"What it is quite simply, is the modern reincarnation of the oldest narrative known to world literature: the heroic fantasy. The adventure story of the indomitable warrior-hero battling supernatural evil, personified as monster or magician, god or ghost or goblin, dragon or demon. The sort of thing the Greek myths and Norse legends are all about, and Beowulf and the Shah Namah and the Mabinogoin. The kind of yarn they wrote about in the Middle Ages, in sagas and epics about Roland and oliver, or hero tales and legends about St. George and the Dragon ...", Lin Carter , Flashing Swords! #4 published in 1977 by Dell Publishing Co., Inc
I just pulled this book off of my shelves and started rereading it again and had to share some of the introduction .
The book itself is an excellent primer of swords and sorcery as it was in the 70's with The Bagful of Dreams by Jack Vance, The Tupliak by Poul Anderson, Storm in a Bottle by John Jakes, Swords Against the Marluk by Katherine Kurtz and The Lands Beyond The World by Michael Moorcock.
Showing posts with label onbooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label onbooks. Show all posts
Friday, November 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Mazes and Monster cover to cover....part IX
Chapter 10
Robbie and Kate are continuing their relationship but Robbie is dismayed to discover the empty spot isn't filled and he has horrible nightmares. Eventually Robbie becomes his character from the game (Pardieu) in his dreams. He awakes from the first of these dreams feeling some hope for the future.
Chapter 11
Kate, Daniel, Jay Jay and Robbie get together for a great game session before they all go home to their families. We get a detailed description of how the players relate to game play. Each player is lost in their role, little do they suspect Jay Jay isn't lost in play as Freelick the frenetic sprite but is engineering the end of the game Daniel is acting as Maze Controller for, so he can lead them as maze controller for his game in the caves. Jay Jay loses his character to an obvious trap short circuiting Daniel's campaign and gets them all to agree to a game in the caves following Christmas break a game that must be their secret alone.
------
Robbies' mental health is not doing too well and Jay Jay is a rat bastard control freak.
Robbie and Kate are continuing their relationship but Robbie is dismayed to discover the empty spot isn't filled and he has horrible nightmares. Eventually Robbie becomes his character from the game (Pardieu) in his dreams. He awakes from the first of these dreams feeling some hope for the future.
Chapter 11
Kate, Daniel, Jay Jay and Robbie get together for a great game session before they all go home to their families. We get a detailed description of how the players relate to game play. Each player is lost in their role, little do they suspect Jay Jay isn't lost in play as Freelick the frenetic sprite but is engineering the end of the game Daniel is acting as Maze Controller for, so he can lead them as maze controller for his game in the caves. Jay Jay loses his character to an obvious trap short circuiting Daniel's campaign and gets them all to agree to a game in the caves following Christmas break a game that must be their secret alone.
------
Robbies' mental health is not doing too well and Jay Jay is a rat bastard control freak.
Mazes and Monsters Cover to Cover... part VIII
Chapter 8
We find out more about Daniel's care-free love life. Robbie and Kate are practically living with each other. The group stays at the college during Thanksgiving break so they can play a marathon session of Mazes and Monsters. Daniel longs for love.
Chapter 9
Jay Jay feels alone and lost, he can't drown his sorrows in booze and old movies. He briefly contemplates killing himself. He wanders off and explore the caves near the college and has a revelation: he'll run a "real" game of Mazes and Monsters in the Caves.
-----
Yup, these folks aren't all too stable.
We find out more about Daniel's care-free love life. Robbie and Kate are practically living with each other. The group stays at the college during Thanksgiving break so they can play a marathon session of Mazes and Monsters. Daniel longs for love.
Chapter 9
Jay Jay feels alone and lost, he can't drown his sorrows in booze and old movies. He briefly contemplates killing himself. He wanders off and explore the caves near the college and has a revelation: he'll run a "real" game of Mazes and Monsters in the Caves.
-----
Yup, these folks aren't all too stable.
Mazes and Monsters Cover to Cover... part VII
Chapter 6
Kate and Robbie are getting along fabulously, passing notes and eating meals together. She feels herself getting closer to Robbie but it's difficult because of her jerk boyfriend of the year before.
