I'd like to thank peaseblossom for this blood pressure spike.

I'm feeling kind of the way I did when I swore off Marvel and DC-except-Vertigo--angry, and frustrated, and great relief that I'm not actually missing anything, combined with a kind of sadness that something I initially thought was pretty cool just hasn't been delivering for years.

So. Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress.

WotC's site has (1) a selection of excerpts with a very specific slant, and (2) sincere reviews in the context of those excerpts. I mean, I was holding out tiny hope of sarcasm. Tiiiiiiny hope. And then I saw everything saying "Gosh, this totally gives people women the basics! What a great introduction to the gaming world! This'll tell them everything they need to know to get started in this hobby!" In fact,

It conveys not just the feel of the game, and why every sensible female of any species should play it, but it’s FUN!
- Ed Greenwood, creator of The Forgotten Realms and acclaimed fantasy author

Sensible, judging by the relevant excerpts, apparently indicates an simplistic but heavy focus on relationships; a desire to move past the totally typical female behaviour of running around town taping candy to your shirt and yelling "Suck for a buck!" (because god knows *that's* what women do when they party, I see it *all* the time); and the requisite burning desire to be the perfect size of 5'6" tops, no more than 135 pounds, and have no facial or body hair at all, ever.

Good grief, I don't even expect better anymore. I mean, I used to. Perhaps I'm becoming disillusioned in my old age.

The next time I meet a woman that I think might be interested in playing D&D, I'm going to give her a copy of this book before I do anything else.
- Monte Cook, game designer

I can only imagine how helpful this will be.

And you know what? Maybe the book *is* written tongue-in-cheek. Maybe the sample articles aren't representative, and are taken out of context. Maybe the reviews are about a smart, funny book that plays off tropes and stereotypes in such a way that it clearly undermines them and leaves you with the impression that a woman who's gaming might be interested in something beyond the sappy syrup of those Christ-awful HeartQuest books.

Maybe WotC just thought that the smartest thing they could do would be to toss up some trite stuff that plays up every boy-crazy bubblehead perfect-bod stereotype that comes to mind, because that'd be what they figure has the broadest appeal to the people who hit their website.

I can't imagine why.