The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons And Growing Up Strange

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The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons And Growing Up Strange

3.22 of 5 stars 3.22 · rating details · 357 ratings · 106 reviews

Coventry, 1976. For a brief, blazing summer, twelve-year-old Mark Barrowcliffe had the chance to be normal.

He blew it.

While other teenagers concentrated on being coolly rebellious, Mark - like twenty million other boys in the '70s and '80s - chose to spend his entire adolescence in fart-filled bedrooms pretending to be a wizard or a warrior, an evil priest or a dwarf. Arme...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published 2007 by MACMILLAN

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Jan 28, 2009 Seth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, nonfiction

(Note, read the authors comments in the comments section, he points out a few factual errors in this review that I think are worth noting before taking my review seriously.)

Hahahaha...no.

I picked this book up because I was a huge dork in high school and middle school - the dorkiest, and hung out with some fairly damaged individuals. I was looking at a book to wince at my own memories as I share someone elses, and also in a way celebrate that time.

Barrowcliffe has...issues, though. He has a tende...more

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Mark Barrowcliffe Seth - thanks for your comment.
Just as a factual pointer, I never said school was worse than Abu Ghraib, I said the particular punishment that was met...more
Jan 28, 2009 07:04am

Seth Mark wrote: "Seth - thanks for your comment.
Just as a factual pointer, I never said school was worse than Abu Ghraib, I said the particular punishment...more
Jan 28, 2009 08:24am

Shane Hey Seth I had no idea that you already read this. Now I definitely can't wait to read it. I started writing something like this myself a year or two...more
Feb 02, 2010 06:23am

Jan 06, 2009 John Fletcher rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I picked this book up because I, like the author, starting playing D&D at an early age. (I think I was 14 instead of 12 when I started). Unlike the author however, I still play D&D about twice a month with a group of co-workers and friends.

My feeling for this book is that the author, while on the one hand fondly reminisces about the game and credits the game for many aspects of his adult personality, on the other he clearly holds and demonstrates a certain amount of disdain and ridicule...more

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Dec 17, 2008 Alisa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I wanted to read this book because I have the 'elfish gene' myself (although I never played D&D), and now that I *have* read it, I'm not sure how to rate it. Yes, I did find it a compulsive read, but by the end I was alternately disliking the author and feeling sorry for him. Though he claims to have 'grown up', he seems exactly the same as he was as a teenager, with all the accompanying and annoying character traits. For instance, as a teen, he found his own way of claiming 'coolness' by re...more

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Oct 31, 2008 Josh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Not badly written, but not a very fun read. Barrowcliffe treats his subject (himself and other adolescent D&D players) with disdain, which makes what should be an entertaining read much less enjoyable.

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Nov 10, 2011 Paula Lyle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

I would have liked it a lot more if the author had not felt the need to tell us how different his adolescence would have been, if only he had been grown-up at the time.

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Mar 05, 2012 Kathleen Dixon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Rupert

Shelves: biography, fantasy

The title of this grabbed me - I was walking through the library having selected the books I wanted/had reserved, and just happened to glance to my right as I passed one of those display shelves they have specifically with the intention of luring you over. I was lured.

When I was in my early 20s (30 years ago, she says, revealing her age) my then-husband and I were curious about Dungeons and Dragons. But we didn't know anybody else who was remotely interested so we never got involved. That was po...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Jody Mena added it · review of another edition

This book is unique in my view. Biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, these always seem to be by or about people who are leaders rather than followers, who stand out rather than blend in, and who tipify quailities and goals that are either generally praised or universally loathed by the society. This book is about one boy with an overactive imagination who is pretty much the 'everyman' of the 'nerd' world, and pretty much the antithesis of the above. Yet at the same time, this manages to be an...more

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Dec 31, 2008 Sean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: funny, non-fiction, games, memoir

