of Zakhan Kimah and the Chaos Master. - I always tried the books without 'cheating' and without 'saving' between books. (and still do..)
So at that time I felt it impossible to complete the whole series and I bought book 12 kind of only to complete my collection. (And it was only a 2nd printing! )
About two years ago I got into the books again in a nostalgic mood and found out about the GM series and PA through the net. Since then I continue to round out my collection of hardcopy books and to contribute now and then to this forum..

[holmestoo]

I remember picking up Book 1 when it first came out over here in the States...I want to say at a Waldenbooks in either '83 or '84. I remember reading through all the rules while the folks were shopping (we were at a mall), and then got home and read through it a few times.

I think I skipped Book 2 and got Book 3 (at a book fair in Intermediate School?), subsequently picked up Book 2, then Book 4, and strangely again skipped Book 5 and picked up again in Book 6.

I acquired Books 7 through 10 as they came out. As there was significant time between books coming out, I pretty much reread them as each new one came out. Book 10 was released sometime when I was a Freshman in HS. Books 11 and 12 weren't out in the US, but I bought them down in Australia during a visit. I remember reading the entire series over and over, perhaps 6 or more times in 1989 alone. I think I finished Books 1 through 12 a few times, once without skipping a single book (I usually skip Book 11, which is tough, and frankly not one of the more interesting ones in my opinion).

Books 13 and higher started coming out in the US when I was in college, and I collected those. I want to say Book 20 didn't come out until I was graduating college and was working as an Engineer in Dallas.

I actually didn't first finish the series (Book 1 through 20, skipping 11) until perhaps 5 years ago.

[HuntingWolf]

Welcome to the forum, fella.

[longhairyuppiescum]

Great accomplishments, holmestoo, really!

holmestoo said:

... in either '83 or '84. ...

That would be rather '84 I think! AFAIK Joe's work was first published in that very year.

[holmestoo]

Thanks! I posted here under "Holmes" but I can't figure out how to log into that account anymore, as I think it's tied to an email address I no longer can access.

[HuntingWolf]

Holmes? Sherlock Holmes? Where's Dr. Watson, hmm?

[wildcat]

I had already been through the early FF books and the Sorcery series by the time I got my first Lone Wolf book. When I first played it, it seemed a little too easy and short, but I love the book now. It was the second book in the series that started to get me hooked though. I liked how the character series was continued and the fact that the books weren't deathtraps. What really made the Kai series stand out though, was it being the first gamebooks with a fully fleshed out campaign background and maps, the Kai skills, and RPG like features.

It was a loooonng wait for me to get my hands on book 7 Castle Death, and I was a little let down by it after the first 6 books, but it was okay in retrospect. Book 8 was okay too, but I really lost interest on book 9 thanks to the new illustrations and Kimah. It was pretty much downhill from there for me.