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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
This is a re-read. I remember really enjoying the book and the series and thought I'd start it again via audible.
As a re-read, I did notice a few things that I didn't pick up on the first time. These include the fuzziness on how the group transferred from our world to the fantasy world...
And the grittiness of the story...especially one scene late in the novel... was shocking to my 50+ year old self.
But overall, it was excellent. In summary, a group of College kids (I was in college when I discovered this series) playing a role playing game, are transported to a fantasy world that has all the fantasy tropes - spells, bad guys, dragons, treasure... plus a lot of stuff most fantasy role playing games probably don't get into. While I've read better prose since the first time reading this, it still hit all the right cords for me so many years later. I remember loving so many of these characters throughout the series.
As a re-read, I did notice a few things that I didn't pick up on the first time. These include the fuzziness on how the group transferred from our world to the fantasy world...
And the grittiness of the story...especially one scene late in the novel... was shocking to my 50+ year old self.
But overall, it was excellent. In summary, a group of College kids (I was in college when I discovered this series) playing a role playing game, are transported to a fantasy world that has all the fantasy tropes - spells, bad guys, dragons, treasure... plus a lot of stuff most fantasy role playing games probably don't get into. While I've read better prose since the first time reading this, it still hit all the right cords for me so many years later. I remember loving so many of these characters throughout the series.
This book opened my eyes when i was a teen. Where other fantasy books dealt with life and death in heroic fashion, in this world it was... real. Battles are awful things to experience. Characters were more real than what I was reading at the time. They cursed, died in pain, used engineering, and fought slavery not just evil wizards. As hokey as real world to fantasy world scenario seemed, this book challenged my feelings on the genre. Joel writes some fun characters too. I would have liked to read more by this author, he passed away. But he left us with lots of interesting stories.
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Medical trauma
Minor: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Blood, Cultural appropriation
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence
Minor: Sexual violence, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury
Very random reread. Yes, it’s a little dated and yes, a touch juvenile and sure, it’s still misogynistic...but it reminded me of Saturday morning cartoons and big bowls of cereal and all around made me feel like a kid again, I thoroughly enjoyed it through all of its warts and I’m not even sorry!
I remember reading the book when it first came out and loving it. Now however, it shows both it's age and the author's full lack of understanding of the RPG experience. Which is not to say that the book is bad, on the contrary it's enjoyable for what it is.
Probably this wouldn't hold up as well now, but I recall loving it when I read it in my early teens.
I hated the way the female characters were written. All the male characters think about is the two female characters’ appearances and how much they (or one of the other male characters) wants to sleep with them. The way both Andrea and Doria are written also felt very stereotyping and two-dimensional (seriously, women are people, too!). The male characters roll their eyes at how they’re too emotional, or cast them in a nurturing role (granted, Doria is a cleric, but even that seemed purposeful, since she was pushed into agreeing to be the cleric in this campaign, even when other male characters had cleric characters they could’ve played), and I really cannot emphasize enough how much focus is on the women’s sex lives/sexuality. (There was pushback against slut shaming, at least, but the bar was literally on the ground.)
The breaking point was when I finally caved and looked up spoilers,I learned both Doria and Andrea get raped later in the book . C’mon.
The breaking point was when I finally caved and looked up spoilers,