Got this for Christmas and *cough* I really enjoyed it. I think anyone who grew up playing D&D or some variation of it would as well. Funny, honest, and at times sad, "The Elfish Gene" definitely brought me back to years 9 through 12 when I played it with what could only be described as maniacal zeal. The storytelling, for someone who can empathize, can be also a bit embarrassing at times, as you identify with the ridicuously over-the-top geekiness he describes--and realizing, years later, t...more

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Nov 25, 2008 Stuart Nachbar rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Elfish Gene was a fun story that made me think about the question: what is a nerd? Webster’s dictionary equates a nerd with a gearhead, a person who is extremely interested and knowledgeable about computers, electronics, technology, and gadgets. But Dungeons and Dragons is a card and board game; it has absolutely nothing to do with modern technology and computers.

And I must add that people who bury themselves in other interests, including role-playing games, politics and football statistics...more The Elfish Gene was a fun story that made me think about the question: what is a nerd? Webster’s dictionary equates a nerd with a gearhead, a person who is extremely interested and knowledgeable about computers, electronics, technology, and gadgets. But Dungeons and Dragons is a card and board game; it has absolutely nothing to do with modern technology and computers.

And I must add that people who bury themselves in other interests, including role-playing games, politics and football statistics, to the exclusion of outside social interactions, and sometimes personal hygiene, are also nerds. And that’s Barrowcliffe’s point too. This does not make them bad people; it just means that their social circles are drawn almost exclusively around their interests. That’s fine for young children, when they’re safe in someone’s living room playing a board game, but as Barrowcliffe reminisces, it becomes a strange obsession for adults, an odd deviation from what he calls a “normal” path of a child life, school, work, and death.

But Barrowcliffe takes the obsession further, by saying that his infatuation with Dungeons and Dragons was equal to a drug addiction. Not that role playing is an illegal or illicit act, but the game, like drugs has the highest highs and lowest lows, and those highs and lows drive the rest of your life. Even a knock at a front door becomes an exercise in a demonstration of role-playing bravado. And like drugs, these games provide an escape from a less pleasant reality.

Barrowcliffe described himself as socially awkward and in his words “un-cool,” but he did not know how to get the keys to the kingdom of “coolness” in his working class neighborhood. But he is cool in the role playing world, for instance, when his parents allow their home to be a host dungeon for thirty gamers fueled by Mom’s sandwiches and scones. He tries to fit in with the best of the gamers, even allowing them to call him Spaz, hardly a flattering nickname. But he is also clever, for instance, when his mother knits him a stuffed Kermit the Frog, he later realizes that the figure more resembles a powerful mythical lizard, and therefore, tries to make the un-cool cool.

I recommend this book to parents who are raising game-playing nerds. And caution them. An obsession with a role-playing game is far from a measure of intelligence. It is an activity that might stimulate some learning, but an obsession can take one away from life lessons, such as those learned in school or at work. Even the brightest of nerds have to earn a living one day and they have to interact outside their own social circles.(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 Chris Witt rated it 2 of 5 stars

Seriously almost brought this back to the library after about 30 pages, just finding it incredibly dull and not what I expected.

But it picked up really fast after that and was an enjoyable read for somebody who would probably say he's somewhat of a fantasy addict. Not D&D, but I am hooked on sport simulations and aside from not dressing up as characters, it's fairly similar - living in a fantasy world.

Barrowcliffe's story deals with coming-of-age around the same time as the initial release o...more

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Mar 01, 2011 MJ Nicholls rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, virtual-insanity, sassysassenachs

I’m doing some early research for a possible creative non-fiction book about gaming addiction. I spent my childhood hooked on Sega Mega Drive and Playstation games, withdrawing from the outside world into a realm of spinning hedgehogs and spinning bandicoots.

