The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I admit: This is a review of game-based fiction. I simply urge you to stay and read through this review before you blow off 'Pierced Hearts.'

This is a good book. It's an excellent book. As an 'Over The Edge' fan, it had everything I could want about Al Amarja and more: the twisted conspiracies, the strange mysticism, the unique flavor of the country, and a few of it's more famous personalities. On the other hand, for people who are fearing a portmanteau of every single thing in the game that Robin Law thought was neat, I can easily think of five to ten terribly interesting parts of the game-world which he did *not* put in the book. Mr. Laws even excluded most of the concepts and people that he'd created. (Or, to be fair, that I know he created.)

In fact, the book passed the litmus test of game-based fiction: I gave it to a non-gamer fan at work (a mother of one, in fact), a fan of magical realism. She loved every word of it. She was completely unfamiliar with the games the book is based on, and finished it in days. So don't think you have to be an Atlas Games fanboy to like this book.

So, you may be thinking, now that I've gotten you to stay on for the review, what's the book about? (Alternately, you may be wondering why rpg.net lets me spew this in public. Sometimes, so do I.)

The main character, Alexandra (Alex) Sky, lives a slightly banal life in the US. Her sister is the internationally famous Christian rock star Jonna Sky, currently stopped in Al Amarja during her latest world tour. And she has just killed herself. Alex, therefore, has to go halfway around the world to attend the funeral, which her brother Patrick (up until now employed as Jonna's business manager) is holding very privately and very quickly, so that the lurid facts of her death aren't released to the press.

While there, Alex starts delving into the mystery of just *why* Jonna has killed herself, which seems to be linked to the designer drug Communion. This drug, very rare and expensive, seems to give one contact with the divine in a way more concrete than any other does. Unfortunately for Alex, at the same time she's investigating this drug, it's method of production and distribution is under attack by another criminal syndicate, which then overlaps with Alex's investigation in quite interesting (and dangerous) ways.

Robin Laws writes in a clear and easy fashion, making the book easy and quick to read, a joy in a first time novel writer. He's also got a good grip on the characterization, which leads to truly interesting conversations. Beyond the dialog, the story also has a clear and interesting plot. Also, by making one of it's viewpoint character an American who has never been to the island before, the island is introduced to the reader with a minimum of confusion or offensively obvious exposition.

As an example of the prose, here's an excerpt involving Alex and a new friend on the flight to the island, before Alex knows Jonna's killed herself:

"There's something sinful about deplorably bad food, don't you think?" said the man, biting into a morsel of cardboard-colored chicken. "Consuming it is surely connected to the masochistic impulse. Defiling the temple, as it were. Yes?"
"Uh, well, personally I don't think it counts as a sin unless you get some enjoyment at some point."
The man chewed thoughtfully. "Hmm, interesting. Let's run through the sins and see if that holds. All of the sexual sins, of course - but what if you cheat on your husband and don't come? Surely it's adultery regardless of one's orgasmic status." He looked over at her with a self-satisfied expression. This expression fell into petulant disappointment when he saw that Alex wasn't looking particularly shocked.
"I'm not married, so I wouldn't know first hand. But I'd figure getting off is just one consideration. There's the pleasure of sneaking around, the love of the risk of getting caught - or the vengeance thing, hurting the person you're screwing around on."
"Ah. Granted. You are much more interesting than a Serbian war criminal, my dear. Let us see: masturbation, embezzlement, murder, karaoke... they all check out. Your theory does appear to be sound."
Alex looked out the window into the darkness above the clouds. "I just thought of one that doesn't apply."
The man waited patiently for her to continue.
"Suicide. There's no pleasure in that. And it's definitely a sin."
"I am afraid I must disagree," the man said. "There is no act more deliciously self-involved. You bring your personal universe to an end, imagining the effect of your shocking act on all you leave behind. It is a dark pleasure, perhaps the darkest and most selfish. One that even I would not indulge in. Even assuming there was someone who would mourn my departure."
Alex closed her eyes and let her head fall back against her seat's headrest.

Well, I don't want to give away the entire scene. The whole book doesn't always have the dark flippancy of this part of the conversation - parts of it get very serious, and not always dark-serious.

It's a bit of a shame 'Pierced Heart' was printed and marketed the way it was. If a fiction publisher had released it with all of the game-fiction hoopla removed, I think it could have done quite well in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre. As it is, that and the problems with distribution at the time it was published (1996) meant that not too many people were able to buy it.

So, in short, I think this is a fantastic book. For gamers, it's an excellent introduction to a game world not often encountered, as well as a look into how it might be to play in it. For non-gamers, it's a strange and distorted view of our world presented in small chunks, so as not to alarm the reader too quickly. Buy it, read it, lend it to a friend. If you can't find it at your local game store, you can order it directly from Atlas Games at http://www.atlas-games.com/.

