Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

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Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

by Ethan Gilsdorf

3.21 · rating details · 255 ratings · 75 reviews

Fantasy. Science fiction. Role-playing games. People around the globe turn away from the "real" world to inhabit others. Movie fan-freaks design costumes and collect "Lord of the Rings "action figures. Some attend comic book conventions and Renaissance fairs, others play live-action role-playing games (LARPs). The online game World of Warcraft (WoW) has...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published September 1st 2009 by Lyons Press (first published 2009)

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Jul 22, 2011

David Sarkies rated it

Shelves: sociology

Being a committed roleplayer when I saw this book (on sale at a bankrupt Borders Books) I purchased it and put it near the top of my reading list. I was a little disappointed though because even though it is a study of fantasy and gaming culture, it was quite subjective for my tastes and there was a lot comment about the author's life, and to be quite honest, the author seemed to be a little stuck up himself.
While he is correct that in the 70's and 80's, when roleplaying began to take off...more Being a committed roleplayer when I saw this book (on sale at a bankrupt Borders Books) I purchased it and put it near the top of my reading list. I was a little disappointed though because even though it is a study of fantasy and gaming culture, it was quite subjective for my tastes and there was a lot comment about the author's life, and to be quite honest, the author seemed to be a little stuck up himself.
While he is correct that in the 70's and 80's, when roleplaying began to take off, it was a hobby played mostly by marginalised people, and that in the thirty years since it has moved into the mainstream, there are a number of suppositions that I simply do not agree with. It is clear that the author is not a Christian, and seems to consider Christians to be caught up in a fantasy world, though throughout the book, the author seems to be struggling with his own fantasy world, and seems to attempt to escape it and at other times seems to embrace it. However, a lot of the aspects of roleplaying that he describes very much apply to the church. While roleplaying may now be mainstream, there still seems to be a hesitance among the participants that they actually engage in the activity. I know that I have that hesitance at times. However, it isn't exactly the only society that lives in a marginalised world. People who adhear to a particular religious philosophy and drug users also fall into that category. The difference is that people tend not to be incarcerated or even killed for roleplaying. They never have and it is highly unlikely that they ever will.
There is also his supposition that fantasy roleplayers have a yearning for an idealistic past, though being a student of history I can say that there is no idealistic past. While some believe there was a time when there were monsters (and to an ancient Roman, an elephant was pretty scary, as was a lion), and that there were practitioners of magic, these things were never all that rosey. He also seems to describe science-fiction as being depressing, and while some sci-fi games like Shadowrun and Cyberpunk are very dark, we also have Star Trek and Star Wars. Whereas fantasy roleplayers have a yearning for the past, there is also a desire to see an idealised future where all of our problems have been solved.
As for me, I roleplay because it's fun (I mostly DM because I simply have never found the same enjoyment in playing). When I last played (as of this writing) we spent time playing, and we spent time talking about nothing in particular. My group (for want of a better definition, at best we have 5 people, but in a lot of cases there are only three of us) doesn't take the game all that seriously and we simply get together as a social event. As for his descriptions of the events and how everybody is welcomed and feels a part of something, I must say that that is idealistic at best. I have LARPed, and the LARP that I played in was full of snobs.
My biggest issue with roleplaying is that there are people, normally called power gamers, who use the game to make themselves feel good about themselves, and when something bad happens, then they throw a tantrum. As for LARPs, that was an exercise in losers throwing their weight around a bunch of losers. Nine years after I stopped LARPing I see some of the bigwigs in the LARP working as delivery boys. While there is nothing wrong with being a delivery boy, these guys have university degrees, and it is not as if it is a job one does between jobs, this job seems to be their career. Such is irony.(less)

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Dec 14, 2009

Kit rated it

I didn't realize when I picked up this book that it would be, like Julie and Julia or The Year of Living Biblically, one of those "I gave myself a quest and wrote about it so that I could get a book published" books. In Gilsdorf's case, his quest is a mid-life-crisis fueled desire to find out if it's possible to go back to his geeky roots without being a geek. Or something like that. Unfortunately, although his story of growing up with a disabled mother could be very powerful if follow...more

