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Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
author and
game designer Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...
. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British winner of the ''
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...
'' Championship of America in 1982. He first created the fictional world of Magnamund in 1977 as a setting for his ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaigns. In 1984, he released the first book of the ''
Lone Wolf A lone wolf is a wolf not belonging to a pack. Lone wolf or Lone Wolf may also refer to: Literature *''Lone Wolf'', a book by Kathryn Lasky, part of the series called ''Wolves of the Beyond'' *''Lone Wolf and Cub'', a 1970 Japanese graphic nov ...
'' series of young-adult
gamebook A gamebook is a work of printed fiction that allows the reader to participate in the story by making choices. The narrative branches along various paths, typically through the use of numbered paragraphs or pages. Each narrative typically does not ...
s, and the series has since sold over 11.5 million copies worldwide (as of September 2014). He experienced difficulty with his publishers as the game books market began to contract in 1995, until publication ceased in 1998 before the final four books (numbers 29–32) were released. Since 2003, the series enjoyed a revival of interest, particularly in France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Poland following the re-release of the gamebook series in these countries. From 1996 onwards, Dever had been involved in the design and production of several successful computer and console games. He also contributed to '' Lone Wolf: The Roleplaying Game'', a ''Dungeons & Dragons''-style roleplaying game for Lone Wolf published by
Mongoose Publishing Mongoose Publishing is a British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, publishing material since 2001. Its licenses include products based on the science fiction properties '' Traveller'', ''Judge Dredd'', and ''Parano ...
(UK) from 2004 to 2013 and Le Grimoire (France) in 2006–2013. In 2013, he wrote the story and in-game text for the ''Joe Dever's Lone Wolf'' video game series specifically designed for tablets and smartphones. Entitled ''Lone Wolf: Blood on the Snow'', it was developed by Forge Reply (Milan, Italy) and published by BulkyPix. In February 2014, it won two Golden Dragon Awards from the Italian Video Game Developer's Association of Italy (AESVI) for Best Game Design and Best Indie Game of the Year 2013. In April 2014, it was a finalist in the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. On 27 November 2014, it was released via Steam for PC's and Mac computers. On 11 January 2016, the developer Forge Reply announced that ''Joe Dever's Lone Wolf'' had achieved 2.5 million downloads since its release in November 2013. At the time of his death, Dever was authoring supplements for the Lone Wolf Adventure Game with Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd., and writing the final books in the core ''Lone Wolf'' series. Following his death, his son Ben announced that his family would work to publish the remaining three books of the saga.


Biography

Dever was born in
Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow to the ...
and educated at
Buckhurst Hill County High School Buckhurst Hill County High School, BHCHS, (1938–1989) was a secondary school in Chigwell, Essex. History It opened on 15 September 1938. It was near to RAF Chigwell and the River Roding. In 1953 there were 549 boys and the staff consisted o ...
. In 1976, he joined the studio-based orchestra of a record company in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
known as
Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...
which provided accompaniment to prominent solo singers and artists. After 18 months, the orchestra disbanded and Dever then freelanced for a year before joining
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
as a recording engineer based at Manor Studios in
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
. Dever has two children, Ben (b. 1981) and Sophie (b. 1987). Dever was a bass guitar player and attempted to get a record deal when playing with
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
-based band Seventh Seal. This led to him getting involved with
John Lydon John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
's band
Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...
; Dever acted as the band's road manager and tour manager when it toured in Europe. He was also an enthusiastic wargamer with an extensive collection of both 15mm and 25mm metal miniatures, of which he had painted the vast majority. During June–August 2005, Dever underwent extensive surgery for bi-lateral
kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
cancer, involving a partial
nephrectomy A nephrectomy is the surgical removal of a kidney, performed to treat a number of kidney diseases including kidney cancer. It is also done to remove a normal healthy kidney from a living or deceased donor, which is part of a kidney transplant pr ...
of the right kidney, and a full nephrectomy of the left kidney. Seventy percent of his remaining kidney was saved. The surgical team was directed by J. L. Peters of Whipps Cross University Hospital in London. It proceeded without complications on 10 August 2005, and subsequently Dever made a swift recovery, having retained sufficient kidney function to lead a normal life without any need for dialysis. In August 2016, Dever underwent a
bile duct A bile duct is any of a number of long tube-like structures that carry bile, and is present in most vertebrates. Bile is required for the digestion of food and is secreted by the liver into passages that carry bile toward the hepatic duct. It ...
surgery which caused side effects. In late October, he announced his admission to hospital for a series of treatment to correct these complications. He died on 29 November 2016, following those complications.


