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In the world of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax is king. The fantasy role-playing game he co-created in 1974 influenced a generation of film-makers, writers and game developers. But beyond a cult following, its origins remain largely unknown.


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For author David Kushner, the last person to interview Gygax before his death in 2008, that's an injustice. "The tendrils of Dungeons & Dragons are in just about every game out there," says Kushner, whose meeting with Gygax inspired him to memorialise his life in the novel, Rise of the Dungeon Master.

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Illustrated with line drawings by Koren Shadmi, it's a fitting tribute to those behind the early pen-and-paper games. The story is told largely from a first-person perspective, with the reader following Gygax as he moves from photocopying rulebooks in his family home to becoming the head of a multi-million-dollar business. Co-creator Dave Arneson, who died in 2009, is also given prominence in the book. "The co-creator of D&D has never gotten his fair due, and the project has been an opportunity to bring Dave and his story to a larger audience," says Kushner.


David Kushner

Kushner, who grew up in the 70s, is a member of the first Dungeons & Dragons generation, but admits it initially felt a little slow for his tastes. "I was a very impatient player," he says. Decades later, with Gygax taking the role of Dungeon Master for a game at the house in Wisconsin where it all began, Kushner was still hooked. "Meeting Gygax was thrilling," he says. "He signed my copy of the Monster Manual. That was geek nirvana."

Rise of the Dungeon Master (Nation) is out on May 25