Wizards of the Game

Rating:
Summary: Richie's Picks: WIZARDS OF THE GAME
Review: "They say that Cain caught Abel rollin' loaded dice
Ace of Spades behind his ear and him not thinkin' twice..."
--Grateful Dead

"What was wrong with these people? Did I go to their church and tell them which songs they could sing? What gave them the right to tell me which games I could play?"

Mercer is a kid who is seriously into Wizards of the Warrior World, one of those popular role-playing games. He's got a bookshelf full of spell casting books, chats for hours about it on message boards, and plays with his friends during study hall and on weekends. He comes up with a great plan to hold a gaming convention as the school's annual fundraiser, until all hell breaks loose when another student writes a newspaper article about the demonic qualities of the game and what it is doing to corrupt the participants.

"Well, you got trouble my friends..."
--Professor Harold Hill

In the hands of a lesser writer, this might have been just another somber, confrontational kids versus adults tale (à la Footloose), but when the four REAL--and really down on their luck--wizards show up (they hang out down at the soup kitchen that was to be the beneficiary before the fundraiser got nixed by the school board), things take a turn for the absurd.

(You might even say this book is "out of this world.")

" 'I destroy wall,' Tortwaller said, thumping himself on the chest. 'Turn bricks to water.' He started to wail and roll his head from side to side.

" 'That spell take forever. One hour each brick,' Nelda said. 'Don't be such a nickel head. We grow old, you grow dizzy, hole still not big enough.' "

There are some great topics for discussion--WIZARDS OF THE GAME will make a GREAT read for book groups--yet those issues never once get in the way of the fun and the excitement.

David Lubar, the former designer and programmer of popular video games, stirs magic, imagination, school board politics, and the First Amendment together into a potion that will turn middle school readers and players into David Lubar fans--as quick as you can say, "Albóndigas!"

Richie Partington...

Rating:
Summary: Imaginattion Flying Free -- a review by Emily
Review: Mercer is an ordinary boy, having fun, and letting his imagination go wild. But what happens when Ed, writer of "(h)E(a)D Lines" and Mercer's partner in geography class, figures out about Mercer's favorite wacky game, and what it's about? Then Ed thinks of an idea to end this game of so-called "madness." He decides to write negative comments about the game in the Cryer, the paper that everyone reads. Can Mercer think of a plan to make them understand? While he struggles with yet another problem? Or will his favorite activity lead to a disaster?

David Lubar lets his imagination fly free, just like his main character, Mercer. He made all of the facts seem exciting, though some were not quite tied up. But when I reached the end, all the bumps in my understanding smoothed and settled. David Lubar has a simple understanding of a child's desire for humor. He'll do anything to simplify the plot of the book. Yet nothing is perfect -- he has Mercer express his feelings by using bad language occasionally. I think the book could have lived without it. But David Lubar does have a wonderful book, in which he seems to express not just Mercer's mind, but also his own.