On the night Kate was through with her ex boyfried she decided to do some laundry and her fear of the dark was laid in place by an assailant armed with a knife who attempted to rape her in the dark laundry room. A situation she wouldn't have found herself in if her ex hadn't abandoned her like all men in her life did.
Robbie is so sweet to Kate and their friendship an feelings are growing so she decides to test him and give love a chance or maybe it would be better to withdraw entirely.
Chapter 7
Robbie is baffled by Kate's behavior finding the growing distance incomprehensible, they still have the game but that's really all. Robbie confides in Daniel. Miraculously Kate soon decides to give Robbie a chance and they become a couple.
Robbie tells Kate about his runaway brother Hall who disappeared years ago and how much that hurt him. Robbie doesn't tell Kate about his complicity and deep guilt in his brother's absence.
Kate and Robbie are getting along fabulously, passing notes and eating meals together. She feels herself getting closer to Robbie but it's difficult because of her jerk boyfriend of the year before.
On the night Kate was through with her ex boyfried she decided to do some laundry and her fear of the dark was laid in place by an assailant armed with a knife who attempted to rape her in the dark laundry room. A situation she wouldn't have found herself in if her ex hadn't abandoned her like all men in her life did.
Robbie is so sweet to Kate and their friendship an feelings are growing so she decides to test him and give love a chance or maybe it would be better to withdraw entirely.
Chapter 7
Robbie is baffled by Kate's behavior finding the growing distance incomprehensible, they still have the game but that's really all. Robbie confides in Daniel. Miraculously Kate soon decides to give Robbie a chance and they become a couple.
Robbie tells Kate about his runaway brother Hall who disappeared years ago and how much that hurt him. Robbie doesn't tell Kate about his complicity and deep guilt in his brother's absence.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Mazes and Monsters....between the covers....arghhh
As many of you surely know I've been doing one of those "cover to cover" dealies with Mazes & Monsters by Rona Jaffe. I've got to say...ugh, the deeper I go in the more dreadful it gets. All the characters have emotional issues,most have a crap home life and it's just feebly melodramatic.
Reading this in my 40's with decades of D&D game play and life behind me It's hard to imagine how this book was ever sensational or read by many folks at all. I'll keep reading and keep posting but golly gee I know it'll be a while before take on another task like this.
Reading this in my 40's with decades of D&D game play and life behind me It's hard to imagine how this book was ever sensational or read by many folks at all. I'll keep reading and keep posting but golly gee I know it'll be a while before take on another task like this.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Mazes and Monsters, cover to cover... VI
Chapter 5
The four characters whom we've met up to this point all gather to play Mazes & Monsters on the floor of Daniels room. Kate is Glacia the Fighter yet again, Jay Jay is still the irrepressible sprite Freelik the Frenetic of Glossamir, Robbie is Pardieu the Holy Man. They all sit there in a circle with Daniel the Maze Controller.
Beginning Mazes and Monsters players use rulebooks and as they gain skill they move on to incorporating advanced manuals with ever more complicated books of imaginary adventure. Danile used a combination of the advanced manuals and his own invention, he must after all since Jay Jay has a photographic memory.
The party travels for half a day and comes to the forbidden caves of Jinnorak once ruled by a race of men who are now rumored to be a devolved savage breed of creatures. After arriving at the cave mouth they are asked by the MC if they wish to enter the caves, luckily they all say yes.
As the play commences we get a view from the mind's eye of each player. Kate with her heart pounding uses her lantern to fend off the ever present darkness. Jay Jay is always frightened at the beginning of play and uses humor to ward off the dread as he's just a little afraid of the commitment the game requires to escape the pathetic ad boring human world. Robbie secure in the robes of the Holy Man is comfortable to act with bravery and cunning alongside his trusted friends now that he had a mission. Daniel is happy he has crafted a scenario that is drawing them all in and is happy as his work of art unfolds.
-----------------
So in the brief chapter where they finally get to play M&M we have earlier character traits refined. We learn little of how the game is played beyond the threat of imaginary violence and Maze Controllers have a sort of god complex.
The four characters whom we've met up to this point all gather to play Mazes & Monsters on the floor of Daniels room. Kate is Glacia the Fighter yet again, Jay Jay is still the irrepressible sprite Freelik the Frenetic of Glossamir, Robbie is Pardieu the Holy Man. They all sit there in a circle with Daniel the Maze Controller.
