Gilsdorf conducted on-the-job research for this bookas he traveled across the country and to locations around the globe in searchof what makes fantasy games so essential to tens of millions of people.Throughout the book, readers join fantastical quests as they follow Gilsdorf toTolkien pilgrimage sites, hang out with members of Harry Potter tribute bands,and visit fan conventions and gaming tournaments.
The world of fantasy role-playing is a genre oftencharacterized by geeks and freaks, but Gilsdorf’s travels and interviews showus the diversity of people who find these escapist adventures such afundamental part of their lives. Whether people embrace fantasy purely forentertainment or because it gives them a real sense of empowerment in theirlives, one thing is clear: Comic book conventions, Renaissance fairs and onlinerole-playing games, enjoyed by millions of people worldwide, have been andcontinue to be extremely popular. As author Gilsdorf asks game-players how theyfind balance between their fantastical creations and their actual realities,readers will uncover the many (and often entertaining) reasons that all ofusyoung, old, male, female, rich, poorneed a little fantasy in our lives.
Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks,will be speaking at Boswell Book Co. at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13.