Dear friends,
It is with heavy heart that I must bear sad news to you. Joe Dever’s family have confirmed that the Grand Master has passed away after a brave and private ten-year battle with illness.
More than mere entertainment, he and his works have graced so many of our lives with an example of honor and goodness that has earned our loyalty, even 30 years after the publication of the first Lone Wolf gamebook, Flight from the Dark. Though his life and his quest have come to an end, his legacy will endure.
May his family and friends receive comfort in the hours and days ahead. May Ishir and Kai receive the stalwart warrior into their bosom.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
Jonathan Blake
Project Aon
71 Comments
I will miss him forever and always keep his memory and the world of Lone Wolf so very close in my heart.
My Kai and Ishir watch over you always
Harjinder
Just THANK YOU Master.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
Dear Joe,
Your creations have been such a wonderful and powerful source of inspiration for my own creativity over these 30 years.
And when I finally met you in person, it’s been a dream come true. I am forever in debt to you.
Thanks for everything.
You will always be in my heart.
Son of a- this is not the sort of thing I enjoy waking up to. I grew up with his novels, after finding Caverns of Kalte by luck of the draw, working backwards, then forwards. I was so happy I found Project Aon after I lost those books.
We’ll miss you and always cherish the world you made, Joe.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
My heart is heavy. Words cannot express the loss
My heart is heavy today, Joe will be missed by so many. Må gudarna Kai och Ishir vaka över dig.
Thank you for getting this book-hating school kid to read for pleasure. Thank you for the memories. Thank you for allowing me to relive those memories through Project Aon.
Thank you, Joe.
RIP. Grew up with these books, only ever experienced the abridged US versions 1-15. Always planned to reread the series after discovering Project Aeon. Today was that day randomly enough- I came here to download the random number machine and saw the news.
I met Joe briefly at a GamesCom in 2011 and got to thank him for the influence the Lone Wolf books had on me. I probably wouldn’t have found my way to pen&paper role playing without them.
Rest in peace, Joe, and thank you for drawing me into your world.
For Sommerlund, and the last few remaining Magnakais in this world.
Fuck 2016.
2016 has been terrible, and it’s still being relentless. His books inspired me right from the first time I read Flight from the Dark on it’s release, his creation, Lone Wolf, growing up with me.
May Kai’s light guide you to rest.
I woke up today to my friend’s message on Mr Dever’s passing. I felt like crawling back under my blanket to cry.
Like so many others, I discovered Lone Wolf in the early years of its publication as a young kid and till now, I am still as fascinated with the world of Magnamund as ever.
In Lone Wolf the character himself, Mr Dever had created the ultimate multi-classer. Rest in peace, good Sir. Ishir and Kai walk with you now.
Thanks to you Joe Dever, I rescued Banedon, and later flew in his ship Skyrider; I mistakenly slew Ganon and Dorier in a rage; and I fought barbarians in the icy wastes of Kalte. And thanks to your generosity to Project Aon, I got to do it all over again. Your imaginative creation shapes the way I play D&D to this day. Thank you so much.
Goodbye Joe; an inspiration – both through your work, in the way you treated your fans, and inadvertently the creator of a community of some of the most wonderful gamebook/RPG loving people I’ve had the pleasure to meet.
Today the flags fly at half mast in Sommerlund. Rest in peace, Sir.
Rest in peace ! You passed away too young, but your sagas shall endure ! THANKS !
Joe was a good friend, a great man. I had the pleasure to work with him on Sommerlund, the Magnamund Bestiary and sat on him with a panel this year at UK Games Expo. His knowledge on a great many subjects was legendary. He was a warm guy, a true gentleman and he will be sadly missed.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
Rest In Peace!
I’m heartbroken to hear this news. The Lone Wolf books provided such direction and enjoyment in my life and they helped guide me to many happy memories in my life. I only wish I could have told him how much joy his works brought to my life.
Thank you Mr. Dever you will be missed.
The first gamebook I ever reead was Flight from the Dark. This book was my key to the wolrd of heroic fantasy, and more generaly to litterature. Yes, when I was in collège (French secondary school/middle school), the only books I read apart form the mandatory books for school were gamebooks.
I still remember how excited I was when the 5th tome, Shadow on the Sand, was published — I wandered previously the Lastlands and the frozen Kalte, and I was about to explore the Vassagonia!
For all these hours of dreaming, thank you, a thousand times thank you Joe.
