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The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark Barrowcliffe
Publisher: Pan Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (29) Used (4) from £0.01
Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 81599
Media: Paperback
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0330445510
EAN: 9780330445511
ASIN: 0330445510
Publication Date: April 4, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New Book - In Stock - UK Seller - Very Fast Delivery - First Class Customer Service
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Teenage Monsters August 8, 2008
Quicksilver (UK)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There is a fundamental problem with the idea behind this book. If you played D&D in the early years, you can probably remember what it was like, so reading the book will feel all too familiar. If you've never played, you probably don't care enough to pick the book up in the first place. So the question is, can Barrowcliffe's writing transcend this problem and deliver a book worth reading?
The answer is, just about. There are some sections of the book that deal with the game's minutiae that won't interest anybody but ardent fans (who will probably be mentally noting all the mistakes and omissions) but there are also lots of great chapters that deal with the trials and tribulations of the geeky adolescent.
Barrowcliffe is refreshingly honest with himself and the reader about how horrible he was as a teenager and also describes well, the crushing insecurities and cravings for acceptance, that most of us felt as we grew up. I don't remember D&D being quite as anarchic as the author describes but I can certainly identify with the obsessive characters portrayed on the pages of 'The Elfish Gene'. There are also some delightful set-pieces; every man has stories of crazy plans they attempted, which to their teenage minds seemed perfectly sensible and Barrowcliffe outlines his in hilarious fashion.
If you have ever roleplayed, you will recognise some of yourself in this book and will certainly enjoy most of it. The nostalgia trip is worth the cover price alone. If you haven't, you will probably still enjoy reading 'The Elfish Gene', but be prepared to wade through the odd chunk of text dealing with elves, wizards and oddly shaped dice.
 Very funny, yet rather sad June 23, 2008
Anthony Prentice (UK)
I really enjoyed the book, very well written and thought provoking. I also spent much of my teenage years roleplaying, and continue to do so, and I certainly recognised the teenage boy behaviour that made the whole growing up experience fairly painful.
He evokes the time very well, and many of his descriptions of gaming took me right back. As with any creative endeavour, how much fun it will be depends on who you do it with, and the end of his friendship with Billy is achingly sad.
I'm sorry that the tribulations of his teenage years alienated him from what can be a fantastic hobby.
A brilliant evocation of spotty adolescence May 13, 2008
A. I. Mackenzie (Glasgow, Scotland.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is laugh out loud funny, especially if you've played any form of Role playing game.
For some reason D&D largely passed me by, I played a bit of traveller & MERP at Uni but never really got heavily into it, however I was right in the middle of the nerdy computer/sci-fi/fantasy world.
Mark Barrowcliffe brilliantly evokes adolescense with its strange obsessions, malfunctioning body parts and crippling social anxiety.
Where I would disagree with him is his analysis - he claims D&D ruined his teenage years, whereas I rather suspect he would have a had a pretty ropey time, D&D or not. I certainly did. He says he was never bored whilst a teenager which seems like a pretty good deal to me. Also D&D honed his narrative skills - a novelist's bread and butter, surely.
However if you ignore the analysis, and the rather depressing Coda this is an excellent read and very funny, too.
Just what I was like as a teenager April 22, 2008
D. O'Reilly (West London, forever)
If you played D&D as a teenager you'll enjoy this although you'll probably wince with embarrassment at the memories it brings back. It also has a lot to say about why certain boys prefer fantasy to reality and how obnoxious they can be to each other when in a group.
It's also good on English life in the 1970s.
Above all, the writer is happy to reveal what a prat he was and look at why he was like that.
Unelfy Obsession April 22, 2008
N. Brett (Wiltshire, England)
While there is a link to the game Dungeons and Dragons this is more about growing up and youthful obsession. It moves between sad, funny and honesty with ease as young Mark discovers gaming at the expense of just about everything else.
It captures an age and does remind us of that time we had an obsession about something and makes us feel glad that perhaps we grew out of it quicker then Mark did!
It has an honest charm and wit although it will make you wince in places this was a worthwhile reading experience.
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