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The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot
As the first day of high school creeps closer, five friends agree to one last LARP* before splitting the party and ending their geeky game forever. But the real adventure is just beginning… Mistaking the teens’ costumed characters for actual warriors, a sorceress summons Sir Larpsalot, Elvish Presley, Brutus the Bullheaded, Master Prospero, and Tom Foolery to her world to complete an impossible quest. To succeed, they must become the heroes they only ever pretended to be. And if they can’t find a way to win, it’s GAME OVER for real!
- GenresFantasy
215 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 1, 2020
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
David Michael Williams
16 books36 followersDavid Michael Williams has suffered from a storytelling addiction for as long as he can remember. With a background in journalism, public relations, and marketing, he also flaunts his love affair with the written word as an author of speculative fiction. His most recent books include the sword-and-sorcery trilogy The Renegade Chronicles and The Soul Sleep Cycle, a genre-bending series that explores life, death, and the dreamscape.
He lives in Wisconsin with the best wife on this or any other planet and their two amazing children.
He lives in Wisconsin with the best wife on this or any other planet and their two amazing children.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 20, 2022
Never LARPed? Don’t be so quick to assume you haven’t! Anyone who has ever pretended to be someone they are not in an ‘acted out adventure’ with friends as a kid has played a ‘live action role playing’ game.
In this one the fantasy play backfires as an entity from an alternate universe believes their farce and pulls them into a real quest they feel completely unprepared for.
The reason I gave it three stars is I’m a lover of classic literature, in short, a book snob. So, don’t let my rating of ‘good’ discourage you. I mean ‘good’!
This was a very fun, clever, and entertaining middle school age book (fine for younger and older). He uses and twists well known pop culture quotes in hilarious ways. If you like sweet innocent stories with both pathos and humor, you’ll enjoy this one. A perfect read-aloud for families on rainy days!
In this one the fantasy play backfires as an entity from an alternate universe believes their farce and pulls them into a real quest they feel completely unprepared for.
The reason I gave it three stars is I’m a lover of classic literature, in short, a book snob. So, don’t let my rating of ‘good’ discourage you. I mean ‘good’!
This was a very fun, clever, and entertaining middle school age book (fine for younger and older). He uses and twists well known pop culture quotes in hilarious ways. If you like sweet innocent stories with both pathos and humor, you’ll enjoy this one. A perfect read-aloud for families on rainy days!
October 10, 2020
Originally published at Risingshadow.
David Michael Williams' The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot is a humorous young adult fantasy novel. It's an entertaining combination of portal fantasy and quest fantasy elements with a strong focus on larping.
The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot is comic fantasy and is not supposed to be taken seriously. It's harmless fun for those who like humorous storytelling and lighthearted stories. I was personally pleased with the story and found it entertaining, because it's a quick and fun read (there's something about this novel that strongly appeals to my inner geekness).
This novel tells of a group of larpers called Good Company. Good Company consists of Lorenzo (Sir Larpsalot - a human paragon), Asher (Elvish Presley - an elf minstrel), Mak (Brutus the Bullheaded - a minotaur berserker), Trent (Tom Foolery - a dwarf cleroque) and Jon (Master Prospero - a human magus). They're summoned by a sorceress Idelle du'Matalas to her world to save it. They have to find a relic that is possessed by a treacherous abomination called Wizard Hawk... This marks the beginning of a fast-paced and action-packed fantasy adventure that has a few twists and turns.
The author writes switfly about the teenagers and how they've larped in Mezzo-Earth. He also writes well about what happens to them when they arrive in another world and realise that they're not on Earth. It's fun to read about their reactions to new things and experiences, because they find themselves in a whole new situation.
It's amazing how well the author has managed to make larping an essential part of the plot. I was surprised by how fluently LARP elements were incorporated into the story. I also want to mention that it's good that the characters feel real and act like teenagers.
Although this novel will appeal to a wide range of readers and is accessible to many readers, I think that those who have personal experiences about live action roleplaying (and RPGs in general) will get the most out of it. If you've ever played any roleplaying games, you'll find a lot to enjoy in this novel. At the beginning of each chapter, the author delivers information about terms that are an essential part of RPG/LARP world. This is useful to readers who are not familiar with RPG terms.