Writings

Joe Dever was seven years old when he became a fan of the comic strip "The Rise and Fall of the
Trigan Empire ''The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'', later called simply ''The Trigan Empire'', is a science fiction comic series written mainly by Mike Butterworth with artwork (initially watercolours, later gouache) by Don Lawrence, among others. It t ...
" which appeared in a magazine called ''
Look and Learn ''Look and Learn'' was a British weekly educational magazine for children published by Fleetway Publications Ltd from 1962 until 1982. It contained educational text articles that covered a wide variety of topics from volcanoes to the Loch Ness ...
''. He also built up armies of
Airfix Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even ...
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
soldiers and converted their spears to laser rifles long before he was introduced to fantasy. Dever was first introduced to "science fantasy" in 1970 by his Grammar school English tutor. He was the first and perhaps only British person to compete in the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' Championship of America, which he won in 1982. Dever originally developed the fantasy world of Magnamund in 1975, and in 1977 he began using it as the setting for his ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaigns. Originally called "Chinaraux", at first the world consisted of only the northern continent of Magnamund. Dever stated that his earliest inspirations for ''
Lone Wolf A lone wolf is a wolf not belonging to a pack. Lone wolf or Lone Wolf may also refer to: Literature *''Lone Wolf'', a book by Kathryn Lasky, part of the series called ''Wolves of the Beyond'' *''Lone Wolf and Cub'', a 1970 Japanese graphic nov ...
'' were English medieval classics such as ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...
'', ''
Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...
'', and ''
The Once And Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work '' Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection ...
''. In his teenage years
J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...
,
Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has work ...
and
Mervyn Peake Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was an English writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...
, along with a keen interest in military history and Norse mythology, all contributed to the creation of the ''Lone Wolf'' series. The story is based around Lone Wolf, who is a young cadet in a monastic order of warriors known as the Kai Lords who defend their home of Sommerlund from the forces of evil, embodied by the Darklords of Helgedad. After a surprise invasion, all of the Kai are massacred and only Lone Wolf survives the final battle. The rest of the book series follows Lone Wolf and, later, his successor in their attempts to take revenge on the Darklords and then to thwart the plans of Dark God Naar to control their world for evil.


