# Help Locating A YA Fantasy Novel I Read As A Kid

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-locating-a-ya-fantasy-novel-i-read-as-a-kid/498643
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 3, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-locating-a-ya-fantasy-novel-i-read-as-a-kid/498643 "2009-06-03T22:54:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Musky\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90db22/32.png) [@Musky\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musky_Moon)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-locating-a-ya-fantasy-novel-i-read-as-a-kid/498643/1 "2009-06-03T22:54:00Z")

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There’s another thread floating around about rereading books from your childhood. It got me thinking about a book I remember enjoying when I was younger. I most likely read it in the mid to late 80’s.

The plot (what little I remember) is about a group of friends that play a dungeon and dragons type game. One day they are suddenly thrust into the fantasy world of their game and become their characters. I remember one was a thief, with a missing hand. I’m pretty sure he dies early in the book. One was a big fighter with a hammer that grows hotter as he gets angrier. It’s not much to go on, but any help would be cool.

One more little bit I just remembered that might help. The big fighter had a sister who died in the real world. A picture he carried of her made one of the other characters jealous, so he burns it with his hammer. Thanks again.

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### Author: ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)
#### Post date: [June 3, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-locating-a-ya-fantasy-novel-i-read-as-a-kid/498643/2 "2009-06-03T23:59:24Z")

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I think this is probably the first Joel Rosenberg novel, which I think is titled “The Sleeping Dragon.”

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### Author: ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-locating-a-ya-fantasy-novel-i-read-as-a-kid/498643/3 "2009-06-04T00:31:20Z")

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No, that business with the hammer and the sister isn’t in Rosenberg’s work. The rest of it is in _The Sleeping Dragon_, though.