Leaving Mundania: Inside the Transformative World of Live Action Role-Playing Games [Paperback]

Lizzie Stark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2012

Exposing a subculture often dismissed as “geeky” by mainstream America, Leaving Mundania is the story of live action role-playing (LARP). A hybrid of games—such as Dungeons & Dragons, historical reenactment, fandom, and good old-fashioned pretend—larp is thriving, and this book explores its multifaceted communities and related phenomena, including the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval reenactment group that boasts more than 32,000 members. Author Lizzie Stark looks at the hobby from a variety of angles, from its history in the pageantry of Tudor England to its present use as a training tool for the US military. Along the way, she duels foes with foam-padded weapons, lets the great elder god Cthulhu destroy her parents’ beach house, and endures an existential awakening in the high-art larp scene of Scandinavia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Whether you thoroughly appreciate the work of Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon [LARP's newly appointed overlord] or just have a mild interest in geek culture, Stark makes this world of pretend a little more real." —BUST

“Lizzie Stark takes us down the rabbit hole and into the curiouser and curiouser world of larp and shows us a place where imagination lives and breathes. Enter if you dare . . . and enjoy the ride! It’s an enlightening and wondrous journey.” —Tracy Hickman, New York Times bestselling fantasy author and game designer

 

“Rarely does a book so deftly crack open the everyday world to reveal the riot of imagination within. With humor, intelligence, and more than a little bravery, Lizzie Stark guides us into the vast subculture of larping, where lawyers become vampire hunters and systems analysts turn into knights. Hilarious, honest, and enlightening, Leaving Mundania reminds us how thin the boundaries are between the roles we play and the selves we believe ourselves to be.”  —Stacey Richter, Pushcart Prize-winning author of My Date With Satan, and Twin Study

 

"Lizzie Stark isn't afraid to walk the goblin walk, talk the in-character talk, wear the make-up, and wield the boffer sword. With verve, wit and candor, Leaving Mundania provides an important contribution to the history of role-playing and gaming, and proves the cultural significance of this flourishing game/performance/medium."  —Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

"Lizzie Stark valiantly throws herself into the sword-swinging world of live-action role-playing games in Leaving Mundania."  —Vanity Fair

“A fascinating trip through the looking glass and into the subculture of larp. Stark gives us both the magic and the humanity of live-action make-believe. And as a social historian, she incisively points to a pop-culture trend on its way from the fringe toward the mainstream.” —Samuel Freedman, author of The Inheritance and Letters to a Young Journalist

"Rich, unexpected and compelling . . . Stark’s keen observational skills and crisp writing style successfully cut through those hackneyed stereotypes to reveal the very real people who are drawn to deeply imaginary worlds."—Kirkus Reviews

"A fascinating look at the world of live-action role playing-with a book jacket that slays me."—SchoolLibraryJournal.com

About the Author

Lizzie Stark is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the Daily Beast and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She is founder and editor of the literary journal Fringe and holds an MS in new media journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569766053
• ISBN-13: 978-1569766057
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lizzie Stark is the author of Leaving Mundania, a narrative nonfiction account of larp. Her journalistic work has appeared on The Today Show website, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere.

Lizzie holds an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from Emerson College. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the online literary journal Fringe, which is dedicated to political and experimental literature.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply brilliant. April 1, 2012

By Harviainen Jussi T

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In this book, American journalist Lizzie Stark describes her experiences with larping. As fits her profession, the style consists mostly of reported experiences and long human-interest anecdotes, such as the life stories of some gamers and descriptions of events. It's like reading a lighter version of the Nordic "Knutepunkt" books - the key concepts are basically all presented, just in layman-friendly terms and with few yet enough references: historical precedents, artistic aspirations, escapism, education, economy, prejudices, connections with siblings like re-enactment, and so forth. (I found especially the sections on re-enactment, military excercises and business role-play to be solid gold.)

The beginning may seem somewhat off-putting to very artsy larpers, as the games described are escapism-heavy, and so appear many people playing them. But once past the initial shock, their commitment to the illusion of play starts shining through. Not only is the book an excellent foray into North-American larp (and elsewhere), it is also an intriguing bit of Americana, a testament to how people can easily adapt to strange roles, yet still remain very conservative. This too is discussed in pleasantly neutral terms and from many perspectives.

So in addition to being an extremely enjoyable read, a good document and a nice reference even for academics, Leaving Mundania deals with issues far more complex than they initially seem. It records the silly along with the very serious, and discusses the differences between the two with a clever tone. It is the most descriptive, all-encompassing book about larp and larpers on the market, and highly recommendable to anyone interested in the subject.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting read! April 22, 2012

By Sarah Bowman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I tore through Leaving Mundania over the course of several hours upon receiving the book in the mail, riveted by the various accounts of live action role-playing contained within: convention larps, boffers, military simulations, reenactment groups, parlor-style Cthulhu, and Nordic Larp. Though the author does not self-identify as a larper, she manages to succeed where most other journalistic representations of larp fail. Stark invested over three years of her life into exploring local subcultures of larp in the Northeast United States, then travelled to the Nordic larp convention Knudepunkt in Denmark for the climax of this brilliant exploration of larp communities.

Her stalwart dedication to her craft is evident in each richly-layered page; not only did Stark immerse herself into the lives of her subjects, but she also took the plunge into uncertain waters, exploring a multitude of different game styles and theoretical approaches to larp, despite her self-confessed apprehensions. Stark's clever voice never overshadows her vivid, respectful depictions of her interview subjects; her savvy wit never slashes to bits the activity that these individuals hold in such reverence. Other American journalists often fail to delve deeper than the surface of the complex tapestry of role-playing communities, preferring instead to treat participants like exotic animals at a bizarre zoo. Such an approach would have been easy for Stark, as the stigma towards larp remains deeply embedded in the history of the hobby in America, the threads of which the author artfully summarizes in her chapter, "Closeted Gamers and the Satanic Panic." Instead of cheap potshots or sensationalist exaggerations, Stark invests herself completely in her project. The most notable example of this devotion to her writing was her long-term participation in a boffer-style larp campaign called Knight Realms; for nearly two years, she played the role of Chronicler both in the game -- by creating a regular "newspaper" for the group -- and out of the game, by detailing the various personalities she encountered while in the fictive universe and outside of it.

Stark never positions herself as superior to her subjects, though she does admit moments of confusion when she fails to immerse herself into the game world as deeply as others. Her constant self-reflection lends to an exciting and dynamic read, where the author uses her skillful mastery of words to explain both logistics and emotions in equally compelling ways. Some areas of the text might prove dense for readers unfamiliar with the basics of role-playing games, though Stark takes great pains to describe the details of each type of experience in a faithful manner. Long descriptions of game mechanics, for example, might intimidate the casual reader, but never fear: Stark always returns to the human element of these communities in a compelling and compassionate way.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book April 22, 2012

By Juhana Pettersson

Format:Paperback

Leaving Mundania is a book about the U.S. larp scene. Stark takes a subjective approach to larp: to understand the game, she plays in fantasy games, in horror games, and even organizes a game herself. Finally, she goes to experience the Nordic art scene in Denmark in the book's final chapters.

Simply put, this is a wonderful exploration of what larp is and can be. Stark's descriptions of her own experiences, her sketches of the people she meets, and her ideas about what larp can mean to different people are solid gold.

Reading the book, I'm constantly having this feeling of "finally I get it". Also, "I want to play these games myself".

Perhaps you need the perspective of someone who initially comes from the outside to truly be able to describe what larp is.