If, like many of my generation you’re a geek with a soft spot for dice-rolling, sarky humor, and a sprinkle of supernatural shenanigans, A Conventional Boy by Charles Stross may be up your street! This latest book from his long running Laundry Files series may just have you grinning like a kid who just rolled a natural 20. At its heart this is a story about a D&D nerd accidentally tangled up with a secret occult-busting agency, all while the 1980s Satanic Panic is in full swing. For anyone who remembers this time in the mid 80s some of this may seem familiar, though sprinkled with Stross’s unique take on things.
The star of this book is Derek Reilly, a teenager jus discovering the world of D&D when he gets caught up by the Laundry who mistake his D&D sessions for some kind of demonic ritual. Fast-forward through decades of being stuck in their unique internment camp, Camp Sunshine, and due to a forthcoming change in circumstances Derek decides he finally wants to get out to attend DiceCon 16. So starts the story of a middle-aged geek who hasn’t been in the real world for 30 years out of his depth at a gaming convention. In true Stross fashion Derek finds himself not only a star for the postal games he has run but is forced to suddenly play hero against a bunch of LARPers who are way too into summoning ancient gods..
Stross loves to poke fun at everything—bureaucratic nonsense, the satanic panic of the 80’s, and in one memorable passage his own books (without spoiling a previous set of books provide the backdrop to one of his campaigns. Despite the humour though this book is primarily a love letter to tabletop gaming. The D&D details are so spot-on, Stross doesn’t just name-drop obscure rulebooks or references the classics he weaves in the culture—the conventions, the debates over rules, the joy of escaping into a fantasy world. If you’ve ever argued over THAC0 or lost a character to a bad roll much of this will feel familiar.
As this introduces new characters into the rich Laundry Files universe Stross has added in two extra short stories, “Overtime” and “Down on the Farm,” starring fan-favourite Bob Howard. They’re enjoyable but for me the star was Derek’s story and I would have been happy with more about him, but this is a minor gripe.
A Conventional Boy is a great book – and if you have a history of D&D but haven’t read any previous Laundry Files, this could be a great entry. It is a fun, endearing trip to bassments or living rooms with friends and there’s enough nerdy goodness to make your inner 12-year-old smile. Grab it, roll initiative, and dive in. You won’t regret it!