10-23-2021, 12:26 PM
I've been on a D&D history kick recently and I tried revisiting Rob Kuntz' book this week and it was even worse than I remembered it being when I first read it. Like, I actually regret buying it now when I compare it to all the other books about D&D history that are on the market these days and are, you know, actually readable.
I think Applecline's review is very fair, all things considered.
You could distill Kuntz' thesis to 5-10 pages, and I think Applecline is correct that a decent chunk of that thesis is mostly wrong. But, ugh, I have a philosophy degree, I'm used to reading purposely hard-to-understand academic gobblygook, and this book HURT to read.
I think Applecline's review is very fair, all things considered.
You could distill Kuntz' thesis to 5-10 pages, and I think Applecline is correct that a decent chunk of that thesis is mostly wrong. But, ugh, I have a philosophy degree, I'm used to reading purposely hard-to-understand academic gobblygook, and this book HURT to read.
Neon Necromancer Games - Products for the OSR and Action! System, perpetually coming "when they're done".