Beginning Mazes and Monsters players use rulebooks and as they gain skill they move on to incorporating advanced manuals with ever more complicated books of imaginary adventure. Danile used a combination of the advanced manuals and his own invention, he must after all since Jay Jay has a photographic memory.
The party travels for half a day and comes to the forbidden caves of Jinnorak once ruled by a race of men who are now rumored to be a devolved savage breed of creatures. After arriving at the cave mouth they are asked by the MC if they wish to enter the caves, luckily they all say yes.
As the play commences we get a view from the mind's eye of each player. Kate with her heart pounding uses her lantern to fend off the ever present darkness. Jay Jay is always frightened at the beginning of play and uses humor to ward off the dread as he's just a little afraid of the commitment the game requires to escape the pathetic ad boring human world. Robbie secure in the robes of the Holy Man is comfortable to act with bravery and cunning alongside his trusted friends now that he had a mission. Daniel is happy he has crafted a scenario that is drawing them all in and is happy as his work of art unfolds.
-----------------
So in the brief chapter where they finally get to play M&M we have earlier character traits refined. We learn little of how the game is played beyond the threat of imaginary violence and Maze Controllers have a sort of god complex.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Mazes and Monsters, cover to cover... V
Chapter 4
We meet Robbie Wheeling who starts of his college career feeling feeling young and frightened. Robbie is an athletic swimmer who cares littel for his parents back at home and even thought he feels lost at college he still doesn't miss home. He finds a comfort zoen of sorts at college but still feels something is missing and meets Jay Jay 3 weeks into the semester.
When Robbie and Jay Jay meet Jay Jay is wearing an aviators cap with goggles in the cafeteria. As a lost college kid Robbie can't help but chat with and accept an invitation to a party for Bridget Bardo that Jay Jay is throwing.
At the party Robbie meets Kate and is rather smitten with her. Kate is thrilled to discover Robbie played Mazes and Monsters in high-school back at home and managed to play up to 3rd level. Robbie is introduced to Daniel and invited to the game, the group hasn't played yet as they've been looking for another player.
----------
Poor Robbie lost and innocent is about to be trapped in the world of Mazes and Monsters because he's desperate to find a way to fit in somewhere.
We meet Robbie Wheeling who starts of his college career feeling feeling young and frightened. Robbie is an athletic swimmer who cares littel for his parents back at home and even thought he feels lost at college he still doesn't miss home. He finds a comfort zoen of sorts at college but still feels something is missing and meets Jay Jay 3 weeks into the semester.
When Robbie and Jay Jay meet Jay Jay is wearing an aviators cap with goggles in the cafeteria. As a lost college kid Robbie can't help but chat with and accept an invitation to a party for Bridget Bardo that Jay Jay is throwing.
At the party Robbie meets Kate and is rather smitten with her. Kate is thrilled to discover Robbie played Mazes and Monsters in high-school back at home and managed to play up to 3rd level. Robbie is introduced to Daniel and invited to the game, the group hasn't played yet as they've been looking for another player.
----------
Poor Robbie lost and innocent is about to be trapped in the world of Mazes and Monsters because he's desperate to find a way to fit in somewhere.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Mazes and Monsters cover to cover... IV
Chapters 2 & 3
In chapters 2 and 3 we get to learn more about Kate who plays Glacia the Fighter and Daniel who is the Maze Contoller for this band of college students.
Kate Finch is an 18 year old sophomore with her own room this year. She's driven across country again to Grant University and her mother worries that Kate isn't eating right or enjoying life as much as she can. Kate's parents broke up a while back, mom is a slightly frumpy grandma time and dad is a swine of a swinger. Kate wants to be a writer but the muse has left her with a pile of half finished stories, how can she write about things she doesn't know? Playing Glacia in Mazes and monsters has given Kate a safe place where she can enthusastically be part of the story without the fear of rejection and her ignorance and lack of experience were not a hindrance, bravery and caution were both rewarded in the game.