Production


Original publication

''Lone Wolf'' was originally meant to be published as a role-playing game system for
Games Workshop Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''. Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...
, before Dever negotiated a better deal from Beaver Books, an imprint of Hutchinson Publishing Ltd., and released it as a connected series of solo gamebooks. Dever was originally contracted by this London-based publisher Hutchinson to write four books, but he had already planned for there to be twenty in the series. The first two books in the gamebook series were published simultaneously in July 1984. They sold in excess of 100,000 copies in the first week of release. Subsequently, the ''Lone Wolf'' series has been published in over 30 countries, translated into 18 languages, and has sold in excess of 12 million copies to date. The series was awarded the Gamemaster International "All Time Great" award in 1991 and also won "Game Book of the Year" awards in 1985, 1986 and 1987. With the help of Joe Dever, Paul Barnett (pen name John Grant) wrote twelve novelizations of the ''Lone Wolf'' books known as the ''Legends of Lone Wolf'', several of which were heavily edited before publication. In 2004, the Italian publisher Gruppo Armenia (Milan) reprinted all 12 novels in 5 volumes of anthology. Random House ceased publishing the novelizations when "the books weren't selling". Dever has stated that as the game books precede the novelizations chronologically, they are the "authoritative" versions. He also developed the character Grey Star, and a sub-series of four gamebooks were written by Ian Page using this principal character (according to a 2008 interview with Joe Dever, Grey Star was Ian Page's player character in Dever's D&D campaign, and Dever convinced Page to write game books using this detailed character and his background). Only the first four volumes of the ''Legends of Lone Wolf'' were made available in the United States (though ''Sword of the Sun'' was divided into two separate volumes, ''The Tides of Treachery'' and ''Sword of the Sun''), and only the first 20 of the ''Lone Wolf'' gamebook series were printed in the United States. The American editions of books 13–20 were abridged versions and are shorter than the UK editions which have colour maps. In ''
The Magnamund Companion The following is a list of media published in the '' Lone Wolf'' series of gamebooks, and other derivative media based on the gamebooks. The original gamebook series, and the bulk of subsequent Lone Wolf media, was written by Joe Dever. The success ...
'', all the countries of the Lone Wolf world are described in some detail, as are Lone Wolf's main enemies - the Darklords of Helgedad - and their Giak language. There is also a ''Ragadorn Tavern Board Game'', and a solo adventure where you play as Banedon the Magician. The later 'New Order' ''Lone Wolf'' gamebooks (no.s 21–28) were printed in the UK in smaller volumes than the earlier editions, and have subsequently become highly sought after by readers eager to complete their original ''Lone Wolf'' collections. Copies of these scarce titles regularly sell for over US$100 each on the internet auction site eBay. Publisher Red Fox ceased publishing the ''Lone Wolf'' series in 1998 after book 28, ''
The Hunger of Sejanoz (which only available in less than 8000 copies! ''The Hunger of Sejanoz'' is a gamebook by Joe Dever. It is the twenty-eighth book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series. It was the last book to be released in the New Order series for the next eighteen years as the 29th book of the series ...
'', citing fading interest in the interactive gaming genre, despite hundreds of requests for the reprinting of several ''Lone Wolf'' books that had gone out of print. It would be the last original Lone Wolf book for the next 18 years. Between 1990 and 2011, four scripts were developed of ''Lone Wolf'' for a potential film release, but did not proceed beyond the pre-production phase.


Republication

In 1999, Dever gave his permission for the ''Lone Wolf'' books, numbers one through twenty, to be published for free on the internet by the non-profit organization Project Aon. Joe Dever later gave his permission to publish the New Order series and ''The Magnamund Companion''. In July 2014, on the 30th anniversary of the first publication of ''Flight from the Dark'', the 28th book in his ''Lone Wolf'' series was released online by Project Aon. The ''World of Lone Wolf'' series, ''The Magnamund Companion'' and several other ''Lone Wolf'' related written works are also available for free download from this site.
Mongoose Publishing Mongoose Publishing is a British manufacturer of role-playing games, miniatures, and card games, publishing material since 2001. Its licenses include products based on the science fiction properties '' Traveller'', ''Judge Dredd'', and ''Parano ...
reprinted the original ''Lone Wolf'' gamebooks in collector hardcover volumes beginning in 2007. The first of the new Lone Wolf Collector's Editions, ''Flight from the Dark'', was thoroughly revised and expanded by Dever with the addition of two hundred new sections. It was shortlisted for the 2008 Origins Fiction Award (Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design). In April 2010, the German language translation (Einsamer Wolf: Flucht aus dem Dunkel) won the Best Fantasy Gamebook Award at the RPC Event in Cologne, Germany. Mongoose also arranged to publish ''Lone Wolf'' through its originally intended full 32-book arc as Dever wanted, as the original series had only gone through 28 books. The first seventeen books in this series were published by Mongoose Publishing before it was announced that the company had lost the license to publish the Lone Wolf line on 27 February 2013. Shortly after this, it was announced that German publisher, Mantikore-Verlag, had acquired the rights to continue publishing the Collector series hardcovers in English from book 18 to 28. On 1 April 2015, it was announced that book 29, ''The Storms of Chai'', would be published for the first time in the fall of 2015 in both Italian and English. However, after the 22nd book in the series, ''The Buccaneers of Shadaki'', was published in September 2015, Mantikore-Verlag lost the publishing rights of the series. Without a publisher, the English version of ''The Storms of Chai'' would had to wait while its Italian version was published on 29 October 2015. On 1 December 2015, Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd acquired the license to publish the Lone Wolf Gamebooks from Mantikore-Verlag, pushing the publication of book 29 in English to spring 2016. However, on 29 January 2016 Cubicle 7 announced that they had come back on their decision and that they would not publish the Lone Wolf series of gamebooks. On 1 April 2016, Joe Dever announced that he would publish the remaining Lone Wolf's books himself with his own imprint, Holmgard Press, starting with the publication of book 29 later the same month, which was finally released on 12 May 2016. On 4 March 2016, at the Mantova Comics & Games Show (Mantova, Italy), Dever announced that the Italian edition of Lone Wolf 30, ''Dead in the Deep'' was scheduled for publication at the Lucca Comics & Games Show 2016 , but his ill health and untimely death prevented this. Following his death, his son Ben announced that his family would work to publish the remaining three books of the saga. The first two books, ''Dead in the Deep'' and ''The Dusk of Eternal Night'', were published in 2019 and 2020 respectively and were written by Ben Devere and Vincent Lazzari, based on Joe Dever's notes. Since 2022, Holmgard Press has started republishing the whole series as a "Definitive Edition" which aims the mass market, with newly revised version of the books. As of November 2022, the first five books have been republished. On 1 November 2015, Dever was awarded a plaque on the Lucca 'Walk of Fame' (Lucca - Tuscany, Italy) for his writing and games design. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the organisers of the Lucca Comics & Games Show. On 14 January 2016, French Publisher Gallimard Jeunesse announced that their Loup Solitaire editions have sold in excess of 2.8 million copies since first publication in 1986. They have remained constantly in print in France for the past 30 years. The French edition of Loup Solitaire 29 was published in 2017.


