Flight from the Dark

Flight from the Dark

Mass market - USA - 4th edition.

Author	Joe Denver
Published	1984-??-??
Type	Fiction, Game book
Genre	Speculative Fiction
Themes	Adventure, Fantasy
Age Group	Children

Flight from the Dark is a game book written by Joe Denver, illustrated by Gary Chalk, and first published in 1984 in both the UK and USA and later re-printed with various changes in 2007. It is the first book in the Lone Wolf series.

The story describes the destruction of the Kai Monastery and the invading armies of the Darklords and the journey of the sole remaining Kai student to Holmgard to warn the king.

Personal

Own?	Mass market, USA, 4th edition.
Read?	Mass market, USA, 4th edition.
Finished	2002.

I read my first Lone Wolf book around 1990s. It was my brother's copy of Fire on the Water. I really enjoyed it, but I felt like I was missing out on not having read the first book which I briefly saw, but never got a chance to read it. It wasn't until the early 2000s when I found Flight From the Dark in a used book shop that I finally got a chance to read it.

Review

Overall:

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

This is a great introduction the to Lone Wolf game world. You learn about the various Kai disciplines, the allies, the various monsters of the world, etc.
As game books go, this functions quite well. The combat system is effective enough, random elements are invoked, but not overused, and there are enough choices to get a lot of replay value.
I like how there is a coherent plot. If you're at an event you can take part in it, but if you chose a different branch that puts you near it, you hear it going on, but can't interact with it. Also, your decisions have long-term consequences. So, if you don't rescue someone, you can miss out on something later in the book.
The Graveyard of the Ancients is a nice creepy section.
I appreciate the illustrations, not only of key scenes in the book, but also of the basic items and weapons.

Bad

It has all the usual failings of the format. A lot of them, like the clunkiness of using a book, pencil and paper, etc. are easily fixed with a computerized version, but others, like the combat system, and having to re-read the same sections dozens of times, are more endemic.
The initial character setup is a bit too random for my taste. Your combat skill, endurance points, money, and starting equipment is all random, as is the weapon you're skilled in if you choose the discipline. This means, poor luck when creating your character pretty much guarantees failure later in the book. I prefer fantasy role-playing games where I get to choose what my character is like and ones that give players and equal chance from the beginning.
Combat is a bit too simplified for my taste. Most battles, though largely influenced by your starting values, are random. The author occasionally alters combat based on choices made just prior to it happening, but that's about it. And, if you don't have a decent number of endurance points going into combat, death is quite likely.
In order to give the book more replay value, death is frequent and often unexpected. It think it took me a couple dozen attempts to reach the end for first time, which meant a lot or re-reading the same pages over and over again.
The Kai Disciplines are used unevenly throughout the book. Mind over matter is only used three times, while sixth sense is used nine times. Others are not very useful, like hunting. Hunting is only referenced once in the book, but it also lets you skip eating meals. However, it's rare to run out of food, and, even if you do, you only lose 3 endurance points. Compare this to healing which is referenced twice, and heals an endurance point every numbered page. So, if you can't eat, in three more pages, you'll heal back the lost endurance anyway.
There are several branches where one option is objectively better than the other. For example, early in the book you can kill a Kraan and have the option of searching its corpse (which yields a free weapon and clue) or not, then both options lead to the same page. I prefer branching plots where there isn't a clearly superior option.
A large plot branch near the end of the story where you can refuse to follow a guard to the king makes little sense to follow, contains multiple ways to die, and has no significant benefit. The whole section seems like padded space. It would have been better if the book forced you to separate, then you had to find your way on your own.
The sage who murders people who enter his shop in the middle of town doesn't make sense. Nobody has noticed this before and arrested him?
I'm not a huge fan of Gary Chalk's illustrations of faces. They're a bit too cartoonish for my taste.

Ugly

Nothing.

Media

Covers

UK, first edition. Not the best art. Is he a highway man or a hero?
UK, second edition.
Book 1 and 2 combined.
UK, Gamebook of the Year edition. He really looks like he's a villain here, and he looks way too old to be a student.
USA, 1st edition. $2.25, ISBN: 0-399-21217-5. Much better art. The character looks young, and he has a more heroic appearance.
USA, 2nd edition. $2.50, ISBN: 0-425-08436-1.
USA, 3rd edition. $3.50, ISBN: 0-425-08436-1.
USA, 4th edition. $3.99, ISBN: 0-425-08436-1.
USA, Gamebook of the Year edition. I'm not sure what is going on here, but it looks terrible.
USA, hardcover. A nice painting, but it's way too epic for the book.
Very dull.