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Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange Hardcover – November 1, 2008

by Mark Barrowcliffe (Author)

45 customer reviews

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"[Barrowcliffe] writes how D&D twisted his teenage development — and about how twisted teenage development is in general. It's easy to read in a weekend, and thanks to several hilarious, unbelievably well-remembered recountings of dialogue-heavy extreme nerdiness, begs a movie adaptation."—Seattle Times

“Barrowcliffe's retrospective self-awareness is by turns poignant and amusing ... as fantasy movies dominate the box office; the author offers a timely, appropriate memoir of addiction recovery ... worth a few hours holed up in the basement." -Kirkus Reviews

"I urge you to buy it yourself and make up your own mind. You'll love discussing it with your friends. There's not a whole lot written about gaming, especially from the inside, and The Elfish Gene belongs in every gamer's library." -Enter the Octopus Blog

"This is a good, funny book, and I am enjoying the heck out of it so far. Barrowcliffe ... has an excellent writing style that is light and funny, and when he describes the game, you feel his excitement as he rolls the dice.... I hope [it] intrigues you as much as it intrigued me." -Geekscribe.com

Summer, 1976. Twelve-year-old Mark Barrowcliffe had a chance to be normal. He blew it. While other teenagers were being coolly rebellious, Mark—and twenty million other boys in the 1970s and ’80s—chose to spend his entire adolescence pretending to be a wizard, a warrior, or an evil priest. Armed only with pen, paper, and some funny-shaped dice, this lost generation gave themselves up to the craze of fantasy role-playing games. Spat at by bullies and laughed at by girls, they now rule the world. They were the geeks, the fantasy war gamers, and this is their story.

Mark Barrowcliffe grew up in Coventry, England. He worked as a stand-up comedian before writing his first hit novel, Girlfriend 44. He has written two other acclaimed comic novels, Lucky Dog and Infidelity for First-Time Fathers. He lives in Brighton, England.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As a 12-year-old in England in 1976, Barrowcliffe (Lucky Dog) made a fateful choice: he started playing Dungeons and Dragons. Role-playing games were just beginning their rise, and Barrowcliffe, along with 20 million other socially maladapted boys, spent his adolescence in dining rooms and basements as a druid, warrior or magician, throwing oddly shaped dice and slaying monsters. While D&D allowed Barrowcliffe to escape his mundane, much-bullied existence in an all-boys school, it also threw him into an equally cruel nerdiverse of Nazi wannabes, boys with nicknames like Rat and Chigger, and his polymath, Falstaffian best friend who once ate a still-frozen chicken pie on a bet. Barrowcliffe, whose own schoolboy nickname was Spaz, wonderfully captures the insensitivity, insecurity and selfishness of the adolescent male. His eye for the oddities of 1970s British life is equally astute. At times, Barrowcliffe's relentlessly self-deprecating humor descends into a tedium of self-loathing. The book also loses some of its focus toward the end when D&D gives way to heavy metal clubs and tolerant girlfriends. However, these are minor imperfections when measured against the quality of the author's vision. Barrowcliffe renders all the comedy and sorrow of early manhood, when boys flee the wretchedness of their real status for a taste of power in imaginary domains. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—In this autobiography, Barrowcliffe tells the story of a self-proclaimed nerd living in 1970s Coventry, England; Dungeons & Dragons; and the boys who played it. He provides a humorous look into the world of fantasy role-playing at a time when computer RPGs didn't exist and people were forced to use their imaginations. He recounts his foray into the game, his struggle to belong, and what ultimately led to his "growing up." The writing is often self-deprecating and combines views on the city with detailed descriptions of the gaming sessions. Despite-or, in part, because of—the long descriptions of gaming, this book will appeal to those interested in the RPG phenomenon. The author's character development leaves readers with a strong sense of who these boys were and why they played the game. This book is ideal for anyone who is into fantasy role-playing or interested in the cultural and social implications of such games.—Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product details

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Soho Press; First Edition edition (November 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1569475229
ISBN-13: 978-1569475225
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,435,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13331 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Authors
- #56957 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Memoirs

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Customer Reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		16%
4 star		33%
3 star		22%
2 star		16%
1 star		13%

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Top Customer Reviews

Barrowcliffe is Exactly the Kind of D&D Player I Avoided

BySteveHALL OF FAMEVINE VOICEon September 2, 2010

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I used to play AD&D extensively growing up, and I was very much looking forward to this book as a throwback to how much fun it can be to have this game as a part of your life. The problem is that Barrowcliffe was exactly the type of player that I did my best to avoid playing with - he was completely obnoxious, awkward, and socially inept. I don't understand in any way how someone could have had a quality experience playing a game of AD&D with him. Sure plenty of the people I played with were geeks/nerds, but they were all fundamentally nice and fun to be around.

I'm sure this book works well as a tale of Mark Barrowcliffe's life, but I just could not identify with him at all. I'd love to read a similar book written by someone who had a little more fun with the game, and spent less time fulfilling all of the terrible gamer stereotypes.

