srt@ucla-cs.UUCP (03/04/85)
In article <827@topaz.ARPA> @RUTGERS.ARPA:LAURENCE@SU-CSLI.ARPA writes: > ...However, I am now >reading Destiny Dice or somesuch by Bischoff, which not only is a spoof >of itself, but also contains concealed puns and word-play as well. For some >reason, perhaps because Bischoff realizes how silly he is being, which I do >not think is the case with Anthony, I am enjoying the book. I just finished reading this, _Destiny Dice_, _The Gaming Magis I_, by David Bischoff, who wrote Wargames. The book is about a group of magicians who play a complex game that affects another level of reality. The book flips intermittently between the two levels, and, as Laurence noted, there are a number of puns and purposeful faux pas involved (like Marines in the fantasy world, etc.) It's pretty clear from reading the book that Bischoff is a gamer himself. The game the gaming magi play is close to D&D, and there are a number of inside jokes and extrapolations based on the game (the destiny dice, role vs. roll playing, and so on). I don't mind books that do confuse the levels between the reader, the author, the story (and in this case, the fantasy below the magi), but while I found this book inoffensive, I didn't think Bischoff pulled this off as well as others have (Vonnegut and Robbins come to mind). I should also point out that this is the first book in a series, and definitely is not a complete book in itself. [As an aside, I find this very annoying. When did it become the habit to write series in which the individual books cannot stand alone?] Mildly interesting, more so if you are a gamer. -- Scott Turner