Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Illustrator Michael Foreman
Author Roald Dahl
Year 1988 (first published 1964)
Publisher Puffin
ISBN 0-14-031824-0

“Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket, from Mr Willy Wonka! I shake you warmly by the hand! Tremendous things are in store for you!”

The Golden Ticket allows Charlie to fulfil his dearest wish, to have a specially conducted tour of the mysterious chocolate factory, and who wouldn’t want to wander in a place which made Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight or Cavity-filling Caramels or Strawberry-Juice Water Pistols or Lickable Wallpaper for nurseries? But there are dangers in store as well, especially for such unlovable characters as Veruca Salt, who disappears down the Great Rubbish Chute, or Augustus Gloop who is swept away in a river of hot melted chocolate, or Violet Beauregarde who … but it’s all here in this famous story, waiting ‘to entrance, delight, intrigue, astonish and perplex you beyond measure’ just as it has delighted and astonished more than two million paperback readers already.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory available on Amazon

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (full size)

The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth

Illustrator Linda Garland
Author Robert Foster
Year 1988 (first published 1978)
Publisher George Allen & Unwin
ISBN 0-04-803001-5

J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy works, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion have delighted millions of readers in recent years.

Middle-earth, the world in which the stories take place, is as real and complex as our own. Events, geography and names were created with care and loving attention by Tolkien, who wanted every single detail of his books to fit into their total pattern. A belief in perfection, the fun of the sub-creation and the desire to create something so totally convincing that the reader could believe in it (in a sense) as actual history, involved him in map-making, endless charts of dates and events and the development of his many invented languages.

Triumph of the Darksword

Series Darksword Trilogy
Illustrator Larry Elmore (cover), Valerie A. Valusek
Author Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Year 1988
Publisher Bantam Spectra
ISBN 0-553-27406-6

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHORS OF THE DRAGONLANCE LEGENDS

In a realm where magic is life, Joram was one of the Dead. Born without power, he was denied his royal birthright and sentenced to the Turning—his mind to be imprisoned inside a husk of living stone.

Yet at the last moment. Saryon took his place, suffering the eternal torment for his young master. And Joram and his wife Gwendolyn vanished into the mists that marked the Border of the World…

Now, ten years later, Joram and Gwendolyn have returned to reclaim their rightful place in Merilon. Wielding one last time the terrible, magic-thirsting Darksword, Joram must confront the evil sorcerer Menju and his army of Technologists from beyond the Border in a final apocalyptic battle.

Rejoined by Saryon, the mage Mosiah and Simkin, Joram will fulfill the ancient prophecy of the Darksword—the prophecy that puts in his hands the power to destroy the world…or save it.

TRIUMPH OF THE DARKSWORD – Volume III in the heroic saga of magic, betrayal and adventure, THE DARKSWORD TRILOGY.

Triumph of the Darksword available on Amazon

Also available Volume I: Forging the Darksword (1988)  Volume II: Doom of the Darksword (1988)

Thanks to Still Books for the cover

Doom of the Darksword

Series Darksword Trilogy
Illustrator Larry Elmore (cover), Valerie A. Valusek
Author Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Year 1988
Publisher Bantam Spectra
ISBN 0-553-27164-4

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHORS OF THE DRAGONLANCE LEGENDS

Born without magic, Joram was one of the Dead, denied the throne of Merilon. For years, he lived among outlaws, surviving by wit and sleight-of-hand.

Now, wielding the powerful, magic-absorbing Darksword, Joram returns to the enchanted Kingdom that once was his home to win revenge and claim his birthright. Here he will test Bishop Vanya and his fierce army of Duuk-tsarith in a battle unlike any their world has known.

Joined by the scholarly catalyst Saryon, the young mage Mosiah, and the trickster Simkin, Joram confronts the shattering secret of his past and discovers the ancient prophecy that puts the fate of the world in his hands—the hands that forged the Darksword.

DOOM OF THE DARKSWORD – Volume II in the heroic new saga of magic, deceit and adventure, THE DARKSWORD TRILOGY.