What a sad news. Many thanks for the books that literally changed my life.
Thank you Mr. Dever you will be missed.
It’s a terrible day for me. I’m truly heartbroken.
But knowing that Joe meant so much for so many is good.
As with countless children of the ’70s and ’80s, he gave to my young self the most amazing gift of all: imagination.
The Grand Master taught us Imagination and Creativity, truly the most powerful and fantastic of all Disciplines. In developing those we can become able to face the impossible odds of life, just like Lone Wolf.
He tried to trick us all to think we could be our own heroes, but I have no doubt that mine is Joe.
Stay strong.
For Sommerlund and the Kai.
Thank you, Joe, for your beautiful worlds and characters.
I’ve met you at every Lucca Comics since years, it was a dream come true.
Thank you.
Rest in peace.
I don’t forget you Joe and thanks for all adventures…Thanks that I became a Monk Kai for many years.
“Then you notice that from every golden turret of the palace flutters a long, black pennant.” Goodbye Grand Master. For Sommerlund and the Kai!
In Loving Memory of the first Kai Grand Master.
We all dreamt the world he wrote for us.
May Ishir guide your steps towards the house of God Kai.
His name shall always be remembered. Hail to the Grandmaster!
I grew up with his books. It was at the end of the primary school that I discovered Lone Wolf and I was hooked! Recently I re-discovered the pleasure of playing his gamebooks (with no cheating this time!), they are some kind of masterpiece and I think they managed to win the “test-of-time” .
What a dark day for gamers worldwide. My sincere condolences to Joe Dever’s family and friends in their hour of need. It’s a terrible, tragic shock when our loved ones depart from life. The author of Lone Wolf has passed from this world into legend.
Both Lone Wolf and FF were an avid hobby of mine – I must confess being late to the gamebook party as I didn’t start collecting until 1987. Nevertheless, I’m grateful to Joe Dever’s gripping and comfortable writing style as a key contribution to my progression from gamebook collector to gamebook writer. Such adventures were a sheer joy to read, the world of Magnamund an intriguing board upon which the pieces moved in momentous ways. I also hope pray the dread, destructive disease of cancer will soon be purged from this world. But we must also remember that, during his time on earth, Joe Dever made such an impact in both music and the fantasy genre. As in Lone Wolf, he would like to be remembered for his character, personality, and achievements by leaving behind a legacy that all fans may share and promote his ideals. Let that stand testimony to the monument of his life. Posterity rings down throughout the ages. For now we must mourn the loss of a Grandmaster in Gaming. Rest in Peace, Joe Dever. You will be remembered in our hearts.
No way?
I just completed his Lone Wolf PC game, never expected the next thing I’d see is this…
He provided me with lots of entertainment growing up via his books, he will be sadly missed. 🙁
My childhood was filled with memories of Sommerlund and the Kai. Section 350 will be forever the way I seek in life no matter how arduous the journey is.
I thank Joe Dever for the wonderful memories and he will be sorely missed.
Kai and Ishir take you to your rest, Grand Master.
I am forever grateful for him opening the door to RPGs to me.
This hurt. My friends and I all read the Lone Wolf books in junior high. They were my introduction to RPGs and gaming in general. You have no idea how great it was to have a book and a game I could escape to on my own. Reading and rolling dice, that was my childhood, and Joe Dever was a huge part of that. This was sad news.
So sad. Joe Dever was an inspiration for so many, and his living, breathing world was the most fantastic in fantasy. RIP Grand Master.
Man…very sad to hear this. I got my first LW book Jungle of Horrors when I was 8 in ’87…became hooked and collected all the rest. I still have the whole set and brought them over to the US with me when I moved from the UK a few years back. Sad sad news.
I too have fond memories of the Lone Wolf series. RIP Joe.
Vale Joe Dever – a true visionary.
Magnamund will never be the same without you.
Thank you for many years of happiness and unlocking the joy of imagination.
Rest in peace.
I have just learned about the dismal news. I am… dejected, to say the least. Just think of the coincidence… I hadn’t thought of Joe’s works for weeks, but not even twenty minutes before discovering that Joe had died, I was thinking about one of his books and about the late Brian Williams, with intensity. What can I say? I grew up reading and playing his books, as a teenager, in Italian; then as a grown man, in English. I have participated in various dedicated forums, I appreciate Project Aon a great deal and… well, I could write a plethora of words, but it would not do him justice. I deeply admired Joe Dever and his world. This is it. The Magnamund is inside me, it’s part of my culture. I bid you farewell, Supreme Kai Master, with the utmost gratitude, admiration and sincere grief. No rhetorics here, I assure you. May Kai and Ishir accompany you during your journey, Joe. For Sommerlund and the Kai!!!