Other creations

In addition to ''Lone Wolf'', Dever has also created two other role-playing gamebook series (''
Freeway Warrior ''Freeway Warrior'' is a series of four gamebooks, created by Joe Dever. The books were published between 1988 and 1989, detailing the complete story of a band of nuclear holocaust survivors as they flee Texas to the relative safety of Californi ...
'' and ''Combat Heroes'') and designed several best-selling
computer and video games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
for PCs and consoles. The ''Freeway Warrior'' series of gamebooks are set in a
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
, ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...
''-like world. The series was revived in Italy in October 2015 and the first book was published on 29 October and the second book was published on 3 March 2016. The ''Combat Heroes'' gamebooks are illustrated adventures where each paragraph is a full-page picture representing what the player sees, with two modes. Alone, the aim is to escape from a maze. In one-on-one play, two players are dueling in a maze. Each player has a different book; at a given page, the illustration shows an empty corridor; when the other character is in sight (i.e. the players read given page numbers), the player has to turn to another page showing the other opponent's position in the corridor. Combat is then resolved before the game continues. Among Dever's many video game contributions is the best-selling
Killzone ''Killzone'' is a series of first-person shooter video games for Sony Interactive Entertainment's (SIE) video game consoles. The main series and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) installment were developed by Guerrilla Games, a subsidiary of SI ...
game for which he wrote the backstory and created the principal characters.


Bibliography


''Lone Wolf''

