ISSN 1555-8320

Kai Grand Sentinel

 

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Overview of Toran

Signs & Portents 71, available for free, provides an overview of the city of Toran including a map and details about its culture, society, economy, etc.

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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Mongoose's Mega-Deal Rides Again!

Mongoose has brought back the Mega-deal, now in three flavors.

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Drakkarim Armies

Joe Dever has shared some information about the organization of the Drakkarim Armies in the latest issue of Signs and Portents, including photos of his models. And for any Giak language enthusiasts, like myself, there's some tantalizing new names. It may be time for me to update the Giak Lexicon.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Furman to Illustrate

Furman will illustrate books 13+ for Mongoose.

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Sunday, February 10, 2008

Chasm of Doom Shipping

Mongoose has some news about their publication of Lone Wolf.

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Monday, October 1, 2007

Help Project Aon by ordering through us

For those of you who were waiting for the paperback editions of the new Mongoose editions of the Lone Wolf gamebooks, please remember that you can help Project Aon by ordering from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk through our website. A portion of your purchase price will go to fund our web hosting.

Thank you.

Back to your regularly scheduled program...

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Thursday, August 2, 2007

Sneak Peek at the New Stats Managment System

We're entering the final phases for approval of the reviewed edition of Shadow on the Sand. If you're wondering why we're not working feverishly on Dawn of the Dragons, it's because we're assisting Mongoose by providing them with electronic texts which they're using to republish the books.

We're also developing a new game statistics management software that helps you track your character's inventory and so on. You can help us test out the new system (and read the revised version of Shadow on the Sand) before we put it on the main site (if you're into that kind of thing).

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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Lone Wolf In Print Again!

Today is the day that Mongoose ships the collector's edition of Flight from the Dark. See our announcement on the main page.

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

Magnamund Map

This is one part of the new Flight from the Dark that I hadn't seen yet: the new map of the Lastlands.

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Monday, July 2, 2007

Review of Flight from the Dark

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to help Joe Dever with the upcoming republication of Flight from the Dark. This means that I can already offer you, the Project Aon faithful, a review.

First things first. This isn't the same, beloved Flight from the Dark that you grew up with. I know many of us feel like the new version threatens the first version's cherished place in our hearts. We worry that it will spoil the memory of the good times we had with Flight from the Dark. We wonder how the new could improve on the original.

When Mongoose informed fans that Lone Wolf would take a more active role in the ill-fated siege of the Kai Monastery, many of us mourned. We enjoyed seeing Silent Wolf grow from an inattentive problem child to Sommerlund's greatest son. This gave many of us hope that we would amount to something despite our own inadequacies. It affirmed that we, too, could grow into something greater. We worried that something important would be lost if Silent Wolf's journey started so heroically.

Some of us, myself included, love to absorb all the little facts about Lone Wolf's world. If you need proof of my devotion to the scholarly path, I even started an encyclopedia! Little contradictions or inconsistencies in the story irritated us. It spoiled our immersion in the world. Two different versions of one book threatens the narrative consistency of Magnamund. The scholars among us worry that two books will make the story less believable and therefore less enjoyable.

I empathize with these concerns, but I found a lot of things to enjoy in the new version, enough to overcome those concerns. I think if we allow the new Flight from the Dark to be great in its own right, we can make a place in our hearts for both versions of the book.

The adventure is greatly expanded over the first telling. With 550 sections, it is the longest Lone Wolf adventure ever published. I mapped out every last section of this complex book, but I've already forgotten enough that I will enjoy playing through my copy when it comes in the mail. The book offers many paths to choose from, too many for me to remember.

You'll recognize the general outline of the adventure, but you're in for some surprises. I don't want to say too much. All I'll say is don't expect to walk through the book the same way you've been doing it for years. There are new twists and new adventures to be had.

I enjoyed getting to know some of the Kai who died that fateful day. They had always been nameless victims. This telling of the story allowed me to meet flesh-and-blood people who sacrificed everything for their people. Lone Wolf and all of the main characters are made more human and three-dimensional. I feel like I know them better now.

The writing for the new version is more polished. Joe Dever has gained a lot of experience since he first wrote Flight from the Dark and it shows. The author has become a better storyteller in the intervening 23 years.

The new artwork is more adult than the original. Gary Chalk's artwork seemed aimed at a younger audience than this new artwork. They aren't as polished as Brian Williams' illustrations for later books, but as an adult, I enjoyed their grittier feel.

This new retelling of Silent Wolf's first adventure hasn't had time to become one of my old friends, but it may someday become one of my favorite Lone Wolf books. I had a lot of fun reading it. I even like it better than the original (if you'll forgive my heresy). Time will tell how readers will receive it, but I think it will gain a place in the hearts of those who give it a chance.

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