I can relate, then, to the author of this memoir, who spent his teenhood hooked on Dungeons & Dragons. The central difference between an addiction to an RPG like this and video games is human contact. The RPG involves interacting with o...more

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David Katzman I was a huge D&D player through middle school and high school. There was nothing particularly addictive about it other than that it was AWESOME. I...more
Mar 02, 2011 10:37am

MJ Nicholls Well now that is interesting. The author of this book doesn't mention the impact D&D had on his creative life. He's the author of four lit-fic boo...more
Mar 02, 2011 01:05pm

David Katzman Too bad. He seems so ashamed of his experiences. D&D had many positive aspects. When you were the Dungeon Master (if you took it seriously), you h...more
Mar 02, 2011 01:16pm

May 17, 2010 David added it

This is the funniest book I’ve read for years. The sort where if you’re reading it in a public place you have to bite your lips or cover your mouth. So much rang true, and even the photo on the cover flashed me back to my friends of those days. I never played D&D but I went through a few years of Napoleonic war games, where we’d meet every Sunday at a friend’s gaming room on the second floor of the lighthouse his parents lived in. But it was mostly his living in a fantasy world for his entir...more This is the funniest book I’ve read for years. The sort where if you’re reading it in a public place you have to bite your lips or cover your mouth. So much rang true, and even the photo on the cover flashed me back to my friends of those days. I never played D&D but I went through a few years of Napoleonic war games, where we’d meet every Sunday at a friend’s gaming room on the second floor of the lighthouse his parents lived in. But it was mostly his living in a fantasy world for his entire teens, and I know how rich that can be but at the same time how it doesn’t exactly prepare you for grim reality when you eventually have to get a job and take on responsibilities. A few things he said stuck out for me:

"After university, I spent a decade being deeply dissatisfied with my life and drinking heavily. All the time I’d been growing up I’d never felt bored, not even once. The trouble is that boredom is a fairly major component of most jobs. I never learned to cope with it. After all those years in the fantasy kingdoms then life as a nine-to-five commuter felt like the worst sort of curse. On one occasion, returning from a two-week break in the sun, I actually found myself crying on the way in to work. D&D had prepared me for a life of excitement. Now, it seemed, I was sentenced to crushing ennui for the rest of my days... Eventually I really couldn’t stand work any longer and decided it was better to be a pauper in a fantasy world than relatively well off in the real one. Without D&D I don’t think I’d have been so unhappy and would not have left to become a writer. That might have been a good thing. At the very least I’d be driving a better car."

"The big stuff in life sometimes doesn’t happen with crashes and bangs, it just happens, and it’s only later that you feel its impact."

But at the same time he shouldn’t come down so hard on his adolescent entertainment. It was indeed a rich and fulfilling time, and he could have been spending it hanging about on street corners. He had a vivid imagination and fed it with games, fantasy novels, heavy metal – so why not? And later he may have been driven to leave conventional work and become a writer, but I’d see that as a blessing in disguise and he should thank D&D for setting his character up like that, even if he could have afforded a better car if he’d stuck with the nine-to-five. And the great thing about writing for a living is that, again, you’re never bored. Terrified sometimes LOL but never ever bored. What happened to me in 15 years of conventional work? I can’t remember any of it apart from a few good jokes, a lot of boredom and frustration, sheer lunacy of sitting in meeting rooms listening to grown men agonise over the correct format for an invoice, and an overwhelming sensation that it was school repeating itself, but a lot worse. Anyway, enough of the rant... I like this guy, and I understand exactly what he’s talking about.
(less)

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Jan 13, 2010 Melody May rated it 2 of 5 stars

As many of you know, I am a Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) enthusiast; so was Mark Barrowcliffe until he decided that it was the cause of all his problems. This book really should have been called, Gaming Obsession and How Not To Play.

Basically, the book is a memoir of his awkward early years spent lost in his own reality, obsessing over the one outlet he found for his intelligence and imagination: D&D. Some of the anecdotes included are hilarious, for example the time he nearly sets his fr...more

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May 24, 2009 Emily Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Frankly, this book is hilarious. Please read it.

Although there are some fundamental differences between myself and the author (I am a girl who came of age in the 1990's and have never played D&D, while he is a boy who came of age in 1970's and had no life outside of D&D), ultimately we had plenty in common. Like him, I was fundamentally a good kid who just couldn't figure out how to fit in with the mainstream of "cool". So I invented my own.