* ''Lone Wolf 1 –
Flight from the Dark ''Flight from the Dark'' is the first installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. Gameplay The reader is allowed to choose five Kai Disciplines from a list of ten, and is given meagre equipment. Because the reade ...
'' (1984) – Revised version (2022) * ''Lone Wolf 1 -
Flight from the Dark ''Flight from the Dark'' is the first installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. Gameplay The reader is allowed to choose five Kai Disciplines from a list of ten, and is given meagre equipment. Because the reade ...
, Extended version'' (2007) - Revised version (2022) * ''Lone Wolf 2 –
Fire on the Water ''Fire on the Water'' is the second installment in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. It is the installment where Lone Wolf receives the legendary Sommerswerd. Gameplay In this second installment, the reader is allowe ...
'' (1984) – Revised versions (2007, 2022) * ''Lone Wolf 3 –
The Caverns of Kalte ''The Caverns of Kalte'' is the third book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. Or ...
'' (1984) – Revised versions (2007, 2022) * ''Lone Wolf 4 –
The Chasm of Doom ''The Chasm of Doom'' is the fourth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever and illustrated by Gary Chalk. Gameplay Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill ...
'' (1985) – Revised versions (2008, 2022) * ''Lone Wolf 5 –
Shadow on the Sand ''Shadow on the Sand'' is the fifth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the final book in the "Kai" portion of the series. Gameplay This is the last book before the reader/player attains the rank of "Ka ...
'' (1985) – Revised versions (2008, 2022) * ''Lone Wolf 6 –
The Kingdoms of Terror ''The Kingdoms of Terror'' is the sixth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the first book in the "Magnakai" portion of the series, which begins after Lone Wolf has spent three years studying the Book o ...
'' (1985) – Revised version (2008) * ''Lone Wolf 7 –
Castle Death ''Castle Death'' is the seventh book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, ...
'' (1986) – Revised version (2008) * ''Lone Wolf 8 –
The Jungle of Horrors ''The Jungle of Horrors'' is the eighth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. Gameplay Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance attributes ...
'' (1987) – Revised version (2008) * ''Lone Wolf 9 –
The Cauldron of Fear ''The Cauldron of Fear'' is the ninth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. Starting with this book, long-time illustrator Gary Chalk was replaced with Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an Ameri ...
'' (1987) – Revised version (2009) * ''Lone Wolf 10 –
The Dungeons of Torgar ''The Dungeons of Torgar'' is the tenth book in the Lone Wolf (gamebooks), Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. These later books are illustrated by Brian Williams (illustrator), Brian Williams. Gameplay Lone Wolf books rely on a combinat ...
'' (1987) – Revised version (2009) * ''Lone Wolf 11 –
The Prisoners of Time ''The Prisoners of Time'' is the eleventh book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. Originally ...
'' (1987) – Revised version (2009) * ''Lone Wolf 12 –
The Masters of Darkness ''The Master of Darkness'' is the twelfth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer ...
'' (1988) – Revised version (2009) * ''Lone Wolf 13 –
The Plague Lords of Ruel ''The Plague Lords of Ruel'' is the thirteenth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game des ...
'' (1990) – Revised version (2009) * ''Lone Wolf 14 –
The Captives of Kaag ''The Captives of Kaag'' is the fourteenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. As with most of the later books in the series, this one is illustrated by Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an Ame ...
'' (1990)- Revised version (2010) * ''Lone Wolf 15 –
The Darke Crusade ''The Darke Crusade'' is the fifteenth book in the Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anchor. He w ...
'' (1991) – Revised version (2011) * ''Lone Wolf 16 –
The Legacy of Vashna ''The Legacy of Vashna'' was the sixteenth book of the Lone Wolf (gamebooks), Lone Wolf book series written by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams (illustrator), Brian Williams. Gameplay Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thoug ...
'' (1991) – Revised version (2011) * ''Lone Wolf 17 –
The Deathlord of Ixia ''The Deathlord of Ixia'' was the seventeenth book of the Lone Wolf book series, written by Joe Dever and now illustrated by Brian Williams Brian Douglas Williams (born May 5, 1959) is an American retired journalist and television news anch ...
'' (1992) – Revised version (2012) * ''Lone Wolf 18 –
Dawn of the Dragons ''Dawn of the Dragons'' is the eighteenth book of the Lone Wolf book series. As with all of the later Lone Wolf books numbered thirteen through twenty, the North American editions of these books are abridged, with a reduced number of sections. ...
'' (1992) – Revised version (2013) * ''Lone Wolf 19 –
Wolf's Bane ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolf's-bane, leopard's bane, mousebane, women's bane, devil's helmet, queen of poisons, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family Ranunculaceae. ...
'' (1993) – Revised version (2013) * ''Lone Wolf 20 –
The Curse of Naar ''The Curse of Naar'' is the twentieth book in the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. This is the final book in the "Grand Master" series, and the last one released in North America North America is a contine ...
'' (1993) - Revised version (2014) * ''Lone Wolf 21 –
Voyage of the Moonstone ''Voyage of the Moonstone'' is the twenty-first book of the ''Lone Wolf'' book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. Or ...
'' (1994) - Revised version (2015) * ''Lone Wolf 22 –
The Buccaneers of Shadaki ''The Buccaneers of Shadaki'' is the twenty second book of the award-winning Lone Wolf (gamebooks), Lone Wolf book series. Plot This is the second half of Lone Wolf's apprentice’s voyage to the Isle of Lorn to return the Moonstone (Lone Wolf), ...
'' (1995) - Revised version (2015) * ''Lone Wolf 23 –
Mydnight's Hero ''Mydnight's Hero'' is the twenty-third book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. ...
'' (1995) - Revised version (2019) * ''Lone Wolf 24 –
Rune War ''Rune War'' is the twenty-fourth book of the award-winning Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. Origi ...
'' (1996) - Revised version (2019) * ''Lone Wolf 25 –
Trail of the Wolf ''Trail of the Wolf'' is the twenty-fifth book of the Lone Wolf (gamebooks), Lone Wolf book series created by Joe Dever. Gameplay Lone Wolf books rely on a combination of thought and luck. Certain statistics such as combat skill and endurance ...
'' (1996) - Revised version (2020) * ''Lone Wolf 26 –
The Fall of Blood Mountain ''Lone Wolf'' is a series currently consisting of 31 gamebooks, created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated (books 1–8) by Gary Chalk (illustrator), Gary Chalk. Dever wrote the first 29 books of the series before his son Ben, with help from ...
'' (1997) - Revised version (2020) * ''Lone Wolf 27 –
Vampirium ''Vampirium'' is the twenty-seventh book of the award-winning '' Lone Wolf'' series of gamebooks created by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game de ...
'' (1997) - Revised version (2021) * ''Lone Wolf 28 –
The Hunger of Sejanoz ''The Hunger of Sejanoz'' is a gamebook by Joe Dever Joseph Robert Dever, also known as Joe Dever (12 February 1956 – 29 November 2016) was an English fantasy author and game designer. Originally a musician, Dever became the first British wi ...
'' (1998) - Extended version* (2022) * ''Lone Wolf 29 –
The Storms of Chai ''The Storms of Chai'' is a game book in the Lone Wolf series by Joe Dever. It is part of the New Order series, which details the adventures of one of Lone Wolf's disciples in the New Kai Order and not Lone Wolf himself. The book is set in MS 510 ...
'' (Italy 2015 / UK 2016) * ''Lone Wolf 30 –
Dead in the Deep Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
'' * (Italy 2018 / UK 2019) * ''Lone Wolf 31 - The Dusk of Eternal Night'' * (2020) * ''Lone Wolf 32, volume 1 - Light of the Kai'' * (2024) * ''Lone Wolf 32, volume 2 - Light of the Kai'' * (2025)