Daniel Goldsmith is a six foot tall computer genius from the Boston area; Kate thinks Daniel has a John Travolta thing going for him as he's easily the best looking guy in the dorm and not a bit conceited. Daniel has a comfortable life back at home where he feels too hemmed in and wonders about his brother who ran away so he turns away from MIT to attend Grant and get out of his traditional comfort zone. Daniel wants to program computer games, he spent his whole summer working up a new maze for his fellow players, on his morning runs he can't help thinking up more things to add to the game. Daniel, the immortal youth and Maze Controller, also can't help but wonder about the caves which he passes on those morning runs of his.
The three characters introduced so far have a problem, they need a 4th player. Jay Jay thinks they should simply post on the message board next to the gay rights meetings and the science club notices. The players are reluctant to embrace a stranger as they wish to double up into one of their dorm rooms to save the spare as their inner sanctum gaming room, their own private world. Daniel has done a lot of work on the new maze and Jay Jay is pretty sure they can find someone able to play at the with a notice that reads something like " Wanted: a Mazes and Monster freak who can play at the third level and promises to neither fink out nor flunk out".
--------
So far we see everyone who plays Mazes and Monsters just isn't totally thrilled with their home-life and families. They seek a childish escape from reality where they can build their own sheltered world. Kate is escaping failure and inexperience. Daniel is running away from a life he feels he doesn't control to a world where he controls every detail. While he isn't the Maze Controller Jay Jay is the true leader and motivator for this group of players, he can be the leader his weirdness hasn't allowed him to achieve in his short 16 years of life.
In chapters 2 and 3 we get to learn more about Kate who plays Glacia the Fighter and Daniel who is the Maze Contoller for this band of college students.
Kate Finch is an 18 year old sophomore with her own room this year. She's driven across country again to Grant University and her mother worries that Kate isn't eating right or enjoying life as much as she can. Kate's parents broke up a while back, mom is a slightly frumpy grandma time and dad is a swine of a swinger. Kate wants to be a writer but the muse has left her with a pile of half finished stories, how can she write about things she doesn't know? Playing Glacia in Mazes and monsters has given Kate a safe place where she can enthusastically be part of the story without the fear of rejection and her ignorance and lack of experience were not a hindrance, bravery and caution were both rewarded in the game.
Daniel Goldsmith is a six foot tall computer genius from the Boston area; Kate thinks Daniel has a John Travolta thing going for him as he's easily the best looking guy in the dorm and not a bit conceited. Daniel has a comfortable life back at home where he feels too hemmed in and wonders about his brother who ran away so he turns away from MIT to attend Grant and get out of his traditional comfort zone. Daniel wants to program computer games, he spent his whole summer working up a new maze for his fellow players, on his morning runs he can't help thinking up more things to add to the game. Daniel, the immortal youth and Maze Controller, also can't help but wonder about the caves which he passes on those morning runs of his.
The three characters introduced so far have a problem, they need a 4th player. Jay Jay thinks they should simply post on the message board next to the gay rights meetings and the science club notices. The players are reluctant to embrace a stranger as they wish to double up into one of their dorm rooms to save the spare as their inner sanctum gaming room, their own private world. Daniel has done a lot of work on the new maze and Jay Jay is pretty sure they can find someone able to play at the with a notice that reads something like " Wanted: a Mazes and Monster freak who can play at the third level and promises to neither fink out nor flunk out".
--------
So far we see everyone who plays Mazes and Monsters just isn't totally thrilled with their home-life and families. They seek a childish escape from reality where they can build their own sheltered world. Kate is escaping failure and inexperience. Daniel is running away from a life he feels he doesn't control to a world where he controls every detail. While he isn't the Maze Controller Jay Jay is the true leader and motivator for this group of players, he can be the leader his weirdness hasn't allowed him to achieve in his short 16 years of life.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Mazes and Monsters, cover to cover... III
Chapter 1-
In chapter one we meet Jay Jay Brockway arriving back at college after summer vacation. Jay Jay is weird by his own admission, he's small and lithe with a pointed face with a halo of golden curls at but 16 years of age he's a college sophomore English major. He never connected with his father , his parents are divorced for they married too young, and he has a macaw named Merlin. He embraces his differences and uses humor to forge himself into a leader. We discover him as he's shoving his dozen cashmere sweaters and two dozen preppy shirts into his dorm dresser and his collection of funny hats (oh boy, Jay Jay is going to be funny indeed). Jay Jay festoons his room with old movie posters not at all uncommon for the era, he has a thing for older women a collection of books and records, cartons of cigarettes, a bottle of vodka (uh....he's 16) and mai tai mix and a little bag of Acapulco Gold and most curious of all the maps from the Mazes and Monsters games he's played, his dice, fresh graph paper, his already memorized Encyclopedia of monsters and the Creature Compendium advanced Edition III.
