Blue Flame, Tiny Stars

by Stephen Wendell

Thirteen-year-old Stephen is growing up in a mundane world until, during one fateful week in 1982, he discovers a new kind of game. It’s called Dungeons & Dragons, it’s a role-playing game, and under his best friend’s tutelage, he learns to play it. Now, he enters a world of medieval fantasy, where knights in shining armor perform heroic deeds, where monsters lurk in the shadows, and wizards wield powerful magic, where fabulous treasures lie hidden behind cunning traps, and deadly pitfalls await the unwary. In this game anything is possible, and by week’s end, Stephen knows it will change his life forever.

Genres: Nonfiction

45 pages, ebook

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Stephen Wendell is the author of the Littlelot series of adventure books for children and the grown-ups who read to them. In 2018, he followed his great grandfather from Tennessee to the Great War in France a hundred years before. Stephen recounts his ancestor’s war stories in A VERY MUDDY PLACE. His latest book is BLUE FLAME, TINY STARS, a memoir about learning to play Dungeons & Dragons in the early ’80s.

Reviews

[Brian Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short memoir was nice (I actually got the POD copy because that's how I roll, but the e-book is probably more cost effective); Wendell pointed out that as the people who initiated the hobby are starting to pass on, it's also important for us second generation players to lay out our introductions to the game. Wendell does so here in brief collection of his blog posts regarding encountering the Holmes edition of D&D back in the early 80's and how it changed his life. If you're one of those kids, or a newcomer who wants to know what those first days were like, this is a nice read.

[Pedro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brought back nostalgy and memories, in a good way.

So sort...

[Steve Ruskin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man what a great little book. Brought me back to all those happy years with my Basic Set, my Monster Manual, and those tattered issues of Dragon Magazine. Good times!

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short read does a great job at evoking the wonder and joy of first discovering D&D as a child. However, it is held back by its brevity - I would've liked to see more analysis, more depth.