I love DnD but am kind of a newbie to tabletop RPGs (with the exception of HeroQuest in the 90s and some card games). So, I came into this book from a completely objective viewpoint about the people involved in DnD's history. Riggs seemed objective to me as well, which I really appreciate in a history book about something that can apparently be a very contentious topic in the RPG world. Slaying the Dragon was well-researched, packed with information, and still fascinating and funny! I really enjoyed the narration, too. Definitely recommend to anyone interested in DnD or recent microhistories set in the U.S.

Read like a combination biography, post-mortem, and love letter to TSR. Riggs is clearly a super fan and a meticulous journalist and told a compelling story about the rise and fall of a company that is a geek icon. I would have liked more detail on the games settings themselves (was the buck rogers rpg any good?) but this was a compelling business book.

This was a very interesting read about the history of Dungeons and Dragons and TSR. I only started playing D&D within the last five years, so this history of this time period at D&D and how it came to be owned by Wizards of the Coast was entirely new to me. It's a fascinating read for anyone who's curious about how D&D came to be where it is today.

I've just recently started playing DnD so do not have a great idea of the history and backstory, but I am educated now. I loved the cheeky writing by the author and his unflattering nicknames (Saint Gary) for some of the more notorious characters in this story.

This is the only history of DnD that I've read, but I will say this seems a bit biased. I am 100% ok with that, but those that are looking for something more objective (why WOULD you want an objective history of an RPG??) may want to look elsewhere.

The audio narration was good, but as it was non-fiction content it was a bit dry.

I love playing D&D and learning the history of the game's development in Ben Riggs book, was a great listen.

The last line of the book was a quote from Lisa Stevens about what she learned from TSR, she said "Don't do stupid shit."

It was great to hear the stories of some great artists and writers who were given a chance by TSR and to learn how Wizards of the Coast ended up with the company.

There is no feeling like the comradery of sitting around a table with friends for hours living an adventure in the theater of the mind.

✨I play a Neutral Good Half-Orc Monk named Halfor the Handsome who meditates to find inner peace, carries a travel tea set, and is a skilled woodworker. He was raised in a halfling monastery and is traveling the world recording stories. ✨

Thank you @netgalley and McMillan Audio/ St. Martin's press for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

Slaying the Dragon was great on print and on audio. My husband plays D&D, but I really don't know much about the backstory of how it was created. I loved this non-fiction look into the ups and downs of TSR as a company. This would be a must read for anyone interested in gaming, but also in business stories. Very fascinating!

Dear Slaying the Dragon,
I am a huge nerd, and have played D&D for many years. I knew a little bit about the fall of TSR and rise of Wizards of Coast but had no idea about the depths of the mistakes of the company management and how far the company that started the role playing industry fell. You were so well researched, and chock full of information of the rise and fall of TSR. I loved that your story was woven in with the financial details and research that was involved in writing you, but the facts did not take away from the drama and interest I had in your over all story. You layed bare all of the successes and missteps that Loraine Williams took as the head of TSR, how she initially saved the company from Gary Gygax' mistakes and helped deliver it into the hands of a company that has treated the intellect property of D&D with care and respect and helped it continue into success today.

I struggle to read full non-fiction books, and usually prefer audiobooks over podcasts-- but if anything was gonna get me into some non-fiction, it was gonna be a history of D&D.

First, the text. This was a fascinating history of TSR and the trajectory of D&D! Some of the backstory I knew, but most of it was novel, and even the financial maneuvering was interestingly told. There are certainly shorter versions of this story out there, but Riggs' thorough interviews make this one meaty and full of interesting minutiae.

Also, the audiobook reading, which is kind of a novel thing to me-- extremely pleasant! Well-balanced audio and well-paced, I was able to listen to this at 1.25x while driving, cooking, etc. and slowly get through it.

If you're a D&D player, all kinds of origin stories are here for you to put into your ears!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!
As someone who really enjoys D&D but only recently got into playing it for myself, this book unlocked a part of the game that I'd never delved into before, the history of the company that published it. I'm not usually big on nonfiction reads, but this was engaging, informative, and had, at times, a fun sense of humor to go along with the mind-boggling story of this game and TSR.
I was going to give this one 4 stars, because I normally need something really memorable about a book to give it all 5, but that didn't come until the final chapters of the book. I found myself actually excited and overjoyed at the way things played out and how Riggs included them in the history of the company, and I think he managed, the entire time, to remain very neutral on some topics in a way that I really appreciated. It was a great story, well told, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys RPG's or gaming in general.

As someone who got only touched on RPG in her teens, I found this fascinating.
I married a mega D&D nerd, so my education has been increasing over the last 20 years or so.
I was able to teach him a thing or two as I listened to this book.
There was quite a bit more to the destruction of TSR than anyone on the outside knew possible.
I will have to listen to this a couple more times to retain all the info, but I'm okay with that.
The amount of research and interviews Riggs did to get this together was highly impressive.
Looking forward to listening to it again!
Much love to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for my DRC.

This was fascinating, coming from a person who has never personally played DnD but who learned all she knows from the podcasts learning the history of the business who brought us this role playing game and the disastrous management decisions was so interesting.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review which has not altered my opinion of this book.

As someone born and raised in the state of Wisconsin, I was quite surprised to learn that the immersive game I play once a week friends was developed here in my home state. The fact that this is a game that has a very dramatic history (which fits) matches the fact that the company who developed it has just as crazy of a history, if not more. I appreciated everything that this book taught me about what happens when we get a little too ambitious and forget what is really important to the consumer. That and the fact that a game such as D&D really isn't the best business since you only have to buy it once. Huh, never really thought about that from a business sense.

