Quote from: BalbinusI have read the first Harry Potter novel in full, my life is too short to read more in the series.

They do become much more mature and complex from the third book onwards or so, though. The readership is expected to grow up along with Harry, after all; and while that first novel is decidedly kiddie fare, the latest ones have been written specifically for folks in their late teens.

Quote from: BalbinusWizard of Earthsea.
I was halfway through the first of them when I realised that all the characters were black.

Obviously not an important fact/theme for the producers of the mini-series...

Regards,
David R

Funny, I just realized that a) looking back I wouldn't enjoy re-reading any of the designated kids' books, even as some of them would pobably make passable RPGs (Once and Future King--good point, Balb).

AND that b) I still love some of the "adolescent" books I read immediately thereafter (most especially The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and, needless to say, the Catcher in the Rye), even as those wouldn't work as RPGs. At. All.

The deeper reason for that presumably being that Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Catcher ITR are precisely coming-of-age novels, so childhood wonder is what's being exchanged for something else. But that is what makes these books so good as books.

It's almost as if as soon as a book becomes literature it can't be an RPG any more... pointing to conclusions I REFUSE to draw.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityThe deeper reason for that presumably being that Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Catcher ITR are precisely coming-of-age novels, so childhood wonder is what's being exchanged for something else. But that is what makes these books so good as books.

Matter of taste, I expect.  I re-read many of these books on a fairly regular basis.  I like childhood wonder.

Tony, personal taste is unrelated to the fact, with which I myself am not necessarily happy, that childhood wonder and literature seem to be mutually exclusive.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityTony, personal taste is unrelated to the fact, with which I myself am not necessarily happy, that childhood wonder and literature seem to be mutually exclusive.

Who's been selling you that load of malarkey? :confused:

Sergej Eisenstein.

Quote from: Pierce InveraritySergej Eisenstein.

LOL.  Well, he doesn't know crap.  He's a film guy, what's he know about fuckin' literature?

Quote from: BalbinusHarry is a mary sue, he has uberskills at that which he turns his hand to, he's amazing magically and brilliant at sports, I tend to prefer characters a little more convincingly human.

You're... you're yankin' my leg, right? Harry, a Mary Sue?

No, I don't see it. Nothing *ever* goes right for Harry. That's hardly Mary Sue. The only thing he really has going for him is his flying skill. The rest is as much curse as it is benefit.

Quote from: ElectroKittySeriously, go read both of these series, before you bitch about how they're "too kiddie".

Just to be clear, I did read all of the Prydain books, with the exception of The Foundling and Other Tales (which I only just discovered exists, per Wikipedia), most likely in the 7th grade. I don't remember why I kept going all the way to the end; probably because they were an easy read and I was stuck in an English class where the teacher used some of class time to have us read from a bunch of books he had on the shelves.

As for Harry Potter, I'm not judging the contents of the books, just the attraction to adults. I'm an adult (at least in the eyes of the law) and I'm not attracted to the books based on what I've picked up about them, including the first movie or so, which my wife watched on TV.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityIt's almost as if as soon as a book becomes literature it can't be an RPG any more... pointing to conclusions I REFUSE to draw.

You need some good thematic gaming, matey!

Balbinus, over in the other thread you asked if the D'Aullaire mythology books were still worth it. I'm not sure about the Greek one; it's quite good but that may not overcome the fact that it's all pretty familiar stuff. The Norse book is excellent, though, and even though it probably cleans up some parts of the mythology, it's full of weirdness and wonder and danger. I also recommend the related Trolls, which is a sort of appendix concentrating just on those creatures, probably less canonical relative to the myths, but with a playful winking narrative style reminiscent of Tolkien in The Hobbit.

Edit: another "children's" book, with fantasy elements, which I'd unreservedly recommend for adults is The Griffon and the Minor Canon, by Frank Stockton, illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Although I like the books Sendak wrote himself, Griffon is quite a different beast.

Quote from: droogYou need some good thematic gaming, matey!

No way Jose.

That's middlebrow. AKA kitsch. Give me dungeons, give me Dante. Anything in-between, not so much.

"Dungeons & Dante"? Pretty awesome name for a game, actually.

Quote from: Pierce InverarityThat's middlebrow. AKA kitsch. Give me dungeons, give me Dante. Anything in-between, not so much.

The content may or may not be middlebrow, but the method is just a method. It opens the doors of infinite possibility.

What would the Dante game look like? How could you bring that experience to players? That's the question.

Quote from: jeff37923And if you don't mind broadening the field into anime, give Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky (Laputa), and Princess Mononoke a view. They are all done by Miyazaki and filled to the brim with ideas to mine.

I always thought Nausicaä and the Valley of Wind could be remodeled into a very fine RPG campaign, but I would use the setting info and general plot from Miyazaki's manga rather than his much shorter anime version.

Quote from: BalbinusWizard of Earthsea.
I was halfway through the first of them when I realised that all the characters were black.

Quote from: David RObviously not an important fact/theme for the producers of the mini-series...

...or the latest Ghibli movie, Gedo Senki - Tales from Earthsea, directed my Miyazaki's son.