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Bischoff: _Destiny Dice_, Mild Spoiler [message #118746] Tue, 24 September 2013 14:33
srt is currently offline  srt
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2013
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Message-ID: <4158@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 3-Mar-85 17:13:40 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.4158
Posted: Sun Mar  3 17:13:40 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 8-Mar-85 04:20:49 EST
References: <827@topaz.ARPA>
Reply-To: srt@ucla-cs.UUCP (Scott Turner)
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 33
Summary: 

In article <827@topaz.ARPA> @RUTGERS.ARPA:LAURENCE@SU-CSLI.ARPA writes:
> ...However, I am now
>reading Destiny Dice or somesuch by Bischoff, which not only is a spoof 
>of itself, but also contains concealed puns and word-play as well. For some 
>reason, perhaps because Bischoff realizes how silly he is being, which I do
>not think is the case with Anthony, I am enjoying the book.

I just finished reading this, _Destiny Dice_, _The Gaming Magis I_, by
David Bischoff, who wrote Wargames.

The book is about a group of magicians who play a complex game that affects
another level of reality.  The book flips intermittently between the two
levels, and, as Laurence noted, there are a number of puns and purposeful
faux pas involved (like Marines in the fantasy world, etc.)

It's pretty clear from reading the book that Bischoff is a gamer himself.
The game the gaming magi play is close to D&D, and there are a number of
inside jokes and extrapolations based on the game (the destiny dice, role
vs. roll playing, and so on).

I don't mind books that do confuse the levels between the reader, the
author, the story (and in this case, the fantasy below the magi), but while
I found this book inoffensive, I didn't think Bischoff pulled this off as
well as others have (Vonnegut and Robbins come to mind).  I should also
point out that this is the first book in a series, and definitely is not
a complete book in itself.

[As an aside, I find this very annoying.  When did it become the habit to
write series in which the individual books cannot stand alone?]

Mildly interesting, more so if you are a gamer.

						-- Scott Turner
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