thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
This second book in what is now a series of four was written six years after the first. In this double mystery are elements of the game, the park workings, and an in-park presentation being made to pitch "The Barsoom Project", a Mars colonization effort.
Read this one originally in or shortly after college. Star Trek TNG debuted while this was being written, and I wonder if their holodeck influenced the authors. The mystery and characters are good, and we see humor from the players of the game, one of whom is a comedian. An afterword talks about sources for the legends and science, and also the IFGS, a real-life society founded to try and create a real Dream Park sometime in the future.
This book references the original novel, but could almost stand alone. Purchased the third book also, but not sure whether I read it at the time. That mystery will be solved this year, when I attempt to finish off this series.
Read this one originally in or shortly after college. Star Trek TNG debuted while this was being written, and I wonder if their holodeck influenced the authors. The mystery and characters are good, and we see humor from the players of the game, one of whom is a comedian. An afterword talks about sources for the legends and science, and also the IFGS, a real-life society founded to try and create a real Dream Park sometime in the future.
This book references the original novel, but could almost stand alone. Purchased the third book also, but not sure whether I read it at the time. That mystery will be solved this year, when I attempt to finish off this series.
rouver's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as good as Dream Park, but still enjoyable. So, if you read the first & have some extra time on your hands, you can pick up the second....aaand, I see there's a third. I'm off to see if the library has it. :)
rdpulfer's review against another edition
3.0
It's more virtual reality theme park shenanigans, this time at a weight loss program called the Fat Ripper. Once again, something sinister is afoot and Dream Park security Alex Griffin must investigates. Beyond the similarities, there is a lot to like with this book - the characters feel stronger, and the emphasis on weight loss makes the band of gamers feel more relatable. Unfortunately, the book feels a bit torn between several POV characters - it almost feels like the book would have been stronger if it was a standalone story with just a few links to the first book. Still, it's a fun read by two great sci-fi legends.
kevinhock's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
js_warren's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely not as good as the first book in the series, but it was a'ight. #LazyReview
wetdryvac's review
5.0
So far, doesn't appear as tightly introduced as the first book in the series, but that may simply be because the first book was so concerned with meticulous construction of world.
brettt's review
3.0
In 1981 Larry Niven and Steven Barnes teamed up for a book called Dream Park, in which mid-21st century technology allowed for realistic live-action fantasy role-playing games. A company called Cowles Industries has built an amusement park featuring different exhibits and attractions along those lines, with the ultimate "ride" being a full-scale adventure game mockup which is recorded and marketed like a movie.
In short, Niven and Barnes created the ultimate Dungeons and Dragons fantasy, in which the games are not only "real," but have crossed over into pop culture entertainment. The next novel in the series came out in 1989, as technology had started overtaking the vision that Niven and Barnes dreamed up. They tweaked their use of holography and other tecnhiques for The Barsoom Project, a novel in which an important ambassador's niece, playing a game modeled on Inuit mythology, may be the target of an assassin. A former player, her mind unbalanced after an earlier gaming disaster, is back in the same game where the disaster happened. How did she get past the screening process? Is she the assassin? Is it someone else? What kind of corporate shenanigans is the Middle Eastern billionaire up to against Cowles Industries, and is he involved?
Like Dream Park, Project is more of a mystery hybrid than a straight sci-fi novel. One plot thread concerns the characters in the game attempting to win it, another concerns the players portraying the characters and their interactions and another follows the mystery of who's behind the criminal activities in the corporate arena. Security chief Alex Griffin has to unravel the third thread while keeping an eye on the second one, balancing that with the interests of the paying customers running the first.
Niven and Barnes created a very interesting world with the Dream Park series, and most of the fascination in the novels hangs on how the "games" interact with the technology that creates them. Their characters are interesting as a group, but not so much as individuals and fleshing them out is perfunctory at best. But the pair create a fast-moving, fun "what-if" yarn that marries its fiction elements well to its science and is a fun afternoon of reading.
The only real problem is the title -- it refers to a Cowles Industries proposal for testing different kinds of surface-to-space transport systems on Mars to avoid catastrophic accidents on Earth, and has nothing to do with the Barsoom of Edgar Rice Burroughs' imagination. A significant letdown indeed.
Original available here.
In short, Niven and Barnes created the ultimate Dungeons and Dragons fantasy, in which the games are not only "real," but have crossed over into pop culture entertainment. The next novel in the series came out in 1989, as technology had started overtaking the vision that Niven and Barnes dreamed up. They tweaked their use of holography and other tecnhiques for The Barsoom Project, a novel in which an important ambassador's niece, playing a game modeled on Inuit mythology, may be the target of an assassin. A former player, her mind unbalanced after an earlier gaming disaster, is back in the same game where the disaster happened. How did she get past the screening process? Is she the assassin? Is it someone else? What kind of corporate shenanigans is the Middle Eastern billionaire up to against Cowles Industries, and is he involved?
Like Dream Park, Project is more of a mystery hybrid than a straight sci-fi novel. One plot thread concerns the characters in the game attempting to win it, another concerns the players portraying the characters and their interactions and another follows the mystery of who's behind the criminal activities in the corporate arena. Security chief Alex Griffin has to unravel the third thread while keeping an eye on the second one, balancing that with the interests of the paying customers running the first.
Niven and Barnes created a very interesting world with the Dream Park series, and most of the fascination in the novels hangs on how the "games" interact with the technology that creates them. Their characters are interesting as a group, but not so much as individuals and fleshing them out is perfunctory at best. But the pair create a fast-moving, fun "what-if" yarn that marries its fiction elements well to its science and is a fun afternoon of reading.
The only real problem is the title -- it refers to a Cowles Industries proposal for testing different kinds of surface-to-space transport systems on Mars to avoid catastrophic accidents on Earth, and has nothing to do with the Barsoom of Edgar Rice Burroughs' imagination. A significant letdown indeed.
Original available here.
sarah42783's review
2.0
A very disappointing sequel to Dream Park. I felt that there were too many distracting sub plots and characters which made the story confusing and quite boring. This sequel wasn't nearly as entertaining or enjoyable as Dream Park.
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