While this book is obviously a history of D&D, it more looks at the history of the company that developed it, TSR. Without getting into too many details, TSR was a company that has tried to fit into so many niche markets that it seems to have lost its identity along the way, at least that's what it seems like. They have done everything from game creation to publishing and according to Riggs and his research they have done it in the really the best way possible. The book was well organized and the information in it was interesting and researched using actually quotes from people who were there.

As far as the narration went, I think it was very well done and easy to follow. His voice, while portraying emotion did so without bias as is expected for a non-fiction book. It was a little slow to listen to, so I had it playing at 1.75 speed for most of the duration.

Overall, highly recommend this book as it was fun to listen to and very interesting as well. I learned a lot about the history of D&D as well as found a few authors that I have pinaly picked up to read. 4.5 out of 5.

As a token nerd, I was so excited to see a book about the history of Dungeons and Dragons on NetGalley, and I was even more excited to be approved for the audiobook!

I can say that while I’ve played DD here and there, I’ve never played seriously or thought too much about the background and official creation of the game. While I did wonder in general who comes up with these things, I never thought too much about it.

This book really dove right in and gave us the full history - from the creators to the companies that own the rights as well as the playing process and such. I found it really interesting!

If you enjoy learning about the history of games, DD specifically or other RPGs, I’d definitely recommend this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons or any tabletop RPG games, nor watched anyone play them, so I’m not sure why I was drawn to this book. I’ve always loved video games, so I’ve always wanted to try out D&D and other formats of games, but for some reason I’ve never had the opportunity or means to play. Nevertheless, I still wanted to read about its history.

Slaying the Dragon is the true story of the rise and fall of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), the original creators of Dungeons & Dragons, and how the game ultimately ended up in the hands of Wizards of the Coast, TSR’s biggest rival at the time.

Despite having never played D&D and not being a huge fan of nonfiction, I actually found this book to be very interesting and easily readable. The author’s writing is so captivating and enjoyable. This wasn’t dry or hard to read at all. The only real complaint I have is that sometimes I got the people mixed up, but that likely comes from listening to the audiobook and not being able to see the names written down, which overall wasn’t a huge deal. The audiobook narrator was excellent though and had a great voice to listen to.

The history of D&D is full of surprises and the author did a great job of laying it all out from the beginning, including all the big moments while also highlighting minor details that were notable or simply just interesting facts. I think it’s hilarious that in the “Satanic Panic” era of the 1970s, people thought D&D summoned actual demons and enticed people to commit suicide. I’ve never understood how people come to these absurd conclusions about fantasy games or novels.

Overall, Slaying the Dragon was a super fun read that I would definitely recommend to any Dungeons & Dragons fans out there, whether you were a hardcore fan in the ’80s or you’re a casual player now or you only read the novels. Tabletop and RPG gamers would likely also have a good time reading this book. Above anything, it’s a really fascinating history, even if you aren’t super familiar with D&D (like me). I’m so glad I had the opportunity to read this.

If you're at all into gaming or geek culture and have any interest in history, this is definitely worth a read. Slaying the Dragon is a fascinating account of the history of TSR, the company that created Dungeons and Dragons, all the way through it being bought by Wizards Of the Coast.

The author interviewed as many people as possible to do research for the book and it offers a nuanced look at what happened, including details on the poor financial decisions that ended up leading to the downfall of TSR. But you also see how amazing it was at its best, some of the incredible artists and writers who were developed at the company (even if they too often failed to retain their best talent). There are some wild, fun, and tragic stories. Plus the irony of the fact that this game central to the Satanic Panic of the 80's and 90's was created by a devout Jehovah's Witness!

I enjoyed this a lot, though at times the author inserted himself into the narrative a bit too much. I do wish this had covered more on HOW D&D became so popular in the mainstream in the past decade or so. It's mentioned at the end, but not in any great detail. That said, this is interesting and well-researched. The audio narrator does a great job and nails the tone of the book - history, but also light and sometimes a bit tongue-in-cheek. Which works for the topic. I received an audio review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Thank you so much to @Netgalley for the audiobook ARC copy of Slaying the Dragon by Ben Riggs!

I have been playing D&D for almost 2 years now, but was never really aware of what an incredible history the game had. Riggs does an excellent job of detailing the rise and fall of Tactical Studies Rules (also known as TSR, the company responsible for the Dungeons and Dragons empire) and game designer Gary Gygax. I learned so much about the company's modest beginnings, and how genuinely awesome an experience it was to work for this corporation. Through a series of interviews, personal experiences, and historical documentation, Riggs explains in great detail how a company that started off with such great promise, plummeted disastrously at the hands of several misguided individuals. It was a truly wild ride.

The narrator was awesome and made the story sound super engaging, despite some of the very "numbers-oriented" details.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

Slaying the Dragon is a fascinating look at the rise and fall, and ultimately, the sell-off, of the company that revolutionized role-playing games with the release of Dungeons and Dragons. The author has obviously done extensive research, and manages to convey lots of insider viewpoints without devolving into sensationalism and finger-pointing. Definitely worth the read if you are a fan of RPGs in general, and a must-read if you're a D&D aficionado.

As thoroughgoing, and well-researched a history of the company that introduced the world's first roleplaying game to the masses as one might hope for. Riggs is perhaps a bit breathless in his descriptions of TSR's creative types (as evidenced by his too-frequent use of the word "genius"); still, his love of the game shines through, and his efforts to present both the triumphs and tragedies of the storied game publisher are praiseworthy. While it is clear that the book would have benefitted from the input of popular scapegoat TSR President Lorraine Williams, Riggs manages to give most of the players their due, and the sum total of his efforts is a detailed and fascinating business case study that will also appeal to gaming geeks.