For me, this came in the form of Xena: Warrior...more

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Nov 21, 2008 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

Apparently Mark Barrowcliffe was much more obsessed with D&D than I was, and he gives a very funny account of what that is like. At times it is pretty hard to sympathize the young Mark, although the older Mark does recognize that he was a major ass as a teenager. At times he wants to blame a lot of later unhappiness on his wasted youth, and he repeatedly describes himself and his gaming buddies as "addicts" which I guess is possible but seems a little over the top.

Anyway there are some fairl...more

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Jan 14, 2009 Rick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography, humor, non-fiction

This was an engaging, fun read -- often humorous and sometimes cringe-worthy -- about the author's childhood obsession with Dungeons & Dragons. It was pretty cool to read a memoir about D&D, combined with a look at 70s England.

My only criticism is below the spoiler line.

+++++++++++++++++SPOILER!+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK, my gripe about this book is the author's contention that not only do only nerds play roleplaying games, but the games in fact make people obsessive...more This was an engaging, fun read -- often humorous and sometimes cringe-worthy -- about the author's childhood obsession with Dungeons & Dragons. It was pretty cool to read a memoir about D&D, combined with a look at 70s England.

My only criticism is below the spoiler line.

+++++++++++++++++SPOILER!+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OK, my gripe about this book is the author's contention that not only do only nerds play roleplaying games, but the games in fact make people obsessive and nerdier -- or in his words, wankers.

But having read this book, it is pretty clear that the author was a wanker before D&D ever entered his life. He comes off as very socially maladjusted youth and clueless as to how to even talk with other people -- boy, girl, man or woman. It is pretty clear that if he hadn't fell in with D&D, he would have become obsessed with any number of things, which would have become the total focus of his life instead of roleplaying. He seems to have a all-or-nothing attitude in whatever he does, given his total avoidance of anything "fantasy"-related today. He even complains that his fantasy-gaming youth made it impossible for him to adjust to the realities and boredom of office work... yeah... just like playing baseball or breathing will.

Now, of course there are many nerds, sociopaths and other freaks who roleplay. I know, I played D&D from grade school into high school, picking it back up again in college before leaving it behind for other games. I met a lot of total wankers and psychos. But I met a lot of those at rock concerts too. And at work. And just about anywhere. Frankly, most people I played with were normal kids. Hell, the guy who introduced me to D&D was the grade school's top jock and one of the most popular kids. And while I spent a great deal of time playing it, I never lost sight of reality like the author seemed to. Nor did anyone I know. It was just a game, like bridge or poker or video games.

So his constant attempts to paint D&D as a nerd-making game are fairly lame. Yeah, a lot of nerds play it. So do a lot of nerds play video games, and no one says "you're playing wii? you are such a nerd!" (less)

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Dec 15, 2009 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

In The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange, author Mark Barrowcliffe presents his memoir of what it was like to grow up during the 70s in Coventry, England and being utterly, hopelessly, and unhealthily obsessed with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. As someone who was himself once obsessed with D&D to the point of being able to recite entire blocks of text from the Monster Manual or tell you how many level 3 spells an 8th level Magic-User could cast, this was a...more In The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange, author Mark Barrowcliffe presents his memoir of what it was like to grow up during the 70s in Coventry, England and being utterly, hopelessly, and unhealthily obsessed with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. As someone who was himself once obsessed with D&D to the point of being able to recite entire blocks of text from the Monster Manual or tell you how many level 3 spells an 8th level Magic-User could cast, this was a good enough hook for me. I'd been there, albeit about a decade later and on the other side of the Atlantic. I wanted to compare notes.

