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Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Youth of Horrors As a 30-something male who spent a good deal of my teen years playing wargames and role-playing games, I'm squarely within the target audience for this "growing up geeky" memoir by English novelist Barrowcliffe. However, much as I desperately wanted to revel in the trials and tribulations of his '70s Coventry youth, I just wasn't ever able to connect with them. It's kind of obvious to say, but when a memoir doesn't work for me, it's because I'm not really enjoying the company of the author. My problem... more info
Outstanding.... I'm incredibly picky about books. I used to review for SFX and Interzone, and I'm always aware that I can be ferocious with anything I find less than outstanding. Occasionally, I can even muster a snarl when I'm negotiating my way through a real stinker. However, I'm even more hesitant when it comes to reviewing a book I actually like. I continually have to ask the question: is this book truly a brilliant piece of work, or is it just particularly tailored to my own tastes? Well, the latter is certainly true... more info
Teenage Monsters 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... more info
Very funny, yet rather sad 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... more info