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Apr 01, 2010

Sarah rated it

Recommends it for: anyone who is a gamer, was a gamer, knows a gamer, and loves a gamer

Shelves: non-fiction

4.1.10:
Now that I've finished the book, I have to say that I'm disappointed. Gilsdorf doesn't end the book the way I would hope a book about fantasy and questing would end, with a winner and a resolution. But that's the entire point. Real life is murky; it has shades of grey that can't be resolved. There isn't a winner and there isn't a looser - maybe Spike said it best, "Life isn't bliss. Life is just this; it's living." For me, the ending I hoped for was a hope that I can find ...more

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Jun 13, 2011

Gerhardt Himmelmann rated it

Shelves: read-2011

Reading this one on paper!

----

Well, this was downright weird. I thought I would be reading a journalistic exploration of fantasy and gaming subcultures, but Gilsdorf ventures way beyond this into what reads like not only armchair psychoanalysis, but armchair self-psychoanalysis. Throughout the book, he vacillates both on the idea of participation in these subcultures as escapism, and on the harmfulness of that escapism.

The author's coming to terms with his la...more

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Dec 11, 2009

Abraham rated it

Shelves: misc-non-fiction, biographies

Ethan Gilsdorf was heavy into Dungeons and Dragons as a teen, during the late seventies and early eighties. In his senior year of high school he discovered girls -- or rather one discovered him -- and so he set down his multi-colored dice and turned his back on Nerd-dom and Geekery.

But, a few years into his forties, he has an epiphany: hey, I should look back into D&D and other geeky stuff, then make a book about it! So he did and this is what came out of it all. The reader gets to ...moreEthan Gilsdorf was heavy into Dungeons and Dragons as a teen, during the late seventies and early eighties. In his senior year of high school he discovered girls -- or rather one discovered him -- and so he set down his multi-colored dice and turned his back on Nerd-dom and Geekery.

But, a few years into his forties, he has an epiphany: hey, I should look back into D&D and other geeky stuff, then make a book about it! So he did and this is what came out of it all. The reader gets to follow along as the author explores D&D (an old tabletop, paper-and-pencil game, wherein a group of players travel through dungeons and defeat monsters; the precursor to MMOs), LARPs (Live Action Role Playing: basically D&D, but you dress up and run around the woods; D&D "for real"), the SCA (the Society for Creative Anachronism: Renaissance Fair-type stuff, though no one gets paid), Dragon*Con (an SF and Fantasy convention, wherein people dress up and meet "stars"), MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online games), and even New Zealand (aka, Middle Earth -- sort of).

I have always been curious about geeks and what you might call "geek culture." And yes, I have been called a "geek" and a "nerd" -- though, these days, who hasn't? So, as they say, this book is relevant to my interests. Yet, somehow, I have never participated or even been particularly interested in any of the things this book discusses -- I haven't even read any of the Middle Earth/Tolkien books. Reading this book draws me towards some of these activities and away from others: I promise, here and now, to at least read The Hobbit; MMOs seem as repulsive as ever; D&D is a "maybe someday"; and I still haven't made up my mind on all those other, costume-y affairs.

This book does a decent job of portraying each group and activity while staying fairly objective about it. Of course, it's not exactly the doom and gloom of some zealot parent groups and the like, but the author seems forever sceptical. Throughout, there is a discussion of escapism: does the goofy stuff these people do qualify as escapism? Is escapism a healthy release of our inner urges and struggles, or does it make things worse? In the end, I think the author and I agree that it's all pretty harmless stuff -- and maybe even beneficial in some cases. Sure, they may look like goofballs, but they're not hurting anyone -- and no one's mind is seriously warped from, say, spending a week out in the woods, dressed as a knight or maiden. And, hey, maybe they'll encounter some kindred spirits -- it's no secret that many geeks have married someone they discovered at some geeky activity or other.

And yes, as has already been said by others, the author laces the descriptions of the people and activities he discovers on his travels with his own, somewhat whiny story. Can he grow up and become a family man? Does he even want to? Honestly, I don't care. Honestly, why should I? He is just another in the pack, another writer, and can't seem to accept that. Nor can he accept that he is much less interesting than his chosen topics, and, often times, less interesting than the people he encounters. Why must everything somehow relate back to him?

Ignoring this, and the author's other deficiencies as a writer, is fairly easy. Things don't always flow easily, some lines or paragraphs could be better stated, but he is competent. He gets his point across -- at least enough to teach me a few things and get me interested in his chosen topics.

In summation: Three stars.

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Sep 28, 2009

Mark rated it

I'm wondering if I came to this book with the wrong expectations... my first instinct is to write a pithy/snarky blurb along the lines of "Watch THE GUILD, read some classic KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE... and you'll get more enjoyment than you would reading this book."

Why the negative reaction to what is, admittedly, a well-written series of glimpses into some seldom-seen corners of the fantasy gaming universe? The author encounters some interesting people and does a good jo...more

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Dec 09, 2010

David Brawley rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: library

Ethan is a gaming geek and a fantasy freak. He had set aside geeky things for a long time, but has been called back, and he has to decide whether to answer the call or not. This is a self-conscious journey as he tries to come to grips with his inner geek. From the battlefields of Pennsic to the spectacular vistas of Azaroth, to a small town in Wisconsin and on to Middle-Earth and New Zealand, Ethan's journey spans this world and several others. He encounters numerous well adjusted individua...more

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Apr 08, 2010

Cymberleah Dawne rated it

I very rarely get over halfway through a book and not want to finish. Normally I know after the first few chapters if I want to keep going. This book suckered me in with the pathos of growing up with a broken mother, and I liked the concept of revisiting nerdy persuits after giving them up. What I did not like was the consistent navel-gazing and morose pondering that the author worried that he wad turning into one of "those people" every time he enjoyed one of the subjects of his chapt...more

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Dec 06, 2009

Shedrick Pittman-Hassett rated it

Those of us who populate the “fantasy” end of the pop-culture spectrum are used to being relegated to the fringe. We’re geeks, freaks, weirdos, possibly satanic nuts with a predilection for exploring sewers with plastic swords or spending far too much money and time on polyhedral dice or video game subscriptions. “Playing D&D” (Dungeons & Dragons for the uninitiated) is often the punchline of jokes concerning whether or not a person is a complete spaz or not. The stereotypical gamer/fantasy f...moreThose of us who populate the “fantasy” end of the pop-culture spectrum are used to being relegated to the fringe. We’re geeks, freaks, weirdos, possibly satanic nuts with a predilection for exploring sewers with plastic swords or spending far too much money and time on polyhedral dice or video game subscriptions. “Playing D&D” (Dungeons & Dragons for the uninitiated) is often the punchline of jokes concerning whether or not a person is a complete spaz or not. The stereotypical gamer/fantasy fan is a pimply adolescent male with a 0 in Charisma and a 20 in Intelligence. The stereotypical female fantasy fan is similar but also houses a huge collection of unicorns of all shapes and sizes. However, I have noticed a bit of a shift in the social strata that has allowed fantasy geekery to emerge to higher place on the pop-culture food chain.

Sure, geeks are still the butt of jokes from the cool Abercrombie & Fitch kids but they’ve also gotten some respect as well. MMORPGs (such as World of Warcraft or Lord of the Rings Online) attract millions of players (and dollars) from around the globe. Thousands participate in Live Action Roleplaying (LARP) events and clubs. Traditional table-top gaming is faltering, but still a multi-million dollar industry.

Part of me wants to believe that it is just the aging of my generation that has brought this to pass…all those kids who grew up during the fantasy “boom” of the early 1980s are now the adults running the show. On the other hand, Ethan Gilsdorf attributes much of this to the powerhouse Lord of the Rings movie trilogy brought to us by that puckish kiwi Peter Jackson. At any rate, it was this event that reawakened his inner nerd and got him asking some central questions about the phenomenon. What draws us to fantasy? What drives so many of us to seek out worlds that never existed? Is our desire for fantasy intrinsic and necessary or is it something that should inspire fear and constant vigilance? Regardless of what the “geek big bang” could be, Gilsdorf takes us on his journey into the heart of fantasy geekdom in his memoir/journalistic quest entitled Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks.

