Over on the Steam forums, a user named Haldurson remarked recently that Talisman had been mentioned in one of the books from the Wild Cards series.
For those that do not know, and I admit I was one of them, the books are centred on an alternate history Earth where everything changed in 1946.
A bomb containing an alien virus was detonated in the atmosphere, which affected people in different ways. Aces were gifted superhuman powers and Jokers were cursed with disfigurements, both mental and physical.
Down and Dirty is book 5 in the series and is set between October 1986 and June 1987.
The story Blood Ties, written by Melinda M. Snodgrass makes mention of the world of Talisman as a realm of fantasy, when there are much darker real-life issues to be faced.
Of course, even with a passing mention of Talisman, I just had to secure myself a copy of the book! Now I may have to try and find a hardback version of the first edition just ‘because’…
You can find out more about the Wild Cards series of books at Wild Cards Online, which has a whole host of information. You can also check out the website of the author and marvel at her many accomplishments!
** UPDATE June 10th 2016 **
After a brief discussion with Melinda, it would seem that the mention of Talisman in the story was totally coincidental, as she had not actually heard of the board game!
She had chosen the name as it sounded ‘fantasy-like’ for a reference to a game of some sort, as she and her friends were very much into role playing games at the time.
Well, I think she chose rather well as Talisman is indeed THE archetypal fantasy game!
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