- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Globe Pequot Press (30 Oct 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0762756756
- ISBN-13: 978-0762756759
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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- #38 in Books > Computers & Internet > PC & Video Games > Internet Games
Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks
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Product Description
Review
Witty, downright funny, poignant, honest and ... well, wistful. Anyone who has ever embraced escapism will understand, and those who haven t taken that leap of imagination will want to after reading Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks.... Reading Ethan Gilsdorf s tale conjured my own Dungeons and Dragons and fantasy experiences, vividly, right down to finding some of my old character sheets in a 3-ring binder a decade and more after I had stopped using them. --R.A. Salvatore, New York Times bestselling author of forty novels,
Ethan Gilsdorf s quest for himself leads through the fantasy world of millions of gamers in a breathless adventure/quest/memoir that is uniquely contemporary. This is at once a primer on the world of gaming, a self-help manual, and a wistful meditation on the passing of real time in a (nearly) virtual world. --Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator and author of The Posthuman
An Orcs-and-all journey through geekdom, told with affection for every elf, wizard and dungeon master it meets along the way. Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is for anyone who s ever been lured by the enchantment and secrets of faraway fantasy worlds; meticulously researched and lovingly told, the book gives a personal face to the cloak-swishing, wand-yielding, lightsaber-rattling gamer in us all. --Melissa Anelli, author of Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Ethan Gilsdorf s quest for himself leads through the fantasy world of millions of gamers in a breathless adventure/quest/memoir that is uniquely contemporary. This is at once a primer on the world of gaming, a self-help manual, and a wistful meditation on the passing of real time in a (nearly) virtual world. --Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator and author of The Posthuman
An Orcs-and-all journey through geekdom, told with affection for every elf, wizard and dungeon master it meets along the way. Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is for anyone who s ever been lured by the enchantment and secrets of faraway fantasy worlds; meticulously researched and lovingly told, the book gives a personal face to the cloak-swishing, wand-yielding, lightsaber-rattling gamer in us all. --Melissa Anelli, author of Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Description
Geeks. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Role-playing games. Tens of millions of people across the World now turn away from the 'real' world to inhabit others. Comic book conventions, Renaissance fairs, live-action role-playing games, and even old-school, low-tech games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Movie fan-freaks design costumes and collect "Lord of the Rings" action figures. The online game World of Warcraft has lured eleven million users worldwide. Who are these game-players and fantasy fans? What explains the irresistible appeal of these escapist adventures? And what could one man find if he embarked on a quest through fantasy world after fantasy world? In an entertaining blend of travelogues, pop culture analysis and memoir, 40-year-old former role-player (teenage D&D obsession) Ethan Gilsdorf crisscrosses the U.S., the world, and other worlds, from Boston to California, Atlanta to France, and Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. He asks gaming and fantasy geeks how they find balance between their escapist urges and the kingdom of adulthood. He questions Tolkien scholars and medievalists. He speaks to grown men who build hobbit holes and learn to speak Quenya and Sindarin, and to grown women who assume digital personae to explore World of Warcraft (WOW) and Second Life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This book is truly awesome, covering everything to do with fantasy escapism, from D&D to Larping, to Tolkien, MMO's and beyond. Ethan Gildorf gives an awe inspiring recollection of a journey he makes, observing and analyzing the pros and cons of mankinds growing need and acceptance of fantasy canon's and escapist techniques. I would truly like to meet this man one day as he has helped outline a transition in my life, from child to man. A must get for anyone who has ever been involved or been interested in imaginary realms
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
21 reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Good but, ultimately, what do we learn?
14 Dec 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm 40 years old, having been a gamer since I was 10. I'm also a husband, a home-owner, have held a professional job for over years, and I don't personally have any difficulty reconciling my love of fantasy and role-playing games with my normal, day-to-day life. It seems that the author has had difficulty in this, and this book seems to be essentially his rambling and occassionally awkward attempt to find out if it's possible to be both mature and have a love of geeky, escapist hobbies.