It was Joe that let us avenge our slain warrior kin, wield the mystic Shianti arcane arts, and guide survivors from Texas to California. Some of those stories I found in used bookstores, the others because of his generosity to the nice people of Project Aon. Even though the New Order adventures may feel incomplete without him, there is a certain confidence for those that continue where he left off.
That confidence comes from the second New Order book, wherein the passing of Elder Magi Casis can be witnessed by you and Lord Rimoah. It’s what Rimoah said after the ceremony was over; even as the past (the Elder Magi) fades away, the present (the New Order Kai) keeps the legacy alive for those in the future. Certainly a parallel between Joe and those that appreciate his works, no?
Thanks for the adventures… and if you ever run into Naar, give him a kick to the stones!
Ouch.
Lone Wolf was one of my favourite gamebook series, and I was a huge gamebook nerd in my 80’s teenage years. My copy of Flight from the Dark (one of the very first gamebooks I wanted for my birthday, a few years after Warlock of Firetop Mountain) got awfully damaged after a year or so because I kept going through it again and again. A few years later, I rode hilly miles on a bicycle just to find a bookstore where they sold the latest book (I cannot remember if that was The Cauldron of Fear or The Dungeons of Torgar; for some reason I seem to mix the two up).
I can still remember the elation from Shadows on the Sand when I witnessed the facedown between Zakhan Kimah and Darklord Haakon, and then later when the Sommerswerd destroyed the latter.
I sneered at Roark’s folly, shook my fist at Zahda’s villainy, got revolted at the need to kill Halgar because I lacked Invisibility (and promptly died afterwards, choosing another path), exhaled with grim satisfaction after avenging Grey Star by killing the Chaosmaster (yes, well, maybe I more or less guessed where those 0s were during the fight), had a huge grin at the showdown against the villains of Sommerlund, one-punched a frigging Drakkar dead when landing on the beaches of the Darklands, and don’t get me started on the prospect of finally going after those druids that only seemed to exist to blast me in out-of-the-way places.
In a nutshell (and to thankfully borrow Matthew Lim’s expression), my sad congratulations on reaching that final 350 section, Grand Master Joe Dever. You will be sorely missed.
I started reading Lone Wolf at Kingdoms of Terror and Castle Death. I received them secondhand from a friend around 1991. I found Project Aon a few years ago. I was able to read the series from the beginning. I still read from this site when I want to re-visit the world of Lone Wolf. Mr. Dever will be truly missed. Thank you for allowing your books to be enjoyed by others. Thank you to everyone who keeps this site available for loyal fans.
I’ve just read the bad news and i cannot believe it!
I still remeber when i discovered, back in Spain, in a little library a copy of “Fire on the Water” which i devoured.
And since then, Lone Wolf got my back all these years. Together we fought in Kalte, together we flew from Vassagonia and we both blew up the Masters of Darkness.
But this wonderful world of Epic and Magic grew with me all this time in real life too…i can’t thank Joe enough for what, unknowingly, did for me!
So, there is only to say: “For Sommerlund and the Kai!”
The weekend before Joe passed I was actually re-reading Fire on the Water. I decided today to finish it up online here at projectaon and saw the sad news! I owe to Joe’s books a lot of my creativity and imagination, and countless hours spent reading and re-reading books 1-20 well into my 40s. Compared to other gamebooks (and role playing games), I was hooked, the stories, the characters, the missions… Joe had a gift of writing amazing books. I hope that my son one day will pick up my collection and cherish these books just as I did when I was a young lad. RIP Joe, you were taken from us too soon.
Just heard the news yesterday, how awful. I wish Joe’s family the best. A couple of mates at primary school steered me onto Joe’s work almost 30 years back, and I will forever have fond memories of his gamebooks and novels. RIP Joe, thanks for the adventures.
Very sad. Lone Wolf books were my introduction to RPGs back in the 80s, I was 8 years old when I got my copy of Flight from the Dark, and a few months later I scored a box set of the original 3 book D&D from a garage sale (i wish I had kept them), and that set me off. I have kept this kinda of stuff close to my heart, playing many a game over the years, but I attribute it all to Joe Dever, and Gary Gygax, whose novels and stories made me realize there was more to reading than just reading… you could CREATE. God bless, and may Kai guide you all.
