Six teenagers disappear into a tabletop role-playing game in 1991, only for five to return two years later, bloodied and silent. Decades later, the original dice reappear, dragging the estranged adults back into the world of Die. They face a landscape constructed from the tropes of epic fantasy, but fueled by systemic horror. The protagonists, including a Dictator who manipulates emotions via speech and a Neo who trades gold for cybernetic abilities, must confront the Solitaire, the friend they abandoned twenty-five years ago who now rules this reality.
Gillen targets readers who grew up with traditional fantasy and are interested in the deconstruction of tabletop mechanics. Those who play games like Dungeons & Dragons will recognize the subversion of character classes and inventory systems. The reader walks away with a cynical analysis of escapism and an understanding of how teenaged social dynamics manifest as literal magical combat. It provides a technical look at how genre fiction functions when the internal logic turns hostile toward its players.
Escapist; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Escapist Adventurer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2019
- Language
- EN
