Mazes and Monsters is a 1981 novel by Rona Jaffe. The novel is a cautionary tale regarding the new (at the time) hobby of fantasy role-playing games. The book was adapted into a made-for-television movie by the same name in 1982 starring the young Tom Hanks.
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| Author | Rona Jaffe |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press (USA) & Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. (UK) |
Publication date | September 1981 (USA Hardback), 01 February 1982 (UK Hardback) & 15 July 1982 (USA Paperback) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback, Large print ed., Paperback) |
| Pages | 329 pp (USA Hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-440-05536-9 (US hardback edition), ISBN 0-340-27820-X (UK hardback edition) & ISBN 0-440-15699-8 (US paperback edition), ISBN 0-8161-3324-7 (US Large print edition) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Background
The novel is based in large part on the largely apocryphal "steam tunnel incidents" of the late 1970s. These urban myths developed during the infancy of role playing games, generally purporting that university students playing a live action version of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) or similar game disappeared into the utility tunnels of the school and became lost, and in some cases died of hyperthermia or other causes.
In particular, Jaffe based the novel on newspaper reports concerning the disappearance of a Michigan State University student named James Dallas Egbert. This student did in fact go into the steam tunnels of his school, but for the purpose of committing suicide, not to play D&D. When Egbert's attempt on his life failed, he hid at various friends' houses for several weeks, and the private investigator hired by Egbert's parents to find him speculated in the press that perhaps Egbert had been playing D&D when he disappeared into the steam tunnels. Thus, although Egbert's situation had nothing to do with the game, it was widely reported in the press that D&D was the cause of his disappearance and rumored death.
Because of widespread reporting on the event, Jaffe worked feverishly from newspaper accounts to complete her novel, purportedly finishing it in just days so as to prevent other authors from publishing similar works before hers went to press.[citation needed] The public received the novel amidst a climate of uncertainty regarding the new pastime of role-playing games. Jaffe's account was read by many as a legitimate depiction of role-playing games, as many of her readers had no prior knowledge of the subject.
Like the contemporary Hobgoblin, this is a species of problem novel (although not aimed at young adult readers) by an established writer which treats the playing of roleplaying games as indicative of deep neurotic needs. In both books, the protagonist is (or at least appears to be) suffering from schizophrenia (or some analogous condition); in both books, the attainment of mature adulthood is accompanied by the abandonment of role-playing games. Sales of the book may also have benefited in the early 1980s from other negative media reports regarding D&D and similar games, such as those promulgated by Bothered About Dungeons and Dragons, an anti-RPG advocacy group. This negative media climate, combined with the dramatic "events" portrayed in Jaffe's book, led CBS to contract for the television rights to the novel. The movie adaptation premiered on the network in 1982.
Trivia
- In the episode "D & DD" of the animated television series Dexter's Laboratory, the characters play a role-playing game called "Monsters & Mazes".
References
See also
- The Dungeon Master (book on the Egbert incident by William Dear)
- History of role-playing games
- Hobgoblin (book)
- Media circus
- Moral panic
- Sensationalism
External links
- "The Disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III" by Shaun Hately
- "The Attacks on Role-Playing Games" by Paul Cardwell, Jr.