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drtlovesbooks's review
5.0
I originally read this back in middle or high school, when I was a D&D nerd, so the idea of getting sent into a D&D world as the character I played (since that was usually a big ol' barbarian) fit my personal preferences to a T. I picked it up recently to relive the old days and see how it had held up, and I have to say, it's done pretty well, all things considered. The writing itself is pretty solid, and the basic story line is interesting, with a lot of foreground elements to keep the reader in the moment, but also some bigger "long simmer" elements of the story slowly playing out over the course of the series.
Reading this story from the early 80's in 2017, there are definitely some flaws. Different parts of the story are told from different character's points of view; yet despite the fact that there are 5 main characters, two of them female, the story is only ever told from male perspectives. The females are treated pretty brutally, and usually are used to move the story forward, though they do get a little bit developed by the end of the third book. There also seem to be a few details here and there that present some minor continuity errors, but overall, it all holds together pretty decently.
Speaking of the book, this is a collected volume that includes multiple single books collected together. This was a nice way to read the story, as all of the pieces fit together pretty well (with continuity errors, as mentioned above, excepted).
The story revolves around a core group of college students who get magically sent into a D&D-like medieval world where magic is real. As they quickly discover, what seems cool in a game is not nearly as entertaining when you have to live through it (one main character doesn't make it more than a few hours before dying horribly). In the world in which they find themselves, slavery is a going concern, and the major cities are run by self-serving wizards. The first book gets the characters (and readers) used to this world, and sets up the paradigm-breaking that the characters will attempt in later books as they try to bring freedom and science to a world that has been living under the thumb of the strongest and most ruthless.
Reading this book in 2017 was also interesting because each chapter starts with a quotation, many of which deal with the ideals of freedom, leadership, and rulers. There were more than a few I wanted to clip and share with the world at large as reminders of where we've come from, and how far we still have to go.
I have several more books in the series sitting on my shelves, so I'll probably keep going through them, though I recall the quality of the stories dropping off a bit over the course of the series. I guess we'll see how far I get!
Reading this story from the early 80's in 2017, there are definitely some flaws. Different parts of the story are told from different character's points of view; yet despite the fact that there are 5 main characters, two of them female, the story is only ever told from male perspectives. The females are treated pretty brutally, and usually are used to move the story forward, though they do get a little bit developed by the end of the third book. There also seem to be a few details here and there that present some minor continuity errors, but overall, it all holds together pretty decently.
Speaking of the book, this is a collected volume that includes multiple single books collected together. This was a nice way to read the story, as all of the pieces fit together pretty well (with continuity errors, as mentioned above, excepted).
The story revolves around a core group of college students who get magically sent into a D&D-like medieval world where magic is real. As they quickly discover, what seems cool in a game is not nearly as entertaining when you have to live through it (one main character doesn't make it more than a few hours before dying horribly). In the world in which they find themselves, slavery is a going concern, and the major cities are run by self-serving wizards. The first book gets the characters (and readers) used to this world, and sets up the paradigm-breaking that the characters will attempt in later books as they try to bring freedom and science to a world that has been living under the thumb of the strongest and most ruthless.
Reading this book in 2017 was also interesting because each chapter starts with a quotation, many of which deal with the ideals of freedom, leadership, and rulers. There were more than a few I wanted to clip and share with the world at large as reminders of where we've come from, and how far we still have to go.
I have several more books in the series sitting on my shelves, so I'll probably keep going through them, though I recall the quality of the stories dropping off a bit over the course of the series. I guess we'll see how far I get!
prodoehl's review
3.0
This book is really broken down into three books. I read them when I was in junior high school and thought I'd read them again. I wondered if I would still enjoy it, and it was OK. Not great, not too bad. Given the time it was written it was common to have a group of guys on an adventures with any female characters being decorative (if that). If you can get past that, which is asking a lot, the first book was good, the next two ok. Still, reading this twice is once more than I needed to.
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