“An elf cloak is designed to render its user invisible. Worn in the Coventry shopping precinct when the City are playing at home, however, it has rather the opposite effect.”

For five years between the ages of 11 and 16, Mark Barrowcliffe was a Dungeons & Dragons addict. His misspent youth was devoted to living in a fantasy universe that was unsurprisingly a great deal more alluring than the Coventry housing estate where he grew up. While other boys were out meeting girls, getting sun tans and learning about life, Mark was locked in dark rooms arguing with nerds about elves. THE ELFISH GENE is Mark’s hilarious memoir of his Dungeons & Dragons years. It also offers an unsparingly honest examination into the way that men use games to keep real life, responsibilities and relationships at bay.