Full review at: http://serialdistractions.wordpress.com/...
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Jul 03, 2010

Stefan rated it

Shelves: geek, 2010-2

I hate giving bad ratings. Basically, I prevent most of it, by evaluating the stuff I want to read very carefully before I start, but in this case, I obviously failed. But let me explain..

The author tells his story about being a very active D&D player in his childhood, escaping his difficult home life. Years later, he tries to explore geek subculture by traveling around and writing about it in this very book.

Now, it's not a bad book. Some parts are better than others, som...more

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Apr 03, 2010

Chris Aylott rated it

As a teenager, Ethan Gilsdorf used D&D to escape from a difficult home life. Now in his early forties, he has spent the last few years exploring fantasy subcultures, trying to learn what its participants get out of their shared weirdness.

He doesn't come up with anything more profound than previous writers -- this book shares a lot of Gerard Jones' message that the kids are all right, and that Killing Monsters is good for you. Nothing new there.

What I did like was his po...more

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Mar 24, 2011

Gregory rated it

This was a really fun read. I also really identified with the author, as our relationship with RPGs seems almost identical: it defined my life from age 12-17 and then was completely abandoned after that. But like the author since I've been in my 30s I've become increasingly curious about gaming and secretly kind of want to start playing again. As Gilsdorf points out, so much of it has crept into acceptable mainstream discussion. The Lord of the Rings movies definitely should take some of the cr...more

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Jan 11, 2010

Sarah rated it

I can't help but think of a few friends as I read this adult book. I mean, really, what makes someone talk like a medieval knight on a Saturday night, roll dice, and play make-believe? What makes someone play Lord of the Rings Online for weeks on end? Gilsdorf tries to answer these questions. He grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons and does a great job explaining how his mom's aneurysm drove him into escaping reality. Now as a thirty-something-year-old, he involves himself in role-playing games ...more

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Sep 30, 2010

Angela Mondragon rated it

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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 16, 2011

Kayla Rose rated it

· review of another edition

I started reading this book with all the enthusiasm of a little kid on a shopping spree in a candy store. Literally. I devoured the first several chapters, and it accompanied me everywhere - to class, to the meeting of the Role Players Guild (of which I'm president), to the ER when the stomach flu hit me with all of the fury of Deathwing.

Then there was a point where it lost me, long before I actually gave up halfway through the chapter about World of Warcraft. As Gilsdorf's experienc...more

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Jul 06, 2011

Kyle Nicholas rated it

I really enjoyed this book. Gilsdorf went through some tough things in his adolescence (don't we all?) He reached out to make friends and formed bonds with a few fellow "outcasts" in a way to get through those tough times and wound up becoming a major fantasy geek. I think this book really set out to demonstrate that, though the "popular" culture wants to deride escapists such as these geeks, there's really nothing wrong with it. After all, in one way or another, we are all "...more

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Feb 02, 2010

Garnett rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

The author had a brutal childhood, so he has a very hard time getting away from the role-playing game as 'escapism' trope. I liked his anecdotes, but there was a bit too much second rate sociology mixed in. At the end of the book he did emphasize rpg as a constructive process, which really gets lost, I think, in describing the phenomena.

I thought he got away from the 'role-playing' in rpg sometimes, especially by going on and on about Tolkien. He could have adhered better to that the...more

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Jun 07, 2010

Christopher rated it

Shelves: gaming

I spent a fair amount of this book trying to see who I could recognize among the author's geek sources. This is what I get living in the same town.

Gilsdorf hits a lot of the fandom sub-cultures, mainly in the medieval fantasy realm in an attempt to decide whether he was right to abandon his high-school D&D-playing self or if he will forever be trapped in a fantasy adolescence. No decision on that, because his hypotheses are based on some majorly false assumptions. He sees some of ...more

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Aug 11, 2011

Silas added it

After the amount of press this got from Wizards of the Coast, I sort of expected it to be a bit more positve about fantasy. Instead, it was a story of a rather conflicted man coming to terms with this interest in fantasy, which was really not what I was looking for in reading this book. That said, it was still well written, and had a nice adventure with some emotional points, as well as several looks at different subcultures and interests that I wasn't even aware of before. It's a worthwhile rea...more

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Dec 31, 2009

Anne rated it

Shelves: borrowed, non-fiction

This was an interesting, if somewhat wandering, exploration of the different fantasy escape experiences and what, if any, value comes from them. The author's own perspective is clearly acknowledged: he's very conflicted about his "geek" past and doesn't quite know what to make of fantasy and it's possible role in his life now, so he heads out to explore geekdom in all it's varieties, from LARP to SCA to conventions such as Lake Geneva and Dragon*Con.