Jay Jay has arrived ahead of his other friends and is eagerly awaiting their return on the steps in front of the dorms. Micheal will not be showing up, Jay Jay and his friends were going to rig things so they could use one of their dorm rooms as a game room but Micheal screwed that up becasue the game took too much of his time and attention. Jay Jay is waiting for Kate and Daniel to arrive. Daniel is the Maz Controller and he's fair for we learn if Daniel says the king of the Grey Rats has bitten off your arm then Daniel is indisputably right. Kate , brave precocious Kate who Jay Jay seemingly has a crush on arrives and we are reminded Jay Jay is funny when he offers Kate a knuckle sandwich.
We also learn that Kate plays the groups Fighter and Jat Jay plays a Sprite: Freelik the Frenetic of Glossamir. Each players character seemingly reveals something about the players personality. Kate may be strong but her breastplate is just a shield that covers her frightened, vulnerable and wildly beating heart.
----
So, Jay Jay is a wonder-kin minor with substance abuse issues into Mazes and Monsters...what could go wrong there? He seemingly has a crush on Kate as he has a thing for older women, of course at 16 all women are older women. Jay Jay adores Kate and the Maze Controller who is fair and absolute, no overplayed arch-typical overblown player-vs-GM competition there at all.
So the girl in the group of 4 (well 3 for now) is going to play the fighter and the 16 year old boy is going to play the wild and care free sprite , Mazes & Monsters is already looking a tad removed from stereotypical D&D.
In chapter one we meet Jay Jay Brockway arriving back at college after summer vacation. Jay Jay is weird by his own admission, he's small and lithe with a pointed face with a halo of golden curls at but 16 years of age he's a college sophomore English major. He never connected with his father , his parents are divorced for they married too young, and he has a macaw named Merlin. He embraces his differences and uses humor to forge himself into a leader. We discover him as he's shoving his dozen cashmere sweaters and two dozen preppy shirts into his dorm dresser and his collection of funny hats (oh boy, Jay Jay is going to be funny indeed). Jay Jay festoons his room with old movie posters not at all uncommon for the era, he has a thing for older women a collection of books and records, cartons of cigarettes, a bottle of vodka (uh....he's 16) and mai tai mix and a little bag of Acapulco Gold and most curious of all the maps from the Mazes and Monsters games he's played, his dice, fresh graph paper, his already memorized Encyclopedia of monsters and the Creature Compendium advanced Edition III.
Jay Jay has arrived ahead of his other friends and is eagerly awaiting their return on the steps in front of the dorms. Micheal will not be showing up, Jay Jay and his friends were going to rig things so they could use one of their dorm rooms as a game room but Micheal screwed that up becasue the game took too much of his time and attention. Jay Jay is waiting for Kate and Daniel to arrive. Daniel is the Maz Controller and he's fair for we learn if Daniel says the king of the Grey Rats has bitten off your arm then Daniel is indisputably right. Kate , brave precocious Kate who Jay Jay seemingly has a crush on arrives and we are reminded Jay Jay is funny when he offers Kate a knuckle sandwich.
We also learn that Kate plays the groups Fighter and Jat Jay plays a Sprite: Freelik the Frenetic of Glossamir. Each players character seemingly reveals something about the players personality. Kate may be strong but her breastplate is just a shield that covers her frightened, vulnerable and wildly beating heart.
----
So, Jay Jay is a wonder-kin minor with substance abuse issues into Mazes and Monsters...what could go wrong there? He seemingly has a crush on Kate as he has a thing for older women, of course at 16 all women are older women. Jay Jay adores Kate and the Maze Controller who is fair and absolute, no overplayed arch-typical overblown player-vs-GM competition there at all.
So the girl in the group of 4 (well 3 for now) is going to play the fighter and the 16 year old boy is going to play the wild and care free sprite , Mazes & Monsters is already looking a tad removed from stereotypical D&D.