And I hope that some day Robin Laws finds he has another book in him. Whatever it's about, I'm sure it would be another gem of a story.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Pierced Heart
Author: Robin D. Laws Category: Game-related fiction Company/Publisher: Atlas Games Cost: $14.95 Page count: 205 ISBN: 1-887801-54-5 Capsule Review by John Fiala on 02/07/99. Genre tags: Modern_day Conspiracy	I admit: This is a review of game-based fiction. I simply urge you to stay and read through this review before you blow off 'Pierced Hearts.' This is a good book. It's an excellent book. As an 'Over The Edge' fan, it had everything I could want about Al Amarja and more: the twisted conspiracies, the strange mysticism, the unique flavor of the country, and a few of it's more famous personalities. On the other hand, for people who are fearing a portmanteau of every single thing in the game that Robin Law thought was neat, I can easily think of five to ten terribly interesting parts of the game-world which he did not put in the book. Mr. Laws even excluded most of the concepts and people that he'd created. (Or, to be fair, that I know he created.) In fact, the book passed the litmus test of game-based fiction: I gave it to a non-gamer fan at work (a mother of one, in fact), a fan of magical realism. She loved every word of it. She was completely unfamiliar with the games the book is based on, and finished it in days. So don't think you have to be an Atlas Games fanboy to like this book. So, you may be thinking, now that I've gotten you to stay on for the review, what's the book about? (Alternately, you may be wondering why rpg.net lets me spew this in public. Sometimes, so do I.) The main character, Alexandra (Alex) Sky, lives a slightly banal life in the US. Her sister is the internationally famous Christian rock star Jonna Sky, currently stopped in Al Amarja during her latest world tour. And she has just killed herself. Alex, therefore, has to go halfway around the world to attend the funeral, which her brother Patrick (up until now employed as Jonna's business manager) is holding very privately and very quickly, so that the lurid facts of her death aren't released to the press. While there, Alex starts delving into the mystery of just why Jonna has killed herself, which seems to be linked to the designer drug Communion. This drug, very rare and expensive, seems to give one contact with the divine in a way more concrete than any other does. Unfortunately for Alex, at the same time she's investigating this drug, it's method of production and distribution is under attack by another criminal syndicate, which then overlaps with Alex's investigation in quite interesting (and dangerous) ways. Robin Laws writes in a clear and easy fashion, making the book easy and quick to read, a joy in a first time novel writer. He's also got a good grip on the characterization, which leads to truly interesting conversations. Beyond the dialog, the story also has a clear and interesting plot. Also, by making one of it's viewpoint character an American who has never been to the island before, the island is introduced to the reader with a minimum of confusion or offensively obvious exposition. As an example of the prose, here's an excerpt involving Alex and a new friend on the flight to the island, before Alex knows Jonna's killed herself: "There's something sinful about deplorably bad food, don't you think?" said the man, biting into a morsel of cardboard-colored chicken. "Consuming it is surely connected to the masochistic impulse. Defiling the temple, as it were. Yes?" "Uh, well, personally I don't think it counts as a sin unless you get some enjoyment at some point." The man chewed thoughtfully. "Hmm, interesting. Let's run through the sins and see if that holds. All of the sexual sins, of course - but what if you cheat on your husband and don't come? Surely it's adultery regardless of one's orgasmic status." He looked over at her with a self-satisfied expression. This expression fell into petulant disappointment when he saw that Alex wasn't looking particularly shocked. "I'm not married, so I wouldn't know first hand. But I'd figure getting off is just one consideration. There's the pleasure of sneaking around, the love of the risk of getting caught - or the vengeance thing, hurting the person you're screwing around on." "Ah. Granted. You are much more interesting than a Serbian war criminal, my dear. Let us see: masturbation, embezzlement, murder, karaoke... they all check out. Your theory does appear to be sound." Alex looked out the window into the darkness above the clouds. "I just thought of one that doesn't apply." The man waited patiently for her to continue. "Suicide. There's no pleasure in that. And it's definitely a sin." "I am afraid I must disagree," the man said. "There is no act more deliciously self-involved. You bring your personal universe to an end, imagining the effect of your shocking act on all you leave behind. It is a dark pleasure, perhaps the darkest and most selfish. One that even I would not indulge in. Even assuming there was someone who would mourn my departure." Alex closed her eyes and let her head fall back against her seat's headrest. Well, I don't want to give away the entire scene. The whole book doesn't always have the dark flippancy of this part of the conversation - parts of it get very serious, and not always dark-serious. It's a bit of a shame 'Pierced Heart' was printed and marketed the way it was. If a fiction publisher had released it with all of the game-fiction hoopla removed, I think it could have done quite well in the Science Fiction/Fantasy genre. As it is, that and the problems with distribution at the time it was published (1996) meant that not too many people were able to buy it. So, in short, I think this is a fantastic book. For gamers, it's an excellent introduction to a game world not often encountered, as well as a look into how it might be to play in it. For non-gamers, it's a strange and distorted view of our world presented in small chunks, so as not to alarm the reader too quickly. Buy it, read it, lend it to a friend. If you can't find it at your local game store, you can order it directly from Atlas Games at http://www.atlas-games.com/. And I hope that some day Robin Laws finds he has another book in him. Whatever it's about, I'm sure it would be another gem of a story. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)