Ultimately, I think his ...more

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Nov 25, 2009

saint frances rated it

Shelves: library-books, nonfiction, man-authors

Interesting enough but the errors about WoW drove me crazy. Human hunters? WTF!

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Apr 19, 2010

Neil rated it

Gilsdorf's book grew on me. It's the story of how, in middle age, he returned to his teenage love of D & D. He re-immersed himself in various fantasy worlds: RPGs, LARPs, Cons, Online Gaming, New Zealand LOTR tours, SCA, and so on. At first I thought he was just going to beat to death the stereotypes about people pursuing fantasy for nothing but escapism, but by the end of the book, I think he actually had learned that people pursue these kinds of activities for all kinds of reasons.

...more

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Sep 16, 2009

Gerald rated it

Recommends it for: Anyone who is into fantasy and/or gaming

This is an excellent book, enjoyable for someone who is a geek (like myself), but approachable by someone who has little to no familiarity with geek culture. The author strikes a good balance in tone, as he's never overly reverent of geekdom, but also he doesn't fall into being condescending.

Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone who has ever asked the question, "So what's this WoW/D&D/fantasy/convention stuff about anyway?" This book has the answers for you.

Best...more

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Jul 23, 2010

Sarah rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

Part informative guide to fantasy and gaming culture, part engaging memoir about the author's journey through geekdom, Gilsdorf delivers a long needed book exploring many facets of gaming in a positive way. The story starts with teenage Gilsdorf's escape from "the Momster" (when he was 12, his mother suffered an aneurysm that left her crippled and with short term memory problems) through Dungeons & Dragons. Fast forward several years and as the author turns forty, he wonders if he's re...morePart informative guide to fantasy and gaming culture, part engaging memoir about the author's journey through geekdom, Gilsdorf delivers a long needed book exploring many facets of gaming in a positive way. The story starts with teenage Gilsdorf's escape from "the Momster" (when he was 12, his mother suffered an aneurysm that left her crippled and with short term memory problems) through Dungeons & Dragons. Fast forward several years and as the author turns forty, he wonders if he's really left his D&D-playing self behind, and if that's a good or bad thing. What follows is a tour through geekdom, from all manner of Tolkein-related hotspots, to the Society for Creative Anachronism, live action role playing, wizard rock, sci-fi and fantasy conventions, and the Guedelon project in France, where there is actually an attempt to build a castle using only technology available during medieval times. For the non-geek there's a glossary included, but the author does a great job explaining new concepts along the way, and in true geek fashion, adds plenty of footnotes.

Despite being a self-taught journalist, the journalistic sections of the book are the strongest. Gilsdorf does a great job simply describing the various role-playing environments he immerses himself into. There are no value judgments in these sections and he genuinely tries to discover the heart of each group he explores.

Gilsdorf's personal story is a little more erratic. In the beginning I was (and I'm sure many geeks will be) put off by Gilsdorf's initial assumptions that gaming is only for teenagers and losers and that video games are destroying our brains. But just like main stream society can marginalize the geek culture it doesn't understand, geeks can belittle other geeks whose specific obsessions they don't share (I, for example, tried to claim I wasn't a geek during any of the chapters pertaining to role playing, yet totally geeked out over the chapter about wizard rock and when fandoms I cared about were mentioned at the various cons he went to). This portion of the tale is also occasionally crippled by Gilsdorf's self-consciousness, yet it became endearing, and by the end I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know the outcome of Ethan's story (for example, would this geek find love with his non-geek on-again-off-again girlfriend or with another fellow geek he met along his journey?).

