Dream Park

I have nothing against SF, and I am a roleplayer myself. I even own (and like) the Dreampark RPG.In fact, I was eager to find this in paperback, because a lot of people seem to rate it highly both as adventure fiction and for its portrayal of role playing and roleplayers. I was severely disappointed. The characters are pretty wooden, and the world itself is pretty unconvincing. The authors try to convince us that the "Game" is a big thing, carrying huge monetary gains for TV rights and novelization, but I really fail to see how public could really be interested in this. The attempts to make us sympathize with the players and seeing how they are so engrossed in it to actually care more for the game itself than the rest of the world are show more pretty unconvincing, too, and the story seems flat and forced in more than a place. Characters' psychology is probably not a forte for Niven, but unfortunately all the SFX razzle dazzle fail to carry the story... just like an Hollywood action film, in fact. show less

Dream Park offers the ultimate virtual reality experience for live action role playing adventures. The South Seas Treasure Game promises to be the biggest, most exciting game yet. Created by Legendary Game Master Lopez it is a scenario for fifteen players on a four and a half day adventure. No one expected one of the deaths to be real.

Written in the early 80s, this book is showing its age. It feels dated in a way a 50's scifi movie feels old - things that were cutting edge back in the day just don't have the same effect modern day. The dialog, especially in the beginning, is cringe worthy. The gaming parts take a while to start to feel authentic.

The mythology surrounding the Cargo Cult is intriguing. Apparently it is based in fact too. show more

I really wanted to like this one. The combo scifi adventure/murder mystery is a great idea. I wish it had been better executed. show less

Dream Park is the Disney World of the future. In it, you can play out your fantasy as if it were real. The South Seas Treasure Game is one of the hottest attractions in Dream Park. Injuries and deaths are computer simulations but when a real death occurs the head of the park's security force has to enter the game to discover the killer. Pretty gripping stuff.

I wouldn't rate this book as high as I did when I first read it a little over thirty years ago, because now I notice more of it's flaws particularly some of the early dialogue between Griffin, Harmony and Skip being horrendous. It reminded me of cheap 1950's SF movies. Also long ago it was one of the first novels I'd read about fantasy gaming something I was very much into. I've since read many more novels on the subject that I feel are much better, last year's Ready Player One is a prime example of a more exciting and interesting story. But I still like this Dream Park for the mythology surrounding the cargo cults which is still intriguing to me.

Alex Griffin is the Chief of Security for Dream Park, a theme park that is part Disneyland and part Star Trek Holodeck. Dream Park is the world headquarters for Live Action Role Play adventures where the stakes are very, very high. On this day, however, Alex is less worried about Orcs and Goblins than about the dead security guard and the missing secret formula. Clues indicate that the murderer is still in Dream Park - and in fact - still inside the latest high stakes Role Play game. In order to catch a killer, Alex has to enter the game and play along while trying to ferret out the truth.

I actually enjoyed this one more than I should have. It took a little while to get going, but once Griffin enters the game, things get interesting.

might have made a good game; the Cargo Cult world had possibilities. as a novel, though, there was way too much clunky dialogue, the story was lacklustre, and the cardboard characters never came to life. in fact, come to think of it, the world of the game seemed more real than the 'real world', which can't be good, even if you could argue it's a sign of the times. not up to the authors' usual standard.

Dream park is futuristic role playing gamer's paradise. In the future, Live Action Role Playing will be serious business, and Dream Park caters to the very best. A huge dome where everything can be controlled, and holograms mix with real people. Richard has concocted one of the most complex game scenarios ever attempted, and Chester and his team must fight their way through the jungle, solve puzzles, and fight monsters at every turn. At the end of the first day of the game, a Park employee is found murdered in the R&D department - a place no player should have been able to enter - and a valuable chemical sample that could revolutionise gaming goes missing. The only thing to do is have Chief of Security Alex Griffin go undercover and show more enter the game to join the team in the hopes of figuring out which player is the murder and thief. However, Alex soon finds himself more immersed in the game than he planned, and starts to have trouble keeping his mind on his real mission.

I enjoyed the book, and the tech didn't seem all that out of date! Niven and Barnes extrapolated well! However, the lack of security between the Gaming area and the 'authorised personnel only' areas was practically non-existent and unrealistic. But it's what allowed the crime to take place, so it needed to be that way. Another thing that seemed unrealistic was how easy it was to 'cheat'. Considering how important these games are - akin to Olympic sports at this level - there should have been a system in place to keep track of the players in the off hours. But perhaps I'm nitpicking! The plot was good, and the characters not bad. Like Alex, I kept oscillating between trying to solve the murder, and trying to figure out the object of the Game. show less