Science fiction games

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 23

Science fiction games

Queenmagic, Kingmagic. By lan Watson. Goiiancx, 1986. 205 pp. $47.99 The white, feudal kingdom of Bellogard is in a continuous state of war with its black equivalent, Chorny. The power and prowess of each kingdom to attack and defend is applied by the magical abilities peculiar to the individuals within the feudal hierarchies. The war will only end with the entrapment of one or other king and the subsequent .disollution of the universe. Pedino, a young Bellogardlan commoner, is found to have developed magic of his own and is able to become a knight’s page. He becomes a spy and a customer of Sara, a whore, and subsequently is able to kill one of the black kingdom’s two bishops. Sara is unmasked as a Chorny spy but

escapes. Pedino is sent undercover to Chorny where he again meets Sara, herself Chorny’s bishop’s page, and together they discover the means, to escape the disollution of their universe. Their escape puts them into 2 the games, such as Snakes and Ladders, and Monopoly. Each translation reveals more about the rules and natural laws governing' their surroundings, until Pedino verges on the ultimate discovery. Watson’s is an exuberant tale and fun to read, though by no means the first to be based on a chess or games theme. However, at more than 24 cents a page in this country it might be best to receive such a quick, light read as a gift, or to wait for the paperback.—Chris Neale.