Literary Scene: Fun and Eclectic!

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

November 2020

Dungeon Party: A Novel
By John Webster Gastil

Dungeon Party reminds me a good bit of the 1982 Tom Hanks movie Mazes and Monsters—in both tales, the world of RPG (roleplaying games) interacts meaningfully with the real world, though that’s perhaps an unfair comparison since the Hanks movie is pretty lousy and far more dark than Gastil’s novel. Well, maybe only sort of more dark than Gastil’s novel.

In Dungeon Party, Alan is a 30-something player of the fantasy adventure game Dungeon Lords. The tension really starts when Alan’s longtime gaming pal, Randall, is killed in the course of a game in the mythical land of Mythos. Randall nerd-rages and quits the game.  

In an attempt to infuse some fresh excitement into the game, Alan replaces Randall with Maya and Brianna—the first girls to ever game with this group. All seems okay, except that ex-group member Randall is out for revenge. He plots to ruin his old group’s efforts to play in a Dungeon Lords tournament, causing trouble both within the game world and in the real one, too.

Do you have to be an RPG enthusiast to like this book? Nope, but if you have a love for the polyhedrals (those funky many-sided dice), you’ll probably have levels of nostalgia happening. After all, Ed Greenwood—a big name in the world of Dungeons and Dragons—said that Gastil’s novel is “a great story,” and few know D&D like Ed.

Ryans Rating: 4 Out of 5
www.johngastil.com

I Forced a Bot to Write this Book
By Keaton Patti

I wondered if the title was some type of joke, but it’s not—humorist Keaton Patti “forced a bot to input 1,000 hours of various forms of content and then asked it to create its own version of that content.” I confess—I was totally intrigued at the idea of finding out a bot’s fresh take on White House press briefings, Olive Garden commercials, knock-knock jokes, business Powerpoints, and episodes of The Office.

Want to see for yourself what a bot did with the details and tropes of our daily media lives? Here’s an excerpt from the bot’s killer new Game of Thrones episode.

DAENERYS
I have many long names so I deserve to lead on the sharp sword chair.

TYRION LANNISTER
Sisters. How many do you have?

DAENERYS
I possess zero. I obsess dragons.

TYRION LANNISTER
Jon. She is not like us. Kill her.

Most humor books like this are designed to be given as gifts with the real value being the laughs over the concept. This one, though, might get read, and more than a few of these entries are smile-inducing.

Ryan’s Rating: 4 out of 5
www.KeatonPatti.github.io

Somebody Else’s Troubles
By J.A. English

On one hand, English’s new book Somebody Else’s Troubles is the story of Travis Landers, an Ohio businessman who has an unpleasant life (gold-digger shrew of a wife, a nephew who committed suicide after being abused by a priest, a single moment of weakness with a prostitute that led to Travis being extorted, etc.). So, Travis does what we all dream of doing at one point or another when things seem to really suck—fake our own death, sneak out of town, and start up again fresh somewhere else. And this plan totally seems to work for Travis. For years, he enjoys a new life and a new family.

Then there’s Albert, a bumbling agent for the Atlantis Fidelity Insurance Company who decides to sleuth out the truth about Travis’ disappearance because there’s a substantial reward for finding him, if he’s still alive. Surprisingly, Albert gets hot on Travis’ trail after two years of searching. 

But the book isn’t just that—it follows three more individuals (besides Travis and Albert) whose stories all weave together via a connection to Mabuhay, the Caribbean island where Travis faked his death. In telling all these tales, English uses first-person narration as well as third-person—a merging of techniques and styles that isn’t altogether common in novels. Plus, there are moments of authorial interaction with the reader, which pushes the difficulty level of the reading experience another notch higher.

Add in numerous poems and quite a few literary allusions—including lines by Gerald Manley Hopkins’ “The Windhover” right at the end of the book—as well as discussion questions in the back matter, and this book feels designed for a teacher-led classroom experience versus something to be enjoyed on the sandy beaches of Mabuhay, perhaps while sipping a Goombay Smash. 

In short, Somebody Else’s Troubles is ambitious both in terms of theme and style. If that’s your mug of spiced dark rum, then drink deep—there’s a lot of it here to savor. But don’t let the cover nor the tropical setting fool you. This isn’t an easy-breezy novel by any account. It goes after serious issues (like predator priests, church corruption, drug culture, suicide, faith, etc.) without flinching.

Ryan’s Rating: 3.75 out of 5