Very funny, yet rather sad - Rated 
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 - Rated
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 - Rated
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 - Rated 
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.
Good Read for Geeks - Rated
I loved this nostalgic ride into the past. I grew up playing these games, and alas into my 40's am still playing them now!! I didn't mind the poking fun of geekish gamers too much, as you have to be able to laugh at yourself in anything you do. This is not an anti D&D or geek tirade, but a coming of age book with great detail of the gaming hobby from a teenager's point of view. Much as Mark might seem to be self cringing sometimes at his memories, I suspect that he wouldn't change them. Gamers will get more out of this than others, and will have a good laugh, providing they dont take themselves too seriously about their hobby.
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