Mazes and Monsters, cover to cover ... II
Prologue:
The novel Mazes and Monsters starts out in the spring of 1980, a gifted student has disappeared from Grant University in Pequod Pennsylvania. Vanishing students aren't unheard of there but this case is different. The police discovered a connection to the game Mazes & Monsters.
We find out Mazes & Monsters is a war game played in world set a medieval background using nothing a vivid imagination, dice, pencils, graph paper and an instructional manual. Players create characters that may be Fighters, Sprites, Holy-men or Charlatans who seek treasure by navigating a series of mazes (and such) run by the Maze Controller. The mazes are filled with dangers and monsters that seek to enchant, kill, maim and paralyze the players if the players are able to do so unto their foes.
What made the disappearance and it's connection to the game significant was a group of players discovered by the police seemed to acting out these fantasies in the caverns nearby the university. These caverns had been off limits for years having claimed the lives of some hapless spelunkers decades earlier. How the police discover this isn't explained in the prologue as we discover the students aren't immediately forthcoming about the game of Mazes & Monsters.
A national media frenzy is sparked and the university is painted in an ominous light by mazes and monsters. One student shares this passage in the university newspaper "I know Mazes and Monsters is a very popular game on this campus. I played it for two years. But last summer I destroyed all of my $100 worth of equipment. The game takes control of your life...quit before it's too late." The media discovers these players could be anyone's kids as Mazes and Monsters is a game that's inside everybody.
--------
So we have discovered Mazes and Monsters is war game where the players can be controlled, maimed or killed (extreme indeed). Some kid on campus simply destroyed $100 worth of gaming gear in 1980 , that's $2654.00 in modern money , poor kid he could have unloaded all of it on ebay if only it were a couple decades later. It's all presented in a manner that is a tad melodramatic.
For those that must know there is no Pequod Pennsylvannia and of course no Grant University there, they are fictional locations, it is a novel. I suppose that means there are no caves either...
The novel Mazes and Monsters starts out in the spring of 1980, a gifted student has disappeared from Grant University in Pequod Pennsylvania. Vanishing students aren't unheard of there but this case is different. The police discovered a connection to the game Mazes & Monsters.
We find out Mazes & Monsters is a war game played in world set a medieval background using nothing a vivid imagination, dice, pencils, graph paper and an instructional manual. Players create characters that may be Fighters, Sprites, Holy-men or Charlatans who seek treasure by navigating a series of mazes (and such) run by the Maze Controller. The mazes are filled with dangers and monsters that seek to enchant, kill, maim and paralyze the players if the players are able to do so unto their foes.
What made the disappearance and it's connection to the game significant was a group of players discovered by the police seemed to acting out these fantasies in the caverns nearby the university. These caverns had been off limits for years having claimed the lives of some hapless spelunkers decades earlier. How the police discover this isn't explained in the prologue as we discover the students aren't immediately forthcoming about the game of Mazes & Monsters.
A national media frenzy is sparked and the university is painted in an ominous light by mazes and monsters. One student shares this passage in the university newspaper "I know Mazes and Monsters is a very popular game on this campus. I played it for two years. But last summer I destroyed all of my $100 worth of equipment. The game takes control of your life...quit before it's too late." The media discovers these players could be anyone's kids as Mazes and Monsters is a game that's inside everybody.
--------
So we have discovered Mazes and Monsters is war game where the players can be controlled, maimed or killed (extreme indeed). Some kid on campus simply destroyed $100 worth of gaming gear in 1980 , that's $2654.00 in modern money , poor kid he could have unloaded all of it on ebay if only it were a couple decades later. It's all presented in a manner that is a tad melodramatic.
For those that must know there is no Pequod Pennsylvannia and of course no Grant University there, they are fictional locations, it is a novel. I suppose that means there are no caves either...
Mazes and Monsters, cover to cover... I
We've all heard about the really poor film Mazes and Monsters starring Tom Hanks. It was based on a book By Rona Jaffe a moderately accomplished author, she has 17 more books published than I do, one of them was lamentably Mazes and Monsters published in 1981.
The book and film were controversial to some, hated by others. It was a very fictionalized spin on misreported actual events, the real story can be found elsewhere. I vaguely recall seeing the film itself, it was clearly nonsense at the time.
