Publishers Weekly
On the surface this is an account of the plot conceived by Chris Pritchard to murder his mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Lieth Von Stein, to inherit a large sum of money; the crime involved two of his friends, James Upchurch, the actual killer of the stepfather and wounder of the mother, and Neal Henderson, the driver of the car which took them to the Von Stein home in Washington, N.C., on July 25, 1988. All three, from middle-class families, were college students of exceptionally high intelligence. They were also players of Dungeons and Dragons, a game which, according to Bledsoe, teaches the philosophy of selfishness. The book is far more than a true-crime study: it is a devastating and profounly disturbing portrait of a certain kind of family life. Here people marry casually, have children, move on to another incompatible marriage. The children of these broken homes are adversely affected, often find school no challenge and squander their youth on addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, sex or fantasy games, until the groundwork is laid for tragedy. Bledsoe ( Bitter Blood ) brilliantly points up the terrible waste of human potential.
Library Journal
On July 25, 1988, in the early morning hours, the Von Stein house in Washington, North Carolina was invaded and the Von Steins brutally attacked. Lieth was murdered, and Bonnie, severely injured, barely survived. Their son Chris was away at college, but suspicion quickly focused on him and his friends. Chris, a very bright but totally unmotivated student, had become immersed in a world of drugs, alcohol, and the game Dungeons and Dragons. With a tenuous grasp on reality, and perhaps playing out a version of Dungeons and Dragons, he had convinced two friends, Neal Henderson and James Upchurch III, to kill his parents so that he could claim his very sizable inheritance. Ultimately, Henderson confessed. All three young men are now in prison, with Upchurch on death row. Although well written, this book is about a third too long, with too much emphasis on Upchurch's attempts to evade the police. Still, it makes a worthwhile addition to true crime collections.
On the surface this is an account of the plot conceived by Chris Pritchard to murder his mother and stepfather, Bonnie and Lieth Von Stein, to inherit a large sum of money; the crime involved two of his friends, James Upchurch, the actual killer of the stepfather and wounder of the mother, and Neal Henderson, the driver of the car which took them to the Von Stein home in Washington, N.C., on July 25, 1988. All three, from middle-class families, were college students of exceptionally high intelligence. They were also players of Dungeons and Dragons, a game which, according to Bledsoe, teaches the philosophy of selfishness. The book is far more than a true-crime study: it is a devastating and profounly disturbing portrait of a certain kind of family life. Here people marry casually, have children, move on to another incompatible marriage. The children of these broken homes are adversely affected, often find school no challenge and squander their youth on addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, sex or fantasy games, until the groundwork is laid for tragedy. Bledsoe ( Bitter Blood ) brilliantly points up the terrible waste of human potential.
Library Journal
On July 25, 1988, in the early morning hours, the Von Stein house in Washington, North Carolina was invaded and the Von Steins brutally attacked. Lieth was murdered, and Bonnie, severely injured, barely survived. Their son Chris was away at college, but suspicion quickly focused on him and his friends. Chris, a very bright but totally unmotivated student, had become immersed in a world of drugs, alcohol, and the game Dungeons and Dragons. With a tenuous grasp on reality, and perhaps playing out a version of Dungeons and Dragons, he had convinced two friends, Neal Henderson and James Upchurch III, to kill his parents so that he could claim his very sizable inheritance. Ultimately, Henderson confessed. All three young men are now in prison, with Upchurch on death row. Although well written, this book is about a third too long, with too much emphasis on Upchurch's attempts to evade the police. Still, it makes a worthwhile addition to true crime collections.
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