On the whole I really enjoyed this book and want to recommend it to so many people in my life. The non-geeks need to read it to be introduced to why the geeks in their life love the things they love (and no, the answer is not "because they're losers"). The geeks need to read it to revel in the things they love and why they love them. Paraphrasing Gilsdorf's thoughts of LARP, Cos-play and other forms of fantasy involving dressing up, nobody finds it's weird when sports fans wear the jersey of their favorite player, so why are fans of fantasy marginalized when they decide to dress up like their favorite fantasy character? As a dedicated sports fan that argument really resonates and reminded me of the Geek the Library campaign. This is not a perfect book (the anti-climactic ending is another complaint), but it's a book that manages to strike quite a few chords and spark a lot of discussion. Definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in the geekdom.(less)

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Apr 08, 2010

Brian rated it

Shelves: role-playing, games

FF&GG covers a subcultural swath of the activities and lifestyles centered on making believe and even making real our yearnings for something ideal and distant from what we know as normal life. The informative elements are woven with the thread of a personal journey by the author. Adopting his point-of-view keeps the reader at a speculative distance from the experiences he recounts. If you are an outsider to the culture, this approach will help ease you into the fact of its existence. If you...more

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Jul 08, 2010

Michael rated it

Shelves: 2000s, non-fiction

Where should I begin?

At 4 or 5, finding that little "door" in my bedroom that I couldn't get open, and wondering what was behind it? Picturing lakes, dragons, probably characters from Rainbow Brite and He-Man, all hanging around together in a world of magic and peace?

At 9, too impatient to write actual stories, but drawing and coloring character after character, analyzing their personal attributes and naming each, and keeping them in a big binder? I ha...more

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Nov 14, 2011

AJ rated it

Shelves: from-the-list-of-a-friend, cbr-iii, nerds-geeks-dweebs-and-dorks, memoirs

I wanted to like this book.

I wanted to love it.

I wanted to cheer for Gilsdorf as he reclaimed his freak and geek, grabbed his dice and nerded the night away.

Instead I read through some 300 pages waiting for him to make a decision. ANY decision. Just make a decision, commit to it and become it. So, uhm, I guess there are spoilers coming, unless you agree with him and not me. Then there are still spoilers, but you think I’m way off base.

Gilsdorf ...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Megan rated it

Shelves: courier, 2011, adult, memoir, nonfiction

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a geek. A total, Magic/D&D/Pathfinder playing, Doctor Who/Star Trek/anime watching, fantasy/scifi/manga reading, geek. I've never been to a convention, but I go to the Renaissance Festival* every year, and the bookcases in my den/office are covered in dragon statues.**

So nothing in this book was much of a surprise to me. Except some woman at Dragon*Con telling the author that Daleks are a Doctor Who/Stargate crossover creation (whaaaat? And I think he believe...moreOkay, I'll admit it, I'm a geek. A total, Magic/D&D/Pathfinder playing, Doctor Who/Star Trek/anime watching, fantasy/scifi/manga reading, geek. I've never been to a convention, but I go to the Renaissance Festival* every year, and the bookcases in my den/office are covered in dragon statues.**

So nothing in this book was much of a surprise to me. Except some woman at Dragon*Con telling the author that Daleks are a Doctor Who/Stargate crossover creation (whaaaat? And I think he believed her). Honestly, for most of the book Ethan seemed just really uncomfortable. He was somebody who is totally not comfortable in his own skin and just sort of stands around and gawks at people, somebody who doesn't want to do something he enjoys because of how other people might view him. When he does participate, such as in LARPing, he seems to unconsciously limit himself (like with the silly shirt he did a bad job on as his costume) so that he can remain separate from the actual geeky stuff going on.

Although Ethan is supposedly exploring various facets of geekdom (D&D, LARPing, SCA, WoW, etc), this book is more of a look at his personal "journey" from a messed-up child/teenagerhood to his unfocused, disjointed single life as a forty-something man who wants to reconnect with how he felt when he was playing D&D with his friends. Either book could be interesting on its own, but I thought this book was too unfocused to really be good reading. Ethan would jump from a scholarly look at the history of roleplaying games to a personal recollection of how his girlfriend wouldn't let him play with his Lord of the Rings figures and back again.

