Books like We Hunt Monsters

I am so impressed by Pirateaba’s worldbuilding. While there are some fantasy staples in the series, like dragons and dwarves, there are also plenty of lesser-seen races, like gnolls and djinni, and some that are completely unique creations, like the Antinium and the Gazers.

What’s more, all of these races feel like they have their own identities and shared culture, and then, on top of that, individuals from each race are distinct! Two gnolls won’t necessarily see eye-to-eye just because they’re gnolls.

The character work in this book is so good.

I love this story because it is everything that a magical school and otherworld story should be. I’ve read the entire book series about five times and will immediately start reading a new book in this series when it comes out, even if I’m in the middle of reading something else.

It’s a world that functions perfectly in every aspect; everything established in one book is a part of every other. There are no magic cure-alls that are ignored because they could resolve the plot in an afternoon, and every person is using the exact same magic system. No handwaving, no, “the author didn’t feel like explaining,” just a wonderful world where you get to explore and figure things out alongside the main character. It’s easily my favorite story of all time.

I love this story because it feels so awesome to read through it. It’s a story about a single man against the world, except that man starts out at the very bottom with nothing save knowledge, training, and an unbreakable will.

No fight is ever fair not just because his enemy is stronger, but because for every plan they’ve made, Micheal has a thousand. I’ve read this series like three times, and never regretted it. 

I love this story because it’s everything both a time-loop and a superhero story should be. It’s got fascinating powers that are both complex and internally consistent; I always go, “Oh, that makes sense.” When things are explained further, it always makes sense, and that also means that everything has a weakness. And the characters are just so much fun; I absolutely adore them.

There's all kinds and even the silly ones are never one-note jokes, they’re just being themselves and they just feel so real. I read this three-book series in less than a week, probably at the cost of getting some of my own writing done, because it’s just so damn good. 

The Earth has stopped spinning; magic rules on the night side, science on the light.

Not all of Zelany’s work holds up, but this one, a tale of Jack, a denizen of the dark side, is perhaps his best novel. I love the world Zelazny creates here.

It’s a slender book that drew me through from beginning to end.

When I first started GMing I had pages and pages of notes that took hours to prepare.

It was unsustainable and I knew there had to be a better way. The Lazy Dungeon Master technique of session and campaign planning helps to ensure that while you are prepared for your sessions you are not wasting time planning too much.

Using the methods in this book, my session preparation time went from several hours to around an hour and I think my sessions improved as a result. 

Understanding story structure, narrative drive, and world-building are incredibly helpful when running tabletop role-playing games.

As you run games you will often find that the players do not do what is expected and as the Game Master (GM) you have to adjust the story as you go. Understanding common story tropes and character arcs can help GM’s with building their world, their campaign, and adjusting the story as needed.

Hickson uses examples from literature, anime, and popular media to help illustrate the different themes explored in his series. 

This book is an exploration of “geek culture” including Dungeons and Dragons but also other aspects of fandom like live-action-role-playing (LARPing), and Harry Potter fandom. 

This is not a theoretically weighty book, but the author did substantial field work trying to explore and understand these subcultures. The throughline of the book concerns the human fascination with imaginary realms and the cultural forms people will invent to connect with these realms and bring them to life. As a religious studies scholar, I see this longing for other worlds as a “religious” impulse.

This was the first sociological study of fantasy role-playing games. Fine was able to detect and articulate what is sociologically significant about these games. 

The book takes dynamics that role-players just “get” and articulates them as sociological concepts. For example, he uses “frame theory” to explain how players verbally transition from the frame of the game mechanics and the story world of their characters. 

He also explains how games like Dungeons and Dragons are “autotelic.” In other words, you do not “win” at and these games, the purpose is “engrossment” or being absorbed into the fantasy world. 

Fine also did a great deal of participant observation for this book and it provides a great historical insight into the culture surrounding these games in the early 1980s––warts and all.

This book is a series of essays from some of the most well-known writers and creators in tabletop gaming.

This book is filled with tips and tricks to help you build your world and create a compelling plot that your players will want to engage in. This book will help you learn how to use different storytelling devices effectively in an RPG as it is slightly different than how you would use such devices in a written novel.

This book really helped me to start wrapping my mind around how shared narrative stories can work and how as a GM I can steer the story without taking away the agency of my players. This is a great quick read for new and experienced GMs alike!