A Funny and Satirical Novel About Gamers That I Will Not Name
From the same publishers that gave us the classic “Shatnerquake” novel, comes their latest offering “——” Those dashes are not a typo, due to the very, ahem, adult nature of the title I am choosing not to repeat it here. So, for the purposes of this post I will use the term “The Book
” to describe the novel.
” is a tale in two parallel parts. The first part is a group of under-sexed, over-hormoned misfit early teens running a fantasy role-playing game. We learn a bit about each one of them and how truly pathetic and twisted they are, each in their own way. This part is pretty standard and takes some shots at the usual gamer stereotypes, including a very annoying little sister.
The second part follows the PCs as they move through some standard adventures and a dungeon crawl. Due to the intervention of a powerful magic item, the PCs know they are PCs! The poor bastards realize a group of adolescent losers control their entire universe and they want out of the game world and their freedom. My favorite of the group is a supporting character, the Vulcan elf. Yes, I said Star Trek Vulcan elf.
” is an odd novel because it is as much a 13-year old’s notebook as a conventional book. There are character sheets to track the PC’s damage (HP loss and healing are an ongoing issue), strange, vaguely disturbing scrawls done during math class and the occasion bit of art. Erotic, of course.
It is a very short book and do not expect great literature or amazing character development. The Book is strictly for laughs and is a good way to kill an afternoon. I do need to mention besides the kinky title, there is a lot of very explicit, VERY adult material in this book. But it is a tittering, adolescent sort of adult material. While graphic, it is not meant to be taken too seriously. Though it does stray in to the…very unusual.
So, you are now informed and warned about “The Book.”
Trask, The Last Tyromancer