I think it's silly. I don't think geeky stuff needs analyzing any differently than various other forms of entertainment or hobbies do. I think if you enjoy something, you should do it, whether it is dressing up for Rocky Horror Picture Show nights or dressing up to run around in the woods and bonk people with foam swords. Everybody has their own personal reasons for choosing their own hobbies and I don't think you can make blanket statements about the escapism that roleplaying affords because it doesn't work the same way for everybody.

Even then, when he is trying to make blanket statements, Ethan is really wishy-washy, and doesn't really come to a conclusion. It made me wonder why he wrote a whole book on it if he wasn't going to actually conclude something about his journey.

*This is not as geeky as it sounds. In my town they still manage to imbue a certain white trash sensibility on even the Renaissance Festival. It mixes well with the hemp and dreadlocks of the employees.

** But not the bookcases in the hallway. Those are currently covered in the small collection of "bears reading books" statues that I didn't even know I had till I unpacked a box from my childhood bedroom.(less)

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Dec 07, 2010

Ryan rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

Former Dungeons and Dragons geek turned travel writer finds himself getting pulled back into 'the life' after the Lord of the Rings films are released, and decided to chronicle the state of modern geekdom.

It's interesting, from an anthropological perspective - Gilsdorf has a bit of an insider's perspective, but it's one that he fights against. He spends half the book trying to convince himself he's above the people who play MMOs, or who LARP, or attend conventions, but eventually he...more

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Jan 23, 2010

Jacob / Julie rated it

Pre-read comment:
The author lives in my previous hometown of Somerville, MA, and I just saw him kick-off his book-tour at The Harvard Bookstore. It looks like it'll be a good read -- covering everything from his personal experiences as a gaming kid escaping his dysfunctional family, to the current world of D&D, LARPing, Harry Potter rock bands, Lord of the Rings books & movie fandom, cosplay, and medieval recreation.

Post-read:
It's an easy read and well-written.

...morePre-read comment:
The author lives in my previous hometown of Somerville, MA, and I just saw him kick-off his book-tour at The Harvard Bookstore. It looks like it'll be a good read -- covering everything from his personal experiences as a gaming kid escaping his dysfunctional family, to the current world of D&D, LARPing, Harry Potter rock bands, Lord of the Rings books & movie fandom, cosplay, and medieval recreation.

Post-read:
It's an easy read and well-written.

This book is a personal journey. In that way, it's similar to Stefan Fatsis' Word Freak, where the author reports on a topic by personally delving into it. However, in this case, the topic is more personal to the author than it was to Fatsis. This book is a survey of fantasy gaming, but it is tied together through the author's search for the meaning of fantasy/gaming in his life (and why people game in general).

The range of fantasy fandoms and forms of expression/participation is good. Though I was familiar with most of it, so I didn't personally learn much from the book, though there were occasional nuggets. The author asks a lot of questions about his relationship to his fantasy gaming geekery and about why people do this. However, he never answers the questions; he merely at the end accepts himself the way he is. The questioning didn't do anything for me, but other readers might find it inspiring for thinking about themselves.

In the end, the primary enjoyment about this book was that it was written by someone from my town, Somerville, MA. Otherwise, it didn't do anything for me (though it was a pleasant read). I can see how it could be a good read for some fantasy geeks who might have a chord struck by the book. And for non-gamers (particularly spouses or relatives of fantasy geeks), it could be a good way to learn about fantasy geeks.

I actually found myself noticing parallels between the phenomena in the book and the same phenomena in non-fantasy non-gamer areas. I wonder if there is something larger about human behavior, for which fantasy gaming is just one example, which would be worth exploring, at a larger level -- perhaps better done by a trained sociologist, who could give the conclusions that I felt were lacking in this book.(less)

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About Ethan Gilsdorf

Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of the travel memoir / pop culture investigation Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms.

After playing Dungeons & Dragons religiously in the 1970s and 1980s, Ethan Gilsdorf went on to become a poet, teacher, critic and journalist. In the U.S. and in Paris, he’s work...more

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