22 comments 16 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Geek denying his geekdom

ByLuxx Mishleyon July 15, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Mark Barrowcliffe's memoir caught my eye in the bookstore several months ago, and again during each subsequent visit. I have never been a gamer (of any kind - I don't even like social board games), but my social circle has always been peppered with gamers of all sorts, so I feel a connection to the subject. I went into the book knowing next to nothing about the game, but knowing a bit about gamers, so I was looking forward to a sneak-peak of what my friends were really up to.

Barrowcliffe's memoir delivers just that; he moves through a description of the kind of people attracted to role playing games, how he himself was introduced to the phenomenon, and what really goes on during those 6-10 hour marathons.

I really enjoyed Barrowcliffe's descriptions of other players, and found myself longing to meet some of his awkward and fantastic boyhood friends. I loved the description of the mania that D&D can create, and laughed along with the author as he presented some of the "mainstream" views of D&D (you know, gateway to the occult, Satan's game, that sort of thing).

But here's why can't rate this book higher than 3 stars out of 5: I can't stand the adult Barrowcliffe. Spaz? He's an overly-enthusiastic, mildly obnoxious, and completely obsessed teenage boy who discovers the world he's always dreamed of in a role playing game. He has the same personality flaws as 75% of all teenagers, and while I may not seek his company in real life, he's a perfectly enjoyable character in the memoir. However, Barrowcliffe? He's a bit of a prick when it comes to gamers. His criticism and observations are frequently true, and often add to the narrative itself, but every other chapter or two he takes it a bit far and is just unnecessarily nasty.

This shift from teenage-gamer to adult author has left Barrowcliffe feeling exposed. While he desperately wants to write about his boyhood obsession, he's afraid of the labels and classifications that come with it. In an attempt to distance himself from such a distinctive label he mercilessly condemns all gamers.

But let's be honest: who is going to pick up a book with "Dungeons and Dragons" in the title? Gamers, ex-gamers, or individuals like myself who feel very kindly towards gamers. The kind of bashing that slips in and out of the narrative just doesn't suit the actual audience.

So, it all comes down to this: 4.5 out of five stars for entertainment, but minus 1.5 stars for insulting the audience.

Still, if you have any kind of relationship to D&D - even a very distant one - I would recommend this book.

0Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A totally different experience

ByAmazon Customeron March 19, 2010

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

This was suggested by my favorite aunt Suzze - it looks hilarious.

I found this book to be very interesting and more than a couple times laugh out loud funny. At first I was really curious about the difference between the "beginnings of gaming" in another country but then I found that the whole thing was a completely different experience for Mr. Barrowcliffe.

You'll have to forgive me but reading this book has really made me want to write about my experiences.

It was really strange all the talk of arguing and killing each other's characters, vindicitive DM's that would kill your character if you made them mad outside the game. Those were all alien concepts to me. I started when I was 8 with a dm that was 16. By the time I was 10 I was DM'ing my first game with my parents as players (they died at the entrance of the dungeon because I forgot to have them buy weapons - they never played again). When I moved to the new neighborhood at age 11 I got in a group right away and made tons of friends. I mostly ran the games and I almost never killed anyone off.

I was a little put off by the attitude that gamers would be better off if they would just grow up and be normal. Then toward the end it seemed to come around a little bit to more of a "it gave me direction and kept me busy" kind of thing.

I was into heavy metal (and in bands), I dressed crazy but not medieval, I only wore my cloak at fantasy conventions (which were totally absent from this book) and I never larped. It always just seemed really cheesy to me (sorry larpers). I was completely obsessed and did play all the time.

I'm 40 now and working on an rpg book for self publication. I play every couple weeks. I can't imagine ever giving up gaming for good. My 11 year old and I just started "B3 - Palace of the Silver Princess" last weekend and I can't wait until my 4-year is old enough to play.

0Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

What a guy...

ByK. Zimmermanon December 29, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Mark Barrowcliffe comes off as kind of a prick. But, hey, if he wants to assassinate his own character, that's his cross to bear. I kind of liked reading the book, but that's not really a ringing endorsement.
When I was a RPG geek, I knew a lot of the gamer types he describes -- even a guy like the author himself. I enjoyed the trip down memory lane, but where I look back on those days with a sense of nostalgia, he looks back with just bitterness. And that's where I kind of get my feathers ruffled a bit. The author goes on to blame D&D for his lost childhood, thinking if he didn't get involved with it, he would've grown up cooler and ended up a more well-rounded human being. I kind of have to call b.s. here. He ended up an author (and I assume a good one at that, since he wrote a few books). Not a lot of people get to reach that mantle. The other fault I have is with the blame-game. Blaming D&D for your crappy personality and over-nerdy past is on par with blaming it for getting kids involved with murder and witchcraft. I have a feeling if he would have become obsessed with anything from macrame to lacrosse, he would've ended up the same sardonic dick he comes off as.