The Barsoom Project
by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
Reviewed date: 2012 May 19
Rating: 1
340 pages
Reviewed date: 2012 May 19
Rating: 1
340 pages
The Dream Park is an entertainment experience sort of halfway between a Disneyland ride and a Star Trek holodeck. In this story by Niven and Barnes, the Barsoom Project is an attempt to terraform Mars. To attract investors, a presentation using Dream Park technology is the key--show the venture capitalists what their money will create.
Somebody is planning to sabotage Dream Park and the Barsoom Project, though. And so instead of a story about that, Niven and Barnes spend almost all their time describing a Dream Park adventure. We hear all about a group of customers as they explore a future Ice Age and figure out the right set of magic tokens and incantations that will win the game. It's stupid, and none of it matters because it's a game!