If you're someone who put the dice away a long time ago and are wondering whether it's okay to feel like dusting them off again...or if you never were involved in such hobbies and are wondering if it's okay for your significant other to be...then this book may be written just for you.
If you're still avidly into these pursuits, then you may come away from this book feeling a bit unsatisfied. I felt like I'd read a book that said "It's okay for you to be into this stuff", and I was saying, "Well...yeah. I knew that. Thanks." It's still worth reading the book, as he has a lot of enjoyable stories along the way...just don't hold your breath for any deep revelation at the end.
If you're someone who put the dice away a long time ago and are wondering whether it's okay to feel like dusting them off again...or if you never were involved in such hobbies and are wondering if it's okay for your significant other to be...then this book may be written just for you.
If you're still avidly into these pursuits, then you may come away from this book feeling a bit unsatisfied. I felt like I'd read a book that said "It's okay for you to be into this stuff", and I was saying, "Well...yeah. I knew that. Thanks." It's still worth reading the book, as he has a lot of enjoyable stories along the way...just don't hold your breath for any deep revelation at the end.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Close to home
21 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover
Being a "closet gamer/fantasy geek" myself I completely related to Ethan's book. His story is my own and I'm sure a large number of other guys out there. Trying to balance the desire to immerse yourself in fantasy, (be it Tolkien, D&D, or online gaming) and living in "reality" with its expectations of what is considered "normal" is a recurring theme in the book and in my own life.
I felt the angst that Ethan dealt with as he slipped back into gaming and fantasy after years of self-denial. Anyone who has felt that twinge of embarassment over being a gamer or fantasy fan will enjoy Ethan's journey and obeservations.
I certainly did.
I felt the angst that Ethan dealt with as he slipped back into gaming and fantasy after years of self-denial. Anyone who has felt that twinge of embarassment over being a gamer or fantasy fan will enjoy Ethan's journey and obeservations.
I certainly did.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Good up front and flat at the end
8 Jan 2010
Format:Hardcover
I do not want to delve into too much info on the book and spoil it for others, but being a gamer since the age of 13 and now almost 40, I thought this book with make a sincere connection with me - and it did. Like Ethan, I too went though similar issues being a geek and since then, have boxed by geekdom in a shoebox (figuratively speaking as it is more like a chest)in my closet only to crack it open later in life to look for some kind of mid-life re-connection. And I applaud him for telling us his story - but I think there are a ton of us out there that also have very similar stories like his.
The book confused me a little and like a previous reviewer mentioned, you read and are left with "....well, and now what - what did I learn?" He identified an issue with his mother early on and I think he should have embraced that a bit more in his findings and carried through MORE - maybe the fact that there are many people he met who also were geeks and they all lived through this fantasy life at one point, but each of us have moments of harsh reality that will either not allow us to continue on on this path (for him, his mother's failing health) or you embrace it and become a geek regardless in the open. There were moments of this, but lots of empty pockets.
Hard to say, but the book was just flat from mid way (the online gaming part) through the end. Maybe for me there is no issue here for me - I am a geek in my heart and I also made that trek 3 years ago to my local gaming shop to see what has changed after 15+ years and I was ok with that. Did Ethan finally find the right balance here? Hard to say - maybe a second book will improve on a few of the issues I picked out.
The book confused me a little and like a previous reviewer mentioned, you read and are left with "....well, and now what - what did I learn?" He identified an issue with his mother early on and I think he should have embraced that a bit more in his findings and carried through MORE - maybe the fact that there are many people he met who also were geeks and they all lived through this fantasy life at one point, but each of us have moments of harsh reality that will either not allow us to continue on on this path (for him, his mother's failing health) or you embrace it and become a geek regardless in the open. There were moments of this, but lots of empty pockets.
Hard to say, but the book was just flat from mid way (the online gaming part) through the end. Maybe for me there is no issue here for me - I am a geek in my heart and I also made that trek 3 years ago to my local gaming shop to see what has changed after 15+ years and I was ok with that. Did Ethan finally find the right balance here? Hard to say - maybe a second book will improve on a few of the issues I picked out.
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