Reef of Death is similar to the adventure tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard in that it can be considered a daydream with a plot. As a daydream, it invites readers to participate in its fantasy by picturing themselves as the heroes and heroines of the adventures it describes. Also as a daydream, the events of the novel do not have to be rational, logical, or credible—in fact incredible escapes from certain death are an advantage to the narrative. Thus, as an example, Maruul saves the fatally poisoned PC by shocking him with electric eels!

Would this work in real life? Probably not. But the point of this episode is that Maruul's solution is amazing and ingenious, and it was even foreshadowed by an earlier explanation of how the eels were electric.

The novel may be full of implausibilities and extraordinary...