Of Dice and Men

The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It

By: David M. Ewalt

Narrated by: David M. Ewalt, Mikael Naramore

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

The Hobbit meets Moneyball in this definitive book on Dungeons & Dragons - from its origins and rise to cultural prominence to the continued effects on popular culture today.

Here, There Be Dragons.

Ancient red dragons with 527 hit points, +44 to attack, and a 20d10 breath weapon, to be specific. In the world of fantasy role-playing, those numbers describe a winged serpent with immense strength and the ability to spit fire. There are few beasts more powerful - just like there are few games more important than Dungeons & Dragons.

Even if you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, you probably know someone who has: the game has had a profound influence on our culture. Released in 1974 - decades before the Internet and social media - Dungeons & Dragons inspired one of the original nerd subcultures, and is still revered by millions of fans around the world. Now the authoritative history and magic of the game are revealed by an award-winning journalist and lifelong D&D player.

In Of Dice and Men, David Ewalt recounts the development of Dungeons & Dragons from the game’s roots on the battlefields of ancient Europe, through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides, to its apotheosis as father of the modern video-game industry. As he chronicles the surprising history of the game’s origins (a history largely unknown even to hardcore players) and examines D&D’s profound impact, Ewalt weaves laser-sharp subculture analysis with his own present-day gaming experiences. An enticing blend of history, journalism, narrative, and memoir, Of Dice and Men sheds light on America’s most popular (and widely misunderstood) form of collaborative entertainment.

©2013 David M. Ewalt (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Dungeons & Dragons has been a huge part of my life. The book sheds light on the world of [D&D co-creator] Gary Gygax, and it also lets the reader into the mind of somebody questioning how cool this game is.” (Vin Diesel)

“An engaging book that fuses history and memoir. [Ewalt] tracks D&D's turbulent rise, fall and survival, from its heyday in the 1980s...to the 21st century.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“David Ewalt offers a genial history of Dungeons and Dragons and its impact on his own geek life.... A highly readable account of a game that seized the imagination of a generation and maintains its grip three decades later.” (Publishers Weekly)

informative and entertaining

As a fellow dice chucker, I was interested to hear more of the story of how D&D started and why TSR ended up selling to WotC. Ewalt gave me what I was looking for while sprinkling in some entertaining D&D gameplay dramatization. The only thing that I didn't like about this book was the organization. It was mostly told chronologically following the journey of the author in his self proclaimed search for D&D truth. He also horseshoed in the history of how D&D started, and it just felt like some strange transition to me.

If you are at all interested in D&D, either as a player or someone that just wants to know more about what it is, this was an entertaining listen.

Not bad, just not great.

the storytelling isn't bad, the narrator is pretty good, the problem is the story jumps back and forth and it doesn't really give you the history in a cogent fashion. I don't know maybe it's the way it threaded back and forth but it wasn't as good as I was hoping.

Good history about D&D orgins

The best parts of the book were about the history of TSR which was fascinating.

The author writes about his own experiences in the book at an attempt for those not familiar with table top role playing games to get a sense of the experience, but they are too light and brief to really capture the experience. It felt like filler to the more interesting history of TSR. It was also old to have two people narrate the story, even though the voice acting was good on both parts, it was sometimes jarring to switch between the juicy history parts and the voice actor and they were too brief to really be interesting.

I wanted to hear about more table top Roleplaying games, I feel like only dungeons and dragons was the main focus and there's so many other systems that could be talked about.

Great D&d History

if you are interested in what role-playing games are or are interested in the history of Dungeons and Dragons this is a great listen.

Excellent! Great memories flooded as I listened...

Great insights into the evolution of the game and company. It was easy to listen too and very entertaining. I recommend it for all you gamers out there just for nostalgia's sake.

Simple opinion

I enjoyed it, repeatedly. Listen to it and form your own opinion. Wish there were more like this, so far, no dice. ( I love a good pun!)

Lots of fun and nostalgia for D&D players!

Would you consider the audio edition of Of Dice and Men to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is fascinating and the tale is told interestingly. The author weaves historic notes and details with bits of story telling, bringing the games he is discussing to life. He is a real good old D&D player himself and the journey back in time to go over the birth of the game and its historic impact was entertaining, educational, and full of nostalgia for those who were there. For those that have never played D&D this book could be the key to understanding what it is and why people enjoy it so much.

a fun trip through D&D

This was a really fun book. I had reservations because of the reviews, but they were unfounded. This is an interesting and really enjoyable trip through the history of D&D.

And the reader (who I think was the author) sounded like a combination of the John Candy character Den from the animated movie Heavy Metal, and what the narrator from Ready Player One sounded like in my head when I first read it.

Great

Loved it! Very insightful to the history of a beloved hobby. I've listened to it multiple times now.

A wonderfully nostalgic look back.

Would you consider the audio edition of Of Dice and Men to be better than the print version?

The performance of this book was a little off-putting to begin with, but once the purpose of Mikael Naramore's dramatic reading became clear, it enhanced the experience wonderfully, especially when the narration described David's encounters with luminaries from Dungeons & Dragons' history.

Who was your favorite character and why?

David himself was an amazing and sympathetic character. I see myself in him, though I encountered D&D in the early 80s, our experiences were amazingly similar.

Which character – as performed by David M. Ewalt and Mikael Naramore – was your favorite?

David himself.

If you could give Of Dice and Men a new subtitle, what would it be?

You don't play D&D for 25 years without learning a little something about courage.

Any additional comments?

If you're a fan of roll playing games, and of D&D specifically, this is a wonderful read. It recounts the history of its creators, the rise and fall of TSR and lays out the road for the future of the game system. Well done!