Doom of the Darksword available on Amazon

Also available Volume I: Forging the Darksword (1988)  Volume III: Triumph of the Darksword (1988)

Thanks to Still Books for the cover

The Demon Hand

Series Greyhawk Adventures
Illustrator Clyde Caldwell (cover), John and Laura Lakey
Author Rose Estes
Year 1988 (first published 1987)
Publisher TSR/Penguin
ISBN 0-14-011277-4

See empires toppled and demons destroyed in the thrilling final volume of the Mika Trilogy…

Return to the magical world of Greyhawk, where strange and terrifying creatures haunt the land – and your dreams. Watch as the evil demon Maelfesh works his latest wickedness and as the Wolf Nomad Mika prepares to battle once more against sinister supernatural forces – the deep-dwelling cavernquatch, the granite moles, the rock beasties and more…

Will Mika win through and free the enchanted princess from Maelfesh’s clutches? Will TamTur and the faithful companions survive? Rose Estes’s spell-binding novel will grip you as only Greyhawk can.

The Demon Hand available on Amazon

Master Wolf

Series Greyhawk Adventures
Illustrator Clyde Caldwell (cover), Bart Sears
Author Rose Estes
Year 1988 (first published 1987)
Publisher TSR/Penguin
ISBN 0-14-011139-5

‘A Wolf Nomad does not know the meaning of defeat as long as he is still alive! We are born for a life of fighting.’

But Mika, the brave and handsome Master Wolf, has little interest in war or the mystical chants of his ancestors – until he is compelled to do battle with the warlike kobolds. The terrifying tribe has brought tragedy to the noble Mika and, with the fearful demi-demon Juz, is out to destroy him and reduce the Wolf Nomads to savages…

Mika has no choice but to gather all his strength and summon up his family legacy of magic to save his tribe, his companion Tam Tur – and his own soul – from the hideous evil that stalks him.

Master Wolf available on Amazon

Elf Defense

Illustrator unknown
Author Esther M. Friesner
Year 1988
Publisher Signet
ISBN 0-451-15230-1

WHEN MAGIC MEETS MORTAL…

When Amanda Taylor and her stepson, the elf prince Cassiodoron, fled Elfhame for the mortal lands of Earth, Cass’s royal father swore he’d hunt them down and bring them back. Yet for a time the fugitives found a haven in the peaceful Connecticut town of Godwin’s Corners…until a freakish accident revealed Amanda’s hideaway to the king.

Soon he and his minions besieged the town with a campaign of magical mayhem from dog-devouring plastic ware to a salamander’s blazing creation of an impromptu fire sale. Amanda and Cass were in desperate need of allies and they found them in lawyer Sandra Horowitz, her professor husband, and Davina, their Welsh maid who was gifted with the Sight. Yet who would be the winner when mortals challenged the power of immortal spells…?

Elf Defense available on Amazon

Thanks to Still Books for the cover

Azure Bonds

Series Finder’s Stone Trilogy
Illustrator Clyde Caldwell
Author Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb
Year 1988
Publisher TSR/Penguin
ISBN 0-14-012130-7

Her name is Alias, and she is in big trouble. She is sell-sword, a warrior-for-hire, and an adventuress. She awoke with a series of twisting, magical blue sigils inscribed on her arms and no memory of where she got them.

Determined to learn the nature of the mysterious tattoos, Alias joins forces with an unlikely group of companions: the halfling bard, Ruskettle, the southern mage, Akabar, and the oddly silent lizard-man, Dragonbait. With their help, she discovers that the symbols hold the key to her very existence.

But those responsible for the sigils aren’t keen on Alias’s continued good health. And if the five evil masters find her first, she may discover all too soon their hideous secret.

Azure Bonds is based on the FORGOTTEN REALMS™ setting, TSR’s most extensive fantasy campaign.

Azure Bonds available on Amazon

Also available The Wyvern’s Spur (1990) Song of the Saurials (1991)

Black Wizards

Illustrator Keith Parkinson
Author Douglas Niles
Year 1988
Publisher TSR/Penguin
ISBN 0-14-011138-7

Book two of the Moonshae trilogy

Yet again the Moonshae Isles come under the threat of sinister and supernatural forces.

A council of dark sorcerers has usurped the will of the High King. An army of ogres and zombies guided by Bhaal, the super-deity of death and destruction, threatens the gentle Ffolk while the puppet king acquiesces.

Meanwhile the young druid Robyn grapples with her new powers, and Prince Tristan Kendrick struggles to earn his birthright. They must join forces with the children of the Goddess for a showdown with the dreaded Black Wizards that will seal the fate of the Moonshae Isles.

Fantastical new creatures, dire occurrences and wondrous events abound in this new FORGOTTEN REALMS™ adventure.

Black Wizards available on Amazon
Also available Darkwalker on Moonshae (Book One) and Darkwell (Book Three)