Guardians of the Flame

Guardians of the Flame is a long-running series by author Joel Rosenberg and is arguably his best-known work. The series is about a group of college students who participate in a fantasy role-playing game, and are magically transported to the world of the game by their gamemaster.

The first book, The Sleeping Dragon focuses on the former students struggling to survive in the world of the game. The series progresses with the students choosing to live in the 'game world' and forming their own community, which is in part based on opposition to the ubiquitous slave trade.

In the later books, the focus shifts from efforts to destroy the slave trade and on to various characters dealing with the changes in the fantasy world wrought by the former students (now mostly 40-somethings). The final three books shift focus to a new set of protagonists, relegating the 'Other Siders' to supporting cast and cameo appearances.

There are ten novels in the Guardians of the Flame series:

The first seven novels also have been reprinted in three omnibus editions collecting books 1-3, 4-5, and 6-7. The Science Fiction Book Club's omnibus editions of the first five books are titled Guardians of the Flame: The Warriors (Books 1-3, 1985) and Guardians of the Flame: The Heroes (Books 4-5, 1989). The Baen Books omnibus editions are titled The Guardians of the Flame (Books 1-3, 2003), Guardians of the Flame: Legacy (Books 4-5, 2004), and Guardians of the Flame: To Home and Ehvenor (Books 6-7, 2004).

Karl Cullinane is the leader of the students that come from our world (referred to in the series as the Other Side), gaining mighty fighting skills in the transition. After promising the Matriarch of the Healing Hand Society (the leader of the Hand cleric sect) to end slavery in This Side (the term for the world they find themselves in), he and the others build Home, the first semi-democratic settlement in the history of This Side. In The Silver Crown, he takes over the country of Bieme and defeats the nation they're at war with, Holtun, becoming the first Emperor of Holtun-Bieme. He is killed fighting a large number of slavers on the beaches of the island, Melawei, in The Heir Apparent.

Walter Slovotsky is one of the students. In transition, he gained expert thieving skills, including his often-used sneaking abilities. He has a trademark grin, described in many different ways, in general terms his "all-is-right-in-the-world-because-Walter-Slovotsky-is-in-it" grin. After Home is established, he becomes something like Karl's right-hand man, generally using his knowledge as a former agriculture student to benefit whatever place he happens to be. Walter is still alive by book 10. He is a highly sexual guy, generally attempting to bed any woman he meets that's attractive.

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