Companion Book

* ''
The Magnamund Companion The following is a list of media published in the '' Lone Wolf'' series of gamebooks, and other derivative media based on the gamebooks. The original gamebook series, and the bulk of subsequent Lone Wolf media, was written by Joe Dever. The success ...
'' (1986)


''Freeway Warrior''

* ''Freeway Warrior 1: Highway Holocaust'' (1988) * ''Freeway Warrior 2: Slaughter Mountain Run'' (1988) * ''Freeway Warrior 3: The Omega Zone'' (1989) * ''Freeway Warrior 4: California Countdown'' (1989)


''Combat Heroes''

* ''Combat Heroes 1: White Warlord'' (1986) * ''Combat Heroes 1: Black Baron'' (1986) * ''Combat Heroes 2: Scarlet Sorcerer'' (1987) * ''Combat Heroes 2: Emerald Enchanter'' (1987)


''The World of Lone Wolf''

* ''World of Lone Wolf 1: Grey Star the Wizard'' (written by Ian page; edited by Joe Dever - 1985) * ''World of Lone Wolf 2: The Forbidden City'' (written by Ian page; edited by Joe Dever - 1985) * ''World of Lone Wolf 3: Beyond the Nightmare Gate'' (written by Ian page; edited by Joe Dever - 1985) * ''World of Lone Wolf 4: War of the Wizards'' (written by Ian page; edited by Joe Dever - 1986)


