Michael Witwer

When I think of what inspired my imagination as a kid, I keep coming back to the magnificent 80s and 90s era D&D art which graced the novels and modules I read and played in my youth. I freely admit to being swayed by a healthy dose of nostalgia, but it was heartwarming to revisit some of those paintings which meant so much to me in my younger days, and continue to do so to this day. As a history of D&D and its art, it's passable if a bit safe, steering clear of some of its earlier and show more especially later controversies.

Keith Parkinson, Clyde Caldwell, Larry Elmore, and Jeff Easley - masters from ye olden day of TSR. To me, these artist are not just emblematic of D&D's golden era, but of fantasy art in general. While these artists are mentioned, it feels as if they are given somewhat short thrift compared to the influence they had, and still have to this day. On the other hand, since they could have filled the volume by themselves, the space saved allows other artists to be explored, and they fully deserve to have their work highlighted as well.

The main criticism would be that it is clearly a "company book," which assumes that each era of D&D is one of progress towards a more perfect whole, which conveniently is that of the current edition! While there's a certain amount of truth to certain innovations which have improved the game, there are plenty of grognards such as myself who feel the modern editions have gradually lost much of that magic which once made the game special.

Despite my occasional critiques, for fantasy or RPG fans this volume is worth exploring - even if only to experience the journey once again. show less

A wonderful trip down memory lane, with the right balance of art, brief history and humour.
From page 85:
And as D&D attracted this eager audience, the newly printed Dungeon Masters Guide (1979) was there to meet them.
In addition to providing counsel on the design of adventures and the adjudication of combat, the Dungeon Masters Guide also contained the ultimate treasure room of magic items that every adventurer coveted -pages where players would endlessly window-shop and fantasize about show more artifacts that might turn their characters into gods.

And although primarily focusing on the Art of D&D, the structure provided by using a chronological history of the game, interspersed with the developing art of monsters through editions, make this a fascinating and entertaining read. show less

Dangerous moments, strange secrets, quirky characters and even heart make this into a fun read.

Vivian has been acting out ever since the death of her mother, but she's pretty sure the move to her mother's family house in a small town isn't going to make things any better. Vivian's fears seem confirmed as she immediately butts heads with the school's mean girl and giggles follow everywhere she goes. But her problems are about to change as farm animals are dying under mass attacks from an show more unknown creature, and her own teacher disappears. Although a few acquaintances she plays with claim to be new friends, she refuses to open up and decides to take on the growing weirdness and mystery alone...but she's taking on something deadlier than she could have ever dreamed.

This is a tale loosely spun around Dungeons & Dragons (aka Beasts & Battlements, in this tale) and launches nicely into its own, rich world. Vivian and her friends play B&B, but it's the mystery surrounding the school and people, which really dig in. Of course, it helps that the school was once an asylum (great way to build up the spooks and tension) and that the founder of B&B just happened to have lived in that town and had an odd history himself. While it's not too hard to guess where some of this is going, the author weaves wonderful tension with interesting details to make a grabbing tale.

While the monsters and secrets keep Vivian and her 'acquaintances' on their toes, the emotional end doesn't dissipate. The usual bulling theme comes in with the cliche mean-girls, there's guilt after the death of a parent, and the inability to open up and receive support from others rings loud and true. These themes, while not rare in kidlit, mold nicely into the plot and do add needed depth without bogging down on the action and mystery end.

While this tale clearly spins around D&D, there are also references to other cultural points. These work here even if I'm not a huge fan, since they will tend to age the book quickly in the long run Plus, I wonder if some of these will connect with the average middle grader as its hoped they will. There are many references to Harry Potter, which held an odd edge against the D&D's main lead. But this will hit every reader differently and by no means diminishes the fun of this read.

It's an exciting tale with so many aspects to make it fun from the first page until the very last. I am excited to see where this series heads next. I receive an ARC and enjoyed this read quite a bit. show less

I've been playing D&D since I was 8, that makes 40 years. There have been years here and there where I didn't play and there have been years where I played other systems, but I always come back to D&D. I can't imagine my life without role-playing games. I have spent literally 1000's of hours playing or creating content for role-playing games.

So of course I had to read more about the "father of rpgs". I'm pretty sad that I never actually met Mr. Gygax in person, so I guess this is the next show more best thing. Unfortunately as with most biographical works about our heroes they can disappoint. This one was no exception. From the story in this book, Gary Gygax just doesn't seem like the kind of person I would like very much. That's not to say that I'm not thankful for his huge contribution to my life, it's just that he seemed like an impulsive, hot-headed, selfish jackass. I could totally relate to the love of gaming, writing and the creativity, but the rest left me shaking my head.

I thought the book was a good balance of personal and business life and was just about the right length for me. The only thing I didn't like about it was the little "D&D session intros" to some chapters, because they sounded like they were written by someone who hadn't really played D&D. I guess it was the author's attempt to make them more "accessible" to non role-playing gamers? show less