The problem is that it's difficult to figure out who the audience for The Elfish Gene is supposed to be. Barrowfliffe certainly goes in to a lot of detail about his obsession with the game, and I think that any past or current D&D player would be hard pressed NOT to identify with something from the book. Maybe it would be the way the author would show up at schoolmates' houses awkwardly hoping for a game, or maybe how he delighted in his discovery of the area where D&D and heavy metal overlapped in a Venn diagram. Or maybe how his parents would --as only a loving if confused parent can-- feign interest in his nattering about hit dice, kobolds, and +5 vorpal swords.

Likewise, Barrofcliffe does have some genuine insights about how kids see social class, what drives teenage boys to be sardonic bastards, the nature of counter-cultures, hero worship among the self-loathing, and like. It's all very introspective and again it's sometimes interesting to compare experiences from my own adolescence.

There are also a few really funny bits to the book, and Barrowcliffe is not without the ability to occasionally turn an amusing phrase or describe a situation so absurd that it can only be a true tale born of childhood's own brand of logic. There is, for example, the time he plans to ignite a balloon full of lighter fluid in order to recreate a fireball spell, but sets his friend's bathroom on ablaze during a test run. Or the time that he decides to evaluate his ninja abilities by jumping, practically naked, from his bed into his dirty clothes hamper (of course!), only to miscalculate things and end up knocking himself out and leaving his befuddled parents to conclude that it must have been some bizarre masturbation ritual. Because, frankly, that's more believable than the ninja thing.

On the other hand, Barrowcliffe isn't describing all this in the context of nostalgia. Not even the wry, "can you believe what we used to think was cool" brand of nostalgia. From the opening pages of the memoir, it's clear that the author thinks that getting into D&D was a huge mistake for his teenage self, and that if he had only chosen a different path --one populated by girls and carburetors and maybe cricket-- he'd have actually been happy, well adjusted, and better off in life. In fact, he's downright disdainful of the game and those who play it, right up to the epilogue where he makes a half-hearted attempt to join a modern day game and ends up deriding the players and literally running for his life.

There are just no upsides to the game in the author's view. Everyone who plays it does so because he's a socially inept, hopelessly nerdy git. This is mostly because Barrowcliffe is (well, was) himself a socially inept, hopelessly nerdy git and he doesn't bother to see past his own nose. He's rather blame everything on the game. While D&D certainly attracts the nerdiest of the nerds (surely even more true of early adopters in the 70s than it is today), there are many positive things the author could have said about D&D if you weren't so bent on self-deprication. It encourages reading, it develops logical reasoning, it fires the imagination, and it's an inherently social game, just to name a few.

But there's none of that; the treatment of the game is entirely lopsided. A more complete book would have delved more into the history of the game and how it evolved, along with the author, over the course of its life. There would have also been more examination of the gaming subculture on a wider scale, as well as its many offshoots into other forms of entertainment. Of course, you can say that this is a memoir, and since Barrofcliffe gave up D&D for life and developed other interests, he can't very well talk about all that, can he? And that's fair enough. But it remains that Barrowfcliffe doesn't understand about role-playing games or the attendant culture. He understands about being a socially retarded teenager seeking escape from life. And yes, there's a difference.(less)

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Apr 18, 2009 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, historical, humor, life, nonfiction, not-graphic, voice

On the Monday the school term began, and by the Tuesday the dark forces would take me. Family, friends, girls, food, everything would become as bright images receding into a void as I slipped into a shadow world from which I have never truly emerged. I would discover Dungeons and Dragons.

The thing is that, had I known my fate, I wouldn't have run away. I would have run towards it.

-----

I've always had the habit of carrying something to read with me, never knowing when an opportunity might present...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Thermalsatsuma rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-a-week-2009

The late 70s was a particularly grim time. Economic crisis, terrorism, unemployment, an unpopular labour government - is this all starting to sound familiar? What more natural response than to turn your back on the whole mess and escape into the world of fantasy? That is exactly what author Mark Barrowcliffe did when he discovered Dungeons and Dragons, and threw himself headlong into for most of his teenaged years.

