This is an excellent near-future mystery, with some science fiction flavor. Dream Park is the amusement park of the future, where holograms, sound and even smell make the attractions real enough for real time, live adventures. Disney is still dreaming about these technologies. This is mostly a mystery, but the technology makes it fascinating. ( )

This is the novel that got me into fantasy gaming - a tremendously exciting yet thought-provoking look at the psychology of game playing, packaged in an adventure novel. Throw in a murder mystery and you've got a little something for everyone. I've read this three times over the years, and appreciate it more with each subsequent reading. ( )

Dream Park is the entertainment park in the world. Here everything is possible. Not only are there rides and other "conventional" features, there are also the gaming areas. Here the gamers can live out their fantasies in a Virtual Reality (VR) environment.
This is one such game: The Southsea Treasure Game. Some of the gamers play for fun, some for their reputation and some for far higher stakes. Stakes that lead to murder. Alex Griffin, head of Dream Park security enters the game to find a murderer, but finds a VR environment that can be deadly.

I really like the concepts of this series. Ofcourse I am a Niven fan, so if I start raving just plug your ears. The future Niven and Barnes sketch is something I can believe in. Since the book is set on Earth this is rather important to me. The future is consistent and you already see some of the things mentioned in everyday life. The entertainment industry as a setting is highly effective and the VR-environment weird but consistent. The mystery the well worked out and not too easy to work out.
Check out this book, it really is highly recommended. ( )

A highly entertaining book, particularly for rpg geeks I guess. Dream Park is a huge live action role playing game complex, where players participate in games, complete with character stats, and holographic and computer assisted abilities.

Character classes, gamemasters, the whole thing. The Dream Park management have discovered evidence of a crime, so they have to put one of their security operatives undercover in a game.

The problem is that the game is an epic, a confrontation between two world class gamemasters and a famous party leading adventurer.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/01... ( )

Perhaps I just don't understand what's so compelling about this story, or any story, riddled with ungrammatical clichés. One star for the premise. ( )