Just read the sad news! For a boy in the 80’s struggling with dyslexia and hating reading, I want to say thank you for your amazing storeys without which I would not have learn to overcome my dyslexia!
Thank you Joe!
See you soon!
Flight from the dark was the first book I ever read. It was also what introduced me to fantasy, roleplaying and using my imagination as a positive means of escaping a boring and somewhat destructive environment.
I will be forever grateful for the great moments and motivation your stories gave me.
For Sommerlund and the Kai. Farewell, Grand Master.
Very sorry to hear about Joe’s passing, my condolences to his family and friends.
I have no idea how many times I played through the Freeway Warrior set of books. Ever since a part of me has always wanted to take a road trip from McKinney to California.
My soul darkened upon hearing the news that someone who forged my young mind had passed away. My heartfelt condolences to all those that had a personal relationship with the man that taught me what it meant to assess a situation and choose a pertinent course of action. The biggest gift he gave to me was a hunger for good fiction, wether it be from my friends and my own imagination or from authors around the world. My collection of Lonewolf books have rallied my resolve more than once in my battles with the Darklords of life. You, Sir, inspired me to seek the highest of my own ideals so that I may be deserving of the highest grace that Ishir and Kai may bestow. I remember the day that my world changed because someone listened enough to buy me the book I wanted. The smell of paperback still makes me think of those days.
Goddess blessed me with your talent; may she reward your gift with the grace of Summerlund. Blessed be, Grandmaster, for we were blessed with your works.
I’ve just read this bad bad news, I’m really sorry to hear that Joe Dever left us. I’ve literally grown up with his books, the first one bought by mere chance in a shop in UK, probably in 1988. I’ve read it (it was LW 11 prisoners of time) but it was still slightly difficult for me and my brother, so I found all the Italian translations and lived all those magic adventures we all shared. Thanks to project AON his legacy will live on. For the Kai.
Just discovered that Joe Dever has passed away.
To say his writing changed my life is an understatement. I still remember getting Flight From The Dark from my school book club back in 1984. The story and illustrations captivated me and led me on a journey that to this day still has me going back to Magnamund. In fact so fond are my childhood memories of my adventures in Lone Wolf’s world that when I’m stressed or anxious and can’t find sleep I close my eyes and I’m in Holmgard or Varietal or any other of Joe’s rich worlds and I feel at home
Thanks Joe…
So many wonderful hours that you have given me Joe Dever with your wonderful world of Lone Wolf. Every time I had trouble at home your world gave me an escape where I could be the hero. May you rest in Peace and your family find comfort during these trying days.
Here, in France, “Loup Solitaire” still live into my heart, twenty years later. Thanks to you, Joe, for the hero you awoke. May your soul find its way to the promise land you deserve.
It is always sad when a beloved author passes on. I tend to feel a certain kinship with the creator through the words and tales they weave. That was my experience when I was young and first came across the Lone Wolf books and it continues as such with each reading. A man that has brought many readers great joy has left the world but his books shall continue to bring enjoyment and inspiration to others.
Thank you for the good times Mr. Dever. You shall be missed…
It’s been a few years since I was able to actively embrace the online Lone Wolf community. Somehow I feel that this disrespects the man who played such a large part of my formative years and informed my sense of honour and defining strength through hardship. I count it amongst my greatest regrets that I never thanked him in person.
Rest well Grand Master.
That can’t be right. It this a wrong turn, yes? Have we forgot an object from a previous book? We have healing no? Every comment should give back a point! I just can’t get this news. I will make sure that I did not read it and get back another day. This is the other day and now the flood of sadness has reached me. I know, my pen is not exactly on a whole number, let me just push it up… No, this is it, his quest is over.
Long live to the Grand Master.
In a time, when money was limited and technology did not yet spawn the copy-cats the first book already gave a shining, albeit contextually gloomy and threatening, example of heroic roleplay.
My condolences come late, but I mourn the loss of someone who gave hope to the social outcasts and loser teenagers alike.
Absolutely the best in his field; elevated the limited and idiosyncratic medium of gamebooks beyond expectations with consistent quality in style and flavor. A real worldbuilder and by all accounts a thoroughly nice person. RIP
I am sorry about his passing. My best wishes go to those close to him. I have fond memories reading his stories as a child, exploring the world of Lone Wolf. My childhood was difficult at times and Summerlund was a welcome respite. Mr Dever’s legacy continues on in his writings, these paperbacks I am sharing with the next generation. I am most grateful for Project Aon.