In much the same way as Andrew Collins mirrored my life of late 60s and early 70s...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Luciano Zorzetto rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have mixed feelings about this story as an ex-role-playing gamer myself.
The author was a complete D&D addict in his teenage years, years mythical to me as a fan, i.e. the late '70s, when the game was new to the world - I wasn't even born.
His identification with the fictional characters he played is uncanny, the antics described sometimes truly embarrassing and sad. Some moments are hysterically funny, though - I think of his ill-fated attempt to impersonate a ninja in his own home or the e...more

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Dec 20, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Oh, Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, I too once owned a 100 sided die. Mark Barrowcliffe has written an autobiographical novel about his obsession with the game while growing up in Coventry, England in the late seventies and eighties. And The Elfish Gene is very funny, indeed. There is a section involving balloons, butane (he calls it lighter gas, but I'm assuming it's butane) and matches as an attempt to throw fireballs that so well written, I cringed, shook my head and laughed at the same time. Barr...more

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Jul 20, 2008 Kirsty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I was sucked in by the title, but the rest of the book did not disappoint. There was some clunky writing and it could have done with some restructuring, but I loved reading about the world of a nerdy Northern teen in the 70s.

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Jan 14, 2009 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir-biography

This book was funny, and I found myself laughing aloud several times. Made me want to dig out my books and find a gaming group again, despite the nerdy face he puts on the whole world of role-playing games. (For the record I was never a nerd. A closet-geek perhaps, but never a nerd. I played to experience the generation of creativity to put to use in writing fiction. Like Salvatore. Um... yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
However I was saddened by his obvious reproach, particularly b...more

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Feb 12, 2009 Katharine rated it 3 of 5 stars

page 42

"It's an odd fact of life that you don't really remember the good times all that well. I have only mental snapshots of birthday parties, skiing, beach holidays, my wedding. The bad times too are just impressions. I can see myself standing at the end of some bed while someone I love is dying, or on the way home from a girlfriend's after I've been dumped, but again, they're just pictures. For full Technicolor, script plus subtitles plus commemorative programme in the memory, though, nothing...more

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Apr 20, 2012 P. Aaron Potter rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: geek

The author is under the impression that Dungeons and Dragons caused, or exacerbated, his social problems as an adolescent and young adult. As other reviewers have noted, there's plenty of evidence that he has reversed cause and effect: fleeing his own maladjustment, the author escaped to a venue of fantasy and action which was easier for him to understand.

This would be bad enough, but the real tragedy of this book is the degree to which the author bends over backwards to ignore all the evidence...more The author is under the impression that Dungeons and Dragons caused, or exacerbated, his social problems as an adolescent and young adult. As other reviewers have noted, there's plenty of evidence that he has reversed cause and effect: fleeing his own maladjustment, the author escaped to a venue of fantasy and action which was easier for him to understand.

This would be bad enough, but the real tragedy of this book is the degree to which the author bends over backwards to ignore all the evidence that this fantasy universe is where he belongs. In adulthood, it turns out, plenty of his friends still play, and are able to carry on normal lives outside of their hobby. He dismisses these as flukes. As an adult, he discovers that well adjusted men (and even, by golly, women) play RPGs without any of the ill effects he attributed to his own obsession. He decides these must be rare exceptions. It is inconceivable to him that the problem is not the game, but him.

The final scene is particularly sad. The author, who confesses he weeps sometimes because he longs for that fantasy venue again so very badly, tries out a modern game. All is going well, and he's actually happy, for just a moment...then runs out of the house, convinced he has "escaped" the gravitational pull of his old madness. The tragedy is that gaming is clearly the only thing that's ever made this poor sap happy. He takes refuge in *other* games -- the games of money and relationships which constitute his "real" life - without recognizing that the very skills which he depends upon in those situations - the ability to compromise, to approach strangers, to use a system of rules, the ability to tell a story - are the ones he only developed in his gaming hobby.

