''Quag Keep'' is a fantasy novel by

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen name ...

published in 1978. Written after Norton had participated in a session of ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' with

Gary Gygax Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson. In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...

, it was the first novel to be set in Gygax's

World of Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''— Dave Arnes ...

, and the first to be based on the game of ''D&D''.

Description

Martin, a player in a game of ''D&D'', touches a figurine of a warrior, and is unwillingly transported into the body of Milo Jagon, a warrior in the city of

Greyhawk Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. Although not the first campaign world developed for ''Dungeons & Dragons''—Dave Arneson ...

. Milo/Martin gradually meets others likewise transported to this world. Bound together by forces they do not understand, the players struggle to trust each other. Under the compulsion of a

geas A ' or ' (pl. ') is an idiosyncratic taboo, whether of obligation or prohibition, similar to being under a vow or curse, yet the observance of which can also bring power and blessings. It is also used to mean specifically a spell prohibiting s ...

, everyone is forced to go on a quest. They eventually confront the one controlling them, the Gamemaster, and battle with him to regain control of their lives. Although they win, they find that they cannot return to "reality", and must remain in Greyhawk. Rather than splitting up, they realize they make a good team and decide to continue their adventures together.

Publication history

co-invented the game of ''

'', and formed the company TSR in 1974 to publish the new game. Two years later, Gygax invited the popular science fiction/fantasy author

to play a session of ''D&D'' set within his own home campaign world of Greyhawk. (It would be another two years until Gygax published details of this campaign world in the ''

World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting ''The World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting'' and the ''World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting'' are two closely related publications from TSR, Inc. that detail the fictional ''World of Greyhawk'' campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' ( ...

''.) Norton subsequently wrote a novel titled ''Quag Keep'' that used concepts from the role-playing game. The 222-page hardcover book was published by

Athenaeum Press Athenæum Press is an historic building located at 215 First Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The structure occupies the entire block between First Street, Second Street, Athenæum Street, and Linskey Way, which was formerly known as Munroe Str ...

in 1978. Just prior to the book's release, it was excerpted in Issue 12 of ''Dragon'' (February 1978). It was the first novel based on a role-playing game, the first to use the Greyhawk setting and the first to be based on ''D&D''. In the early 2000s, Norton and

Jean Rabe Jean Rabe is an American journalist, editor, gamer and writer of fantasy and mystery. After a career as a newspaper reporter, she was employed by TSR, Inc. for several years as head of the Role Playing Game Association and editor of the ''Polyhe ...

began to collaborate on a sequel to ''Quag Keep'', but Norton died before the book was completed. Rabe subsequently finished ''

Return to Quag Keep ''Return to Quag Keep'', a 2006 fantasy novel by Andre Norton and Jean Rabe, is a sequel to the fantasy novel ''Quag Keep'' written by Norton in 1978. Although Norton and Rabe began their collaboration in the early 2000s, Norton's death in 2005 mea ...

'', which was published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

in 2006. (ISFDB). Retrieved March 28, 2013.

Reception

''Quag Keep'' was one of Norton's less successful novels. Joyce Scrivner, writing for ''Graustark'', found that "the concepts are much too strong for the book. The story is of course a quest. But there is not enough time spent on the characters' interactions or the story of the travel." Scrivner thought that much more could have been done with the plot, saying, "There is not enough of a story here. The book is entirely too short for the story/plot/characters." She concluded, "Interesting, but minor, this book could be a good first draft for a novel three times as long." Chuck Schacht, writing for the ''School Library Journal'', agreed that the book was not Norton's finest work, finding that the main characters "are insufficiently developed and in general too cold and competent to invite empathy." Scacht also found the ending of the book lacked a finale, saying, "Norton, with the deft touch of a master, puts them through their paces in exciting action scenes set in vividly evoked alien atmospheres — until she gets them to where they've been headed all along; but then she has a hard time explaining satisfactorily what it's all been about." Due to its cast of young people, ''Quag Keep'' received attention from educators as a good book for teenage readers. * The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction listed ''Quag Keep'' in its Advisory List of Fiction, commenting that "this fantasy by a popular science fiction writer will appeal to junior high school students who love quest books with battles between Law (good) and Chaos (evil)." * ''Publisher's Weekly'' called ''Quag Keep'' "an arresting novel about people confused in time and identities ..Norton keeps readers nearly entranced as the actors are, in her expertly realized drama." * Charlotte Draper, in ''The Horn Book Magazine'', called the fantasy setting "cleverly devised and integrated." She concluded "The game seems deadly serious and involves a restructuring of the identity not only of the players — but ultimately of the gamemaster himself."

Other reviews and commentary

*Review by Francis J. Molson (1979) in ''Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review'', March 1979https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?11088 *Review by Thomas A. Easton' (1980) in ''Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact'', April 1980 *Review by

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

(1980) in ''The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 6''

References

{{reflist 1978 novels