My condolences to the family. Like many here, I grew up reading and re-reading Lone Wolf during my formative years. I collected all the books (including Grey Star & Freeway Warrior) and they were my gateways into a fantasy world of high adventure. Through his books, I was exposed to concepts like courage, kindness, duty, honour and loyalty. I thoroughly enjoyed every section and page of your books and even now, just remembering my journeys to Durenor, Kalte, Vassagonia and beyond, brings a smile to my face. To say your writing has had a major influence on my life would be an understatement. Thank you Mr. Dever and may your soul find peace in the arms of Kai and Ishir.
Lone Wolf once helped a 9yo kid get over the divorce of his parents, helped him hide in the Magnamund. I have kids of my own now but I will always have your books with me. Thank you and may you find peace.
My mum recently passed away and she was the one who scratched together enough to buy me lone wolf books, she was the one who first bought me the book from an author and hero I never knew about and would never have discovered . Like some of the comments I have read my childhood involved divorce and a messy childhood . I use to hide in joes books which allowed me to expand my imagination and forever push for what’s right in this world , to help people where I can and too be a good person. I still have my original 1980’s books in very good condition and now also have a 9 month old son. Joes family know this that my son and probably his children will end up reading these books, to have someone that has created something that will influence generations for good means joe will forever live on. I hope you keep project aon alive for the sake of future generations. Take care from all the loyal fans in New Zealand.
As a young child, I learnt about the virtues of courage, loyalty and kindness through my adventures through Magnamund.
In my darkest days (then and now) your tales remind me that there will always, always be light at the end (Section 350). For this and for many other things, I thank you from the bottom of my heart Joe Dever… You will be greatly missed.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
I have just read about this here, when I have come to play again the books. I’m incredibly sad… I’m only glad that I bought the Lone Wolf roleplay books like a year ago, just out of an impulse, thinking of giving Joe Dever some joy knowing that his work was still loved. I really hope he received some happiness from his fans while he was alive. Thanks Joe Dever and rest in peace, I will never forget the good moments you have given me since I was a kid.
I played most of the books of “Lone Wolf”, but lost sight of the main site for years. Thank you Joe Dever for sharing your passion with other people and may your friends and your relatives blossom.
Requiescat in pace
Thank you Joe for the memories. Thanks again for Project Aon for reliving those memories.
For Sommerlund and the Kai!
I was just going to rekindle some fond memories of LoneWolf and the Kai, and was utterly shocked to read this. May you rest in peace, Mr. Dever. May Ishir and Kai keep you on your journey through the Daziarn. For Sommerlund and the Kai!
Hailing from South Africa, it was with delight that I downloaded an Android app in order to play the Lone Wolf books after a 26 year hiatus. I never know what happened to the original paperbacks. 🙁 Some Darklord stole them most probably. Think I had the first four.
And I never expected to read about the passing away of a GrandMaster. His storytelling is at an end, but we will keep fhe banner of the Kai and Sommerlund flying!
Starting The Deathlord of Ixia, I stumbled upon this site. I don’t know how to feel, whether to be sad of passing the Grand Master Dever, or to be glad, for he had left SO much of his work here on Earth.
But I hope, wherever Joe is, that he is happily reading these comments and smiling.
For Sommerlund, and the Kai!
Turn to page 51
Words written by this great man challenged my choices and wits thoughtout the masterly written works of lone – wolf .. I woz delighted to discover his great works. Freely available online .. and wish to thank both the family and Aon for the pleasureful and compelling storys. Thanks joe
I played many such books, but the Lone Wolf were definitly the best ones (although I enjoyed the talking sword and poetic vampire of Grailquest). I ve a boy now, and I was sad I lost all my books few years ago. Now I m happy to have them again here, but sad to read this old news… reading comments, I m sure those have supported his family in such bad moments, there is clear love and it went both ways. Time flies, yet his memory and work will probably outlast us.
RIP
I am late to this thread, and to Project Aon in general, but after learning of its existence I am excited to be here. I loved these books when I was a teen and am planning to go through the whole series now, in my 40s. Just stumbled over this announcement and want to thank Joe for this great series, that was both fun and a strong positive example of what a hero should be. I wonder if he made it first person so we would identify with the positive traits Lone Wolf exhibited.