The only potential happy ending to this tale would be if he finally realized that, and returned to the games which made him what he is today. If he's happy at all with who that person is, he needs to recognize the gifts gaming gave him, instead of harping on its occasional abuses. I honestly wish him luck with that, even while lamenting that this book stands as testimony to the unlikelihood of such a resolution.(less)

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Sep 24, 2011 Toshi rated it 1 of 5 stars

I picked this book up in an airport while traveling and thought it would be a fun, humorous look back on life as a gamer. I played RPGs in middle and high school, though I apparently wasn't as hard core as the author was. By the end of chapter 1 I found that the only humor the author included was mean spirited and belittling. As I said before, I expected some self effacing humor, and humor at the sake of gamers he played with, but this book amounted to a prolonged bitchfest where the author does...more I picked this book up in an airport while traveling and thought it would be a fun, humorous look back on life as a gamer. I played RPGs in middle and high school, though I apparently wasn't as hard core as the author was. By the end of chapter 1 I found that the only humor the author included was mean spirited and belittling. As I said before, I expected some self effacing humor, and humor at the sake of gamers he played with, but this book amounted to a prolonged bitchfest where the author does nothing but whine about how he could have/should have grown up "normal" and how playing RPGs isn't as useful as dating or learning to play the guitar. I have a problem with that opinion.
I am still a pretty nerdy guy. I play video games a lot, watch the occasional Anime, geek out over comic books, and zombies, but (and this is impossible according the the author) I have a wife and kid who I love, and am loved by. I didn't do anything social in high school, my wife did everything in high school, but once you enter the real world and grow out of the limited perspective you have in high school it's possible to not fit into stereotypes and still exist.
From the portions of the book I was able to tolerate reading before ultimately giving up, it seems that the author's friends are at least partially to blame for his damaged perspective on gaming, and reality. All are either petty, backstabbing, little weasels, or power tripping assholes with massive inferiority complexes they mask with god complexes. If this type of person is the only type he ever role played with I can see why he might look down on it with the level of disdain that he does, but to do so overlooks the fact that you pick your friends/role playing companions. If I played with someone who spent the whole time acting like a douchebag he'd either be kicked out, or not allowed back to the next session.
The last gripe I have (and this may be due to the period he was playing in) is that every RPG I've played (and that's a lot) has been story and character driven. The GM usually has a story drawn up, but 90% of the time one of us would do something unexpected and he'd have to work with it. If you're GM ever said "no you can't do that because I need you to do ___" he'd have been fired for being unable to do his job. Sure he's god in that world, but without freewill why play? When done right playing an RPG should be almost like a battle of wits between the players and the GM/DM. The players constantly trying to act in accordance with their characters (admittedly some better than others), while trying to simultaneously figure out what the GM's goals are, and do something else to screw with him. Meanwhile the GM has to tell a compelling and interesting story and handle the shenanigans of the players without power tripping and either killing people off out of annoyance or removing player's options. If done like this the experience is deep, fun, and massively encourages creativity, problem solving, and teamwork (to piss off the GM). All are more useful that being able to play kumbaya around a camp fire.(less)

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Jul 21, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I had grown up in the time period, this might have been my life. For me, it was the computer, some low level programming and the animated adventure game, rather than the D&D games of his youth. Which makes me identify quite easily with the author, a nerd who made no effort to hide it, and in fact was quite proud of his different interests, which were not shared by many of his peers. One difference, though, and I think a very interesting one -- his "strange" (word from title) obsession was...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction

Barrowcliffe describes Dungeons and Dragons, at the height of its fame, as being played by millions of boys and two girls. Well, I was one of those girls. And that's ok, I'm comfortable in the fact that I was and still am, a total nerd. And a memoir about Dungeons and Dragons in quite unique.

Barrowcliffe was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons at a young age. And once immersed he stayed in the life for quite awhile. In fact, he became obsessed with it. All his pocket money went to D&D figurin...more
Barrowcliffe describes Dungeons and Dragons, at the height of its fame, as being played by millions of boys and two girls. Well, I was one of those girls. And that's ok, I'm comfortable in the fact that I was and still am, a total nerd. And a memoir about Dungeons and Dragons in quite unique.

