Achilles' Choice

I've read a lot of Niven before, and three of his other collaborations with Barnes (Dream Park, The Barsoom Project, and The Descent of Anansi). This book didn't seem to be up to same standard as the others.

The story involves athletes competing in the Olympics in the future. Normal humans are not good enough, so athletes all "boost", which gives them superhuman strength, stamina, and reflexes, but kills them within ten years or so. The Olympics have added artistic and academic events, but it appears that to compete in those you have to also compete in an athletic event (this is never made explicit though). The title is a reference to the choice the Greek gods supposedly gave Achilles: he could have a long peaceful life, or a short, show more glorious one.

But the name doesn't match the plot of the book. The Olympic winners get to be "linked" into a sort of world computer system which will counter the debilitating effects of the "boost". The people who don't win gold are shut out and die. So, the people who win glory don't die after all, just the ones who reach for the brass ring and fail.

The book never really explains why only Olympic winners should be chosen to be linked - the justification doesn't add up. There's a lot of time spent detailing the training of the main character, and not enough spent on the science fiction idea behind the story. This adds up to a fairly weak book.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

One of my favorite books when I was a teen. I just loved the way the Olympians had to win in mental and physical challenges.

A perfectly acceptable scifi book. Some interesting ideas, but not awesome.