My final words are:
If you're in need of light fantasy escapism, David Michael Williams' The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot is a good choice. Reading this novel will please your inner geekness, because the story is fast-paced and there's good dynamics between the characters.
David Michael Williams' The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot is a humorous young adult fantasy novel. It's an entertaining combination of portal fantasy and quest fantasy elements with a strong focus on larping.
The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot is comic fantasy and is not supposed to be taken seriously. It's harmless fun for those who like humorous storytelling and lighthearted stories. I was personally pleased with the story and found it entertaining, because it's a quick and fun read (there's something about this novel that strongly appeals to my inner geekness).
This novel tells of a group of larpers called Good Company. Good Company consists of Lorenzo (Sir Larpsalot - a human paragon), Asher (Elvish Presley - an elf minstrel), Mak (Brutus the Bullheaded - a minotaur berserker), Trent (Tom Foolery - a dwarf cleroque) and Jon (Master Prospero - a human magus). They're summoned by a sorceress Idelle du'Matalas to her world to save it. They have to find a relic that is possessed by a treacherous abomination called Wizard Hawk... This marks the beginning of a fast-paced and action-packed fantasy adventure that has a few twists and turns.
The author writes switfly about the teenagers and how they've larped in Mezzo-Earth. He also writes well about what happens to them when they arrive in another world and realise that they're not on Earth. It's fun to read about their reactions to new things and experiences, because they find themselves in a whole new situation.
It's amazing how well the author has managed to make larping an essential part of the plot. I was surprised by how fluently LARP elements were incorporated into the story. I also want to mention that it's good that the characters feel real and act like teenagers.
Although this novel will appeal to a wide range of readers and is accessible to many readers, I think that those who have personal experiences about live action roleplaying (and RPGs in general) will get the most out of it. If you've ever played any roleplaying games, you'll find a lot to enjoy in this novel. At the beginning of each chapter, the author delivers information about terms that are an essential part of RPG/LARP world. This is useful to readers who are not familiar with RPG terms.
My final words are:
If you're in need of light fantasy escapism, David Michael Williams' The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot is a good choice. Reading this novel will please your inner geekness, because the story is fast-paced and there's good dynamics between the characters.
October 6, 2020
The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot, is a humorous and exciting look onto the world of Live Action Role Playing. More importantly it answers the question, can LARPers stay in character when they get transported to a real fantasy world, with real villain's, real magic, and real danger?
What I really loved about this was the realism. Most stories when kids get transported to another world, they end up being the chosen ones, or having special powers, or make fantastic friends with the natives. But the members of Good (enough) Company, have a hockey stick. They don’t get magic or transform into their personas. Instead they bumble around in a world they know nothing about. You know like teenagers.
The best part of the story for me was all of the gaming references. Each chapter is named after a common gaming convention, followed by a short summery of what it means.
There’s a typical quest story line that they follow but they keep trying to relate their experience back to the games they’ve played. Instead of adapting to the current situation they treat it like it has game rules. When you figure out the rules to real life let me know. The whole novel was just hilarious from a situational perspective. Think Galaxy Quest, but without the alien hero worship.
If you like Gaming, Fantasy, or just seeing teenagers stumble through life, then I think you will enjoy this book.
*I was given an early copy of this novel for review, all opinions expressed here are my own and are given willingly and honestly.*
What I really loved about this was the realism. Most stories when kids get transported to another world, they end up being the chosen ones, or having special powers, or make fantastic friends with the natives. But the members of Good (enough) Company, have a hockey stick. They don’t get magic or transform into their personas. Instead they bumble around in a world they know nothing about. You know like teenagers.
The best part of the story for me was all of the gaming references. Each chapter is named after a common gaming convention, followed by a short summery of what it means.
There’s a typical quest story line that they follow but they keep trying to relate their experience back to the games they’ve played. Instead of adapting to the current situation they treat it like it has game rules. When you figure out the rules to real life let me know. The whole novel was just hilarious from a situational perspective. Think Galaxy Quest, but without the alien hero worship.
If you like Gaming, Fantasy, or just seeing teenagers stumble through life, then I think you will enjoy this book.