My mother got me the book sometime in the mid 80's and was glad she found me a book that was D&D related (and for a sale price). At first I was outraged...she had no idea what evils the book had wrought and clearly didn't recall seeing the horrible movie (she may have luckily missed it). I avoided going off on much of a pique and didn't' throw a tantrum or dispose of the book in the nearest trash can, Eventually I ended up reading it and not hating it all that much.
For some reason I can't recall why it's been sitting on one of my bookshelves collecting dust for the past few years while a host of other books languish in storage. there's been some buzz about Mazes and Monsters out there on the internet again so I figured it was time to re-read the book. I have read it in about 25 years and my views of literature have likely evolved some since I was younger. A re-reading of "Mazes and Monsters" by Rona Jaffe seemed a good idea to share with you, oh gentle reader, on this blog.
The dust jacket is white with a blue grid and tells us Rona Jaffe in big blue letters, is the author of "Class Reunion" a book I've never read. In smaller stylized type the tittle of the book is shown to us as a sort of dungeon map style and among the title is a small red heart. A small read heart you ask, what can that have to do with Dungeons and...I mean Mazes and Monsters?
Here are a few excerpts from the dust jacket: "It was only a game...", "four friends brought together by their obsession with a game of imagination", "They could have been anyone's kids: attractive young students sent to college to prepare for life, offered the American Dream. Yet rejected it for their secret fantasy world, Why?"," The game fulfilled their needs. But then they took it a step too far"
Hmmm...looks like we could be dealing with a cautionary tale here. The dust jacket goes on to tell us Rona Jaffe is taking us into the lives of today's generation of college students and the book is a terrifying thriller, the book is filled with treasures for the reader that will make it the most extraordinary read of the year ( I hope not,I just got back to the Children of Hurin which I'm also reading).
So there we are...how could I not continue reading after that fascinating dust jacket?
I must crack the spine for I am dying to refresh my feeble memory and delve into this perceptive work of breathtaking depth where the loves and needs of a group of youths ensnared by the strange phenomenon of Mazes and Monsters is revealed (according to the dust jacket).
more to come
The book and film were controversial to some, hated by others. It was a very fictionalized spin on misreported actual events, the real story can be found elsewhere. I vaguely recall seeing the film itself, it was clearly nonsense at the time.
My mother got me the book sometime in the mid 80's and was glad she found me a book that was D&D related (and for a sale price). At first I was outraged...she had no idea what evils the book had wrought and clearly didn't recall seeing the horrible movie (she may have luckily missed it). I avoided going off on much of a pique and didn't' throw a tantrum or dispose of the book in the nearest trash can, Eventually I ended up reading it and not hating it all that much.
For some reason I can't recall why it's been sitting on one of my bookshelves collecting dust for the past few years while a host of other books languish in storage. there's been some buzz about Mazes and Monsters out there on the internet again so I figured it was time to re-read the book. I have read it in about 25 years and my views of literature have likely evolved some since I was younger. A re-reading of "Mazes and Monsters" by Rona Jaffe seemed a good idea to share with you, oh gentle reader, on this blog.
The dust jacket is white with a blue grid and tells us Rona Jaffe in big blue letters, is the author of "Class Reunion" a book I've never read. In smaller stylized type the tittle of the book is shown to us as a sort of dungeon map style and among the title is a small red heart. A small read heart you ask, what can that have to do with Dungeons and...I mean Mazes and Monsters?
Here are a few excerpts from the dust jacket: "It was only a game...", "four friends brought together by their obsession with a game of imagination", "They could have been anyone's kids: attractive young students sent to college to prepare for life, offered the American Dream. Yet rejected it for their secret fantasy world, Why?"," The game fulfilled their needs. But then they took it a step too far"
Hmmm...looks like we could be dealing with a cautionary tale here. The dust jacket goes on to tell us Rona Jaffe is taking us into the lives of today's generation of college students and the book is a terrifying thriller, the book is filled with treasures for the reader that will make it the most extraordinary read of the year ( I hope not,I just got back to the Children of Hurin which I'm also reading).
So there we are...how could I not continue reading after that fascinating dust jacket?
I must crack the spine for I am dying to refresh my feeble memory and delve into this perceptive work of breathtaking depth where the loves and needs of a group of youths ensnared by the strange phenomenon of Mazes and Monsters is revealed (according to the dust jacket).
more to come
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