''Legends of Lone Wolf''

* ''Legends of Lone Wolf 1: Eclipse of the Kai'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1989) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 2: The Dark Door Opens'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1989) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 3: The Sword of the Sun'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1989) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 4: Hunting Wolf'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1990) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 5: The Claws of Helgedad'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1991) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 6: The Sacrifice of Ruanon'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1991) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 7: The Birthplace'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1992) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 8: The Book of the Magnakai'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1992) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 9: The Tellings'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1993) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 10: The Lorestone of Varetta'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1993) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 11: The Secret of Kazan-Oud'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1994) * ''Legends of Lone Wolf 12: The Rotting Land'' (co-authored with John Grant - 1994) Book 3, ''The Sword of the Sun'', was split into two smaller volumes by Berkley in the US: ''The Tides of Treachery'' and ''The Sword of the Sun''.


Chronicles of Magnamund

* ''The Lencian Trilogy 1: The Dragons of Lencia'' (co-authored with Richard Ford - 2008) * ''The Lencian Trilogy 2: The Shadow & the Skull'' (TBA) * ''The Lencian Trilogy 3: untitled (TBA)'' * ''Rise of the Agarashi 1: Glory & Greed'' (co-authored with August Hahn - 2008) * ''Rise of the Agarashi 2: Sand & Sorrow'' (TBA) * ''Rise of the Agarashi 3: Triumph & Tragedy'' (TBA)


Lone Wolf Multi-player Gamebook System

First published by Mongoose Publishing * ''Lone Wolf Multi-player Gamebook Rules'' (with
Matthew Sprange Matthew Sprange is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Matthew Sprange met with Alex Fennell in a pub in Swindon, England in late 2000; Sprange suggested starting a game company, but Fennell instead joined a ...
- 2010) * ''Heroes of Magnamund'' (with Matthew Sprange - 2010) * ''Terror of the Darklords'' (with Pete Nash - 2010) * ''Sommerlund'' (with Darren Pearce - 2010) * ''The Magnamund Bestiary'' (with Darren Pearce - 2011) * ''Book of the Magnakai'' (with August Hahn - 2011) * ''Corruption of Ikaya'' (with Mark Gedak - 2011) * ''The Darklands '' (with Vincent Lazzari - 2011) * ''Stornlands 1 '' (with Vincent Lazzari, Florent Haro, Eric Dubourg, Emmanuel Luc, Gerald Degryse - 2012) Mongoose Publishing lost their license to publish Lone Wolf on 27 February 2013.


Lone Wolf Adventure Game (LWAG)

Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd., announced in early March 2013 that it had secured the rights to develop a new Lone Wolf roleplaying game entitled "The Lone Wolf Adventure Game" in conjunction with Dever. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign August–September 2014, the new RPG was launched at Gen Con 2015 (Indianapolis USA) in late July / early August 2015. It went on general sale worldwide in September 2015. The Italian language version was published on 29 October 2015. On 7 March 2016, Dever's Lone Wolf Adventure Game was nominated for 'Game of the Year' and 'Best Art & Presentation' in the prestigious Golden Geek Awards. On 14 April 2016 it was nominated for 'Best RPG of the Year' in the Origins Awards (Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design) for 2016. * ''Lone Wolf Adventure Game'' (Joe Dever with Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd. - 2015) * ''The Heroes of Magnamund'' (Joe Dever and August Hahn; additional writing by Vincent Lazzari, Andrew Kenrick and John E Murray - 2016) * ''Adventures of the Kai'' (Joe Dever, August Hahn, Andrew Kenrick, Vincent Lazzari, Andrew Peregrine and Ken Spencer - 2016) * ''Magnamund Menagerie'' (Joe Dever, Vincent Lazzari and Darren Pearce - 2017) * ''Bestiary of the Beyond'' (Joe Dever, Vincent Lazzari, August Hahn and Darren Pearce - 2017) * ''Terror of the Darklords'' (Joe Dever, August Hahn, Vincent Lazzari, Pete Nash and Ken Spencer - 2017)


Graphic novels

* '' Lone Wolf Graphic Novel: The Skull of Agarash'' (1994)


"PhoneQuest" Interactive Telephone Adventures

* ''Lone Wolf: The Forbidden Tower'' (1989) * ''Alien Intruder'' (1990) * ''Ninja'' (1990) * ''Tomb of the Sphinx'' (1990) * ''Vampire Hunter'' (1990) * ''Lone Wolf: The Fortress of Doom'' (1991)


''Lone Wolf'' Audiobooks

* ''Eclipse of the Kai'' (1992) * ''The Dark Door Opens'' (1993)


''Lone Wolf'' Maps of Magnamund

* ''The World of Magnamund'' poster map (with Francesco Mattioli - 2011) ''The Maps of Magnamund Collection'': * Set 1: Sommerlund, Durenor, Vassagonia, Dessi (with Francesco Mattioli - 2012) * Set 2: Kakush and Valerion, The Galdonlands, The Stornlands, Talestria (with Francesco Mattioli - 2013) * Set 3: Bor & the Hammerlands, Lencia, the Drakkarim Homelands & the Hellswamp, Ixia & the Hardlands (with Francesco Mattioli - 2014) * Set 4: Eastern Darklands, Central Darklands and Skaror, Western Darklands, Eastern Kalte (with Francesco Mattioli - 2015) * Set 5: Northern Shadaki, Central Shadaki, Southern Shadaki, Shadakine Occupied Territories (with Francesco Mattioli - 2015) * Set 6: Taklakot & Andui, Lissan, Chai, Bhanar (with Francesco Mattioli - 2015) * Set 7: Eastern Vaduzhan & Mythan, Western Vaduzhan, Telchos, Cincoria & Klanos (with Francesco Mattioli - 2015) * Set 8: Kasland; Starn, Boden & Ilion; Central Tentarias; Midsea & Eastern Tentarias (with Francesco Mattioli - 2016) * Set 9: Siyen; Lunarlia, Siyen & Naaros; Kaum, Halia & Lunarlia; Southern Lunaria & The Kelderwastes (with Francesco Mattioli - TBA) * Set 10: Northern Sadi Desert; Southern Sadi Desert; Southern Kalte & Northern Darklands; Southeastern Kalte & Northeastern Darklands (with Francesco Mattioli - TBA)


Computer and video game design

* ''E-Scape'' (1996) * ''Corazon'' (1997) * '' Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy'' (1999) * ''
Flåklypa Grand Prix ''The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix'' ( no, Flåklypa Grand Prix) is a 1975 Norwegian stop-motion-animated feature film directed by Ivo Caprino. It is based on characters from a series of books by Norwegian cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust. It is t ...
'' (2000) * ''Flying Circus'' (2000) * ''Wheelie'' (2001) * ''Top Down'' (2001) * ''Desert Gunner'' (2001) * ''Speedboat Racer'' (2001) * ''RVO Mech'' (2002) * ''Ground Control II'' (2003) * '' 2 Fast 2 Furious'' ''(mobile phone edition, 2005)'' * ''Lone Wolf: Blood on the Snow'' ''(tablet and smartphone game, 2013)'' * ''Lone Wolf: Forest Hunt'' ''(tablet and smartphone game, 2014)'' * ''Lone Wolf: The Shianti Halls'' ''(tablet and smartphone game, 2014)'' * ''Lone Wolf: Dawn over V'taag'' ''(tablet and smartphone game, 2014)'' * ''Joe Dever's Lone Wolf HD Remastered'' ''(for PC's & Mac Computers, 2014)''


Wargaming

* ''Mega Wargames'' (photography, 2013)


Reference bibliography

* 'Joe Dever', ''The Daily Telegraph'', Thursday 8 December 2016, p. 27 *


References


External links

*
Joe Dever at the Monde du Jeu 2009 in Paris


* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dever, Joe 1956 births 2016 deaths British gamebook writers British video game designers Role-playing game designers People educated at Buckhurst Hill County High School Lone Wolf (gamebooks)