*I was given an early copy of this novel for review, all opinions expressed here are my own and are given willingly and honestly.*
October 25, 2020
I was a beta reader for author Williams' action-packed subversion of the “Chosen Ones” trope chock full of humor and poignancy, enjoying it then and now. A strong theme throughout might be “be careful what you wish for, you may just get it.” After Lorenzo and his teenaged school pals go through the looking glass, their “we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto” realizations are priceless! Despite their all being LARPers, they come to find out quickly that this is no game and that the stakes are despairingly high. None can take their ever returning home or even living to see the sun rise above Mezzo-Earth once more for granted. The “merry adventurers” of Good Company come to know defeat and despair as they come to realize just how feckless and impotent they are, the unlikeliest of Chosen Ones. But like teenagers everywhere experience, they grow and change and adapt to their new, unfamiliar, scary surroundings, coming to grips with new emotions, new conflicts, new responsibilities. This, along with the gaming terminology introducing each chapter, helps make this book eminently relatable to its intended audience and, to readers young(ish) and old, fun! Readers will come away eager to follow along with Good Company for yet another adventure in Hobbs Woods—a tantalizing proposition Williams leaves open in an infuriatingly vague manner.
October 3, 2020
After one member of their LARPing group goes missing, the remaining four find themselves on the most realistic quest they have ever had to win, because if they fail it will not just be game over but life over.
You can read my full review here.
I feel the book deserves the 4-star rating for both the entertaining plot and for creatively and successfully making LARPing a key plot point.
You can read my full review here.
I feel the book deserves the 4-star rating for both the entertaining plot and for creatively and successfully making LARPing a key plot point.
October 30, 2020
3.5 stars
Such a fun read! This is an homage to all things fantasy, and it does that in a really funny way while also not taking itself all too seriously. You don't need to know anything about larping to enjoy this book. The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot reminded me that I love the genre of fantasy and that I should read fantasy more reguarly.
Some things that could have been better:
- I am sure I will not remember this book in the long run. This is because it does nothing special and is a mix of a lot of fantasy elements.
- The characters were very bland. I found it hard to connect to a bunch of of 14 year-olds. Choosing to have characters this young also kind of proves the point that larping should only be done by teenagers, while in reality there is a massive group of adults who larp. Maybe the author could have made the characters slightly older and extended on their personalities more.
Such a fun read! This is an homage to all things fantasy, and it does that in a really funny way while also not taking itself all too seriously. You don't need to know anything about larping to enjoy this book. The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot reminded me that I love the genre of fantasy and that I should read fantasy more reguarly.
Some things that could have been better:
- I am sure I will not remember this book in the long run. This is because it does nothing special and is a mix of a lot of fantasy elements.
- The characters were very bland. I found it hard to connect to a bunch of of 14 year-olds. Choosing to have characters this young also kind of proves the point that larping should only be done by teenagers, while in reality there is a massive group of adults who larp. Maybe the author could have made the characters slightly older and extended on their personalities more.
April 12, 2022
A Fun Ride
This book is a great escape from the pressures of adulthood. It brought me back to the care-free days of building forts and fighting dragons with friends. I laughed so hard at the clever nods to the well known myths both ancient and modern. A great book for your pre-teens. But a relaxing escape for you too!
This book is a great escape from the pressures of adulthood. It brought me back to the care-free days of building forts and fighting dragons with friends. I laughed so hard at the clever nods to the well known myths both ancient and modern. A great book for your pre-teens. But a relaxing escape for you too!
July 1, 2021
Loved this story! The characters were real, believable, and interesting. The story was filled with action and adventure and lots of nods to LARP (live animated role playing)! But even if you don't LARP, it's a fun read! Highly recommend!
December 21, 2021
A fun read. Read for the November #Buzzwordathon - Lost in the title. 3.75/5
January 25, 2023
An enjoyable read filled with fun puns and believable characters that get pulled into an unbelievable plot!
April 2, 2021
It was a pretty standard portal fantasy. With the name and summary I expected it to be more punny or absurdist. It was well written and a fun quick story just not what I expected going in.
Read
February 3, 2020It was a great book that kept the reader interested with a lot of dynamic characters that helped move the lot along. It was written well so that no part was to long without action and never had anything that was so far fetched from their magical world besides one thing in the end. Also I would recommend it to anyone that likes RPG's and that has a good imagination.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews