CONCEPT: A group of gamers are whisked off to an RPG world. After almost slaying each other as their new personalities take over, the group sets out to find a means of returning back to their homeworld at a place known as the Gate Between Worlds. (Holds promise and attraction to gamers in seeing how these fish out of water types react in their new setting.)

MARKETING APPEAL: described below.



SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre

CONCEPT: A group of gamers are whisked off to an RPG world. After almost slaying each other as their new personalities take over, the group sets out to find a means of returning back to their homeworld at a place known as the Gate Between Worlds. (Holds promise and attraction to gamers in seeing how these fish out of water types react in their new setting.)

MARKETING APPEAL: described below.



SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)



DIALOGUE: B+/B/C+/C (varies) (B-) STRUCTURE: B+ HISTORY SETTING: C- CHARACTERS: A-/B+/C+ (B) EVIL SETUP/ANTAGONISTS: B+ EMOTIONAL IMPACT: B+ SURPRISES: A- MONSTERS: C+ PACING: A- LITTLE THINGS: B OVERALL STYLE: B FLOW OF WORDS: B+ CHOICE OF FOCUS: B TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: A- COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: C



OVERALL GRADE: B (gamers/ B- (nongamers)



DIALOGUE: This ranged from spotty to good. Some of the minor characters sounded alike and it was hard to tell the two thieves apart in the beginning. That may have been why one was killed off. Nobody stands out greatly but overall, it's a good job. They're all middle class college students so their speech patterns don't overlap that much. Probably the best one is the dwarf guy, who has a bit more of his own personality, whereas Karl and Walter do sound alike at times. I must say that everyone has different motivations and that shows but at certain points, some of the dialogue crisscrosses. One way that Rosenberg calls less attention to his similar dialogue passages is through a great deal of interparty conflict. The speakers are passable enough to tell them apart and then when we focus on the fact that they might kill each other and read their inner thoughts, we forget.



MONSTERS: I can't really give this much of a score since it was all taken from a homogenous AD&D setting. Outside of AD&D abilities, like night vision and beserking, we learned little of the culture of various creatures. Probably glossed over since Rosenberg figured that most of his readers would be gamers from the AD&D setting. Still, detailing the different species would have been helpful to nongamers and for readers seeking out some type of context to the setting.



EVIL SETUP: No real big foe. It was more a series of small obstacles. This could very well be a letdown for readers used to a big climax. Have to agree. However, check out the characters. While there was no great threat, the antagonists, at first, were the players themselves. See below (or above).



SETTING: Again, this area was skipped over except to place components in the story that helped the heroes achieve their goal (i.e. a library with a map to locate the Gate Between the Worlds, the arena to get cash together for the trek, etc). The issues of slavery were done well though but this ties more into the theme and characterization matters.



PACING: This story moves very well. Right off the bat, the group is heading for the gateway to get back to their own world. And, everything they do is pretty much to get supplies or means to get up there in the first place. One reason I didn't give it a better score than a B+ is because there wasn't a great need for the group to get to the gateway. Basically, they just wanted to get back home but half of them were dissatisfied with home so they were torn. Moreover, since you need to love the characters before you feel the suspense, it wasn't done as well as it could have been (see above). While I cared for the a couple of the characters (Karl and the dwarf), the rest were just icing on the cake with bits of character here and there. Finally, no one was chasing them and there wasn't a deadline so if they got slowed down it didn't end the mission.



SURPRISES: There actually were a good deal of surprises in this story. Obviously, being whisked off and learning to adjust to the new world was a big set of surprises in its own regard.



CHARACTERS: First off, this heading has some good points and some bad points on the characters. First, the good stuff: Rosenberg does an excellent job of internalizing the sudden problems with a RPG player becoming his character. In a sense, there is a test of wills. There are several times when some of the players turn into their characters, which creates problems. (REST CUT B/C OF SPOILERS)



CONCEPT: This is an enticing idea and I believe that Rosenberg was the first author to adapt it well. Just about every gamer has wondered at one point what it would be like to be like the character he created. And, most gamers tend to get attached to their characters as if they were their children. This has a keen attraction to gaming types but I have to admit, that fantasy readers, who don't RPG, and first time readers interested in fantasy would find themselves disappointed. See, there are a number of issues in this story that only gamers would appreciate. For instance, trying to get a bunch of people, who are used to being independent, to work together and hammering out the personality differences. Understanding the gaming system and dice as it's explained in the beginning. Watching how a group of players combat their character personalities and bicker with one another as they try to adjust to these new circumstances.



FLAWS: First off, some of the writing was too simple for my tastes. More detail on the setting would have been helpful, although I suppose the author could counter there was little to know since it was a new world. Non gamer types probably wouldn't like this book, b/c of the nuances I described in another section. As already elaborated upon, some of the supporting cast were mediocre at times. I would have liked to have known more about them even if it meant a 100 extra pages. There were a few parts where Rosenberg glossed over



GRADE REASON: I am giving this a solid B. Partly because I'm a long time gamer and see the nuances in this storyline that only gamers would understand, and because I appreciate the challenges in writing such a story. I think I can excuse the lack of monster and historical settings, since this is based on an RPGing game which is known more for the goal and treasure and hack and slash than details. Well, most of them. Although it's much more sparse than typical fantasy books which number 600 pages and over, I found it to be an interesting book. Again, there was a mix of the medieval thinking with the 20th century thinking. I had to keep remind myself that the reason they talked like Americans in speech and actions was because they were americans. Major kudos to doing a fine job with a few of the characters, even though some of the others aren't detailed well enough. The whole idea of this fish out of water storyline and the adjustments made by the players are interesting. Moreover, the interparty conflict gives it a lot of texture and in the process, reveals the characters. One other thing I found interesting is the typical gamer stance of might makes right. There were several times when some of the players were getting ready to kick someone's butt or intimidate just because they were ticked off. Typical gamer philosophy and something to chuckle over. But again, you don't see that unless you are a gamer.