Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

Fantasy. Sci-Fi. Role-playing games. Tens of millions of people around the globe today turn away from the real world to inhabit others.

The online game World of Warcraft has alone lured nearly twelve million users. Who are these game-players and fantasy fans? What explains the irresistible appeal of such escapist adventures? And what could one man find if he embarked on a quest through fantasy world after fantasy world?

In an enthralling blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir, former role-player Ethan Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds — from Boston to California, New Zealand to France, Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. He asks gaming and fantasy geeks how they balance their escapist urges with the kingdom of adulthood. He seeks out those who dream of elves, long swords, and heroic deeds. He hangs out with Harry Potter tribute bands. He goes to fan conventions. He battles online goblins, trolls, and sorcerers. He camps with medieval reenactors. He becomes Ethor, Ethorian, and Ethor-An3. What he discovers is funny, poignant, and enlightening.

"Gilsdorf is an informative, personable guide, but the larger story, established early on, compassionately details his mother's tragedy and how it stunted his emotional growth....A vicarious peek into an escapist pastime." Kirkus Reviews

"Witty, downright funny, poignant, honest and...well, wistful. Anyone who has ever embraced 'escapism' will understand, and those who haven't taken that leap of imagination will want to after reading Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks." R.A. Salvatore, New York Times-bestselling author of forty novels, including The Dark Elf Trilogy

"A fun, quirky and fresh perspective for those wanting to know more about the amazing world of gaming." David Brin, winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus Awards, and author of The Postman, Kiln People, and The Transparent Society

"This is a delightful book — more fun than being a Dungeon Master to a group of high-level mages and thieves." A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically

"Ethan Gilsdorf's quest for himself leads through the fantasy world of millions of gamers in a breathless adventure/quest/memoir that is uniquely contemporary. This is at once a primer on the world of gaming, a self-help manual, and a wistful meditation on the passing of real time in a (nearly) virtual world." Andrei Codrescu, NPR commentator and author of The Posthuman Dada Guide

"Books about escapism and gaming too often swerve into cautionary tale territory. Negative and holier-than-though, they tend to lecture at length about the drawbacks to such pastimes and ignore the benefits of escapism. Thankfully, Gilsdorf’s book is different. ... For anyone who has ever spent time within imaginary realms, the book will speak volumes. For those who have not, it will educate and enlighten." WIRED.COM

"Imagine this: Lord of the Rings meets Jack Kerouac's On The Road" National Public Radio's Around and About

"Gilsdorf is an engaging and personable guide. Like many who will pick up his book, he's got one foot squarely in the real world, the other in the fantasy one. This is a journey well worth taking. " Booklist

"An orcs-and-all journey through geekdom." Melissa Anelli, author of Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon

In an enthralling blend of travelogue, pop-culture analysis, and memoir, former role-player Gilsdorf asks gaming and fantasy geeks how they balance their escapist urges with the kingdom of adulthood.

Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms. Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, he publishes travel, arts, and pop-culture stories regularly in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Christian Science Monitor, and has been published in other magazines and newspapers, including National Geographic Traveler, Psychology Today, and the Washington Post. He has also been a guest on talk radio as a fantasy and escapism expert. He does not own elf ears, but he has kept all his old D&D gear, and has been known to host a Lord of the Rings party or two. Follow Ethan's adventures — and his national book tour — at www.ethangilsdorf.com.