Barrowcliffe was introduced to Dungeons and Dragons at a young age. And once immersed he stayed in the life for quite awhile. In fact, he became obsessed with it. All his pocket money went to D&D figurines, books, and other such fantasy role playing games. His free time, playing games with large groups or one other person. And his normal conversation? Well, it couldn't get out of the Dungeon either, and not many people want to know the hitpoints of a dire wolf. As he grows he stays immersed in the Dungeons and Dragons world, until finally hitting his twenties and leaving it for what he calls reality.

Barrowcliffe freely admits that he was obnoxious and annoying in this book. And I have to agree with him. There were so many times I wanted to roll my eyes or shake my head that I lost count. And while it makes for a true seeming memoir, it can also irritate because you don't like hanging around those types of people let alone reading about that. He did describe the other players fairly. He was sure to list out their bad qualities, but also tell why he looked up to them. And he gave a bit of an epilogue letting you know what happened to them and if they escaped their D&D addiction.

I was once a halfling cleric named Nyaevae. If you're already lost at this point you're going to be hopelessly lost while reading this book. There is a lot of technical language about D&D that someone who's never played before isn't going to recognize. Sure Barrowcliffe explains some of the terms, but it still would be quite confusing for those who haven't even played one game. Also, there is some cursing and a little bit of violence and sex in this book, for those that pay attention to that sort of thing. The memoir itself has some interesting aspects, and it did bring up a lot of old memories. However, at times I found it boring and tedious as I really didn't care about some of Barrowcliffe's exploits. Especially since they were repetitive in the fact that he gamed and there was friction amongst the players in the game. I was also a little sad at how he seemed to look down on the players of the game now, most significantly if they were adults playing the game. I don't consider myself to be too pitiful and I would still play a game at this age if given the time and opportunity. Or maybe that says something about me I just haven't realized yet.

An interesting book for all those fellow D&D nerds out there. You may agree or disagree with Barrowcliffe, but he does stir up the memories.

The Elfish Gene
Copyright 2007
277 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2013

More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com (less)

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Apr 23, 2012 Craig a.k.a Meatstack rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, deadtree, library, favorites, non-fiction

I don't think this book is for everyone.

I think you had to spend 20 hours straight sitting around a table in someone's garage, every weekend, eating nothing but the worst kind of junk food, with people 45 degrees off of normal, and then be driven back home in the backseat of your friend's car with Iron Maiden blaring so loud you get sick in the stomach to get some of this book.

I think you have to have dug a hole in your back yard and jumped in and out of it every day, and every day you dug it a...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Shane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, nonfiction, rpg

This was suggested by my favorite aunt Suzze - it looks hilarious.

I found this book to be very interesting and more than a couple times laugh out loud funny. At first I was really curious about the difference between the "beginnings of gaming" in another country but then I found that the whole thing was a completely different experience for Mr. Barrowcliffe.

You'll have to forgive me but reading this book has really made me want to write about my experiences.

It was really strange all the talk of...more

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About Mark Barrowcliffe

Aka M.D. Lachlan.

He grew up in Coventry and studied at the University of Sussex. He worked as a journalist and also as a stand-up comedian before he started writing his first novel, Girlfriend 44. He lives and writes in Brighton, England and South Cambridgeshire. Ron Howard secured the film rights for Girlfriend 44 and Infidelity for First Time Fathers is in development with 2929.

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“...an obsession is a way for damaged people to damage themselves more.” — 20 people liked it

“It's an odd fact of life that you don't really remember the good times all that well. I have only mental snapshots of birthday parties, skiing, beach holidays, my wedding. The bad times too are just impressions. I can see myself standing at the end of some bed while someone I love is dying, or on the way home from a girlfriend's after I've been dumped, but again, they're just pictures. For full Technicolor, script plus subtitles plus commemorative programme in the memory, though, nothing beats embarrassment. You tend to remember the lines pretty well once you've woken screaming them at midnight a few times.” — 5 people liked it

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