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Hamlet's Hit Points $9.95
Publisher: Pelgrane Press
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by Vincent W. [Verified Purchaser] Date Added: 05/21/2011 18:43:54

Hamlet's Hit Points is truly a great book if you are expecting what you get.

What you get is:

a SYSTEM for analyzing narrative events into beats (significant segments of narrative). Laws defines 9 types of beats based on their narrative role. Each beat is given a symbol for use in a graphic analysis of the narrative. Each beat is classified by its function and linked to the next beat by one of three types of arrows that either point up, down, or both. The arrows record the emotional impact of the beat. Together the symbols and arrows provide a schematic of how the narrative functions. Included are 11 x 17 diagrams laying out each story.

Three ANALYSIS : Hamlet (the play), Dr. No (the movie), and Casablanca (the movie are analyzed using the beat system. To get full benefit from laws analysis you need to have read the play (or seen a good movie version) and seen the movies recently. I found that I got the most out of the book by reading / watching right before reading the chapters.

The publisher's website provides CC licensed symbols and arrows for you to do your own analysis.

What you don't get is:

much practical advice on improving / handling narrative in your own GMing. Or, even a discussion of how this meta-critical analysis ties in to RPG rule systems such as Law's own. Here I would recommend adding "See Page XX" 24 of Law's column and the additional free ones on the Pelgrane Press website.

In sum:

Whether or not this book is a good value for a role player depends on how important story is in your campaign. The first real chapter, "Surprised By Story", contains a too brief but interesting analysis of the place of story in RPG.

I hope that the book gets the attention it deserves from students of narrative in literature and cognitive science although I'm afraid it will not be showing up on reading lists with books like Jerome Bruner's "Acts of Meaning."

Small quibble:

The symbols and arrows graphed, rarely, don't match the text. Over all the proof reading is excellent.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Hamlet's Hit Points
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