Dream Park

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite re-reads!
Review: I loved this book when it first came out, and still love it now. "Dream Park" and its sequels are books I come back to again and again!

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite re-reads!
Review: I loved this book when it first came out, and still love it now. "Dream Park" and its sequels are books I come back to again and again!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely the best RPG book out there.
Review: I loved this book. Then I loaned it to a friend, and he never returned it. It's so worth re-reading, I'm desperately trying to find a used copy. If you've ever wondered what a computer fantasy theme park could be, this book covers the possibilities. It's so much more than the robotic Westworld, that it really opens up an interactive alter-reality. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story, along with tempting techie tricks.

Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly good book!
Review: I passed over Dream Park on the used book store shelves for months. Finally I broke down (The "to read" stack was empty...) Glad I did! Great combo of fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, and humor, rolled up in a great read!...Now I gotta fint the other book(s?) in the series...

Rating:
Summary: A bad "Dream"
Review: I read "Dream Park" back in the 80s and enjoyed it enough to finish it, if not enough to track down the sequels. As a fantasy/SF fan and a player of Dungeons and Dragons I'd say I was part of the target demographic, as "Dream Park" is a science fiction novel (and a murder mystery) set in a 21st century amusement park. The events revolve around a high-tech RPG designed by a husband and wife team (both geniuses, naturally) and played by a mixed bag of dorks.

Not a bad premise, so long as you're in that target demographic. Unfortunately, when I read it now, "Dream Park" falls flat on its big dumb face.

First, and this is a big problem for science fiction IMO, the science is obvious junk. There are tedious bits where the authors trot out their research, on, say, the human sense of smell. I'm not a scientist, but if the authors are suggesting that subliminal advertising works (as they seem to do) they're mistaken. The omnipresent holograms in the book are better explained as magic than science. Who cares? No attempt is made to explain them.

Another big clunk comes from the economics of the story, which would also work better if explained away as magic. Another reviewer mentioned that it seemed unlikely that Dream Park could ever recoup its expenses on these huge games (the South Seas adventure takes up 740 acres of land, takes 4 days to run, and requires professional actors and who knows how many technicians, gardeners, make up artists, etc.) Movies and various other tie-ins are given as the source of revenue but there's no explanation as to why they'd be popular.

It really didn't help that the "Adult" version of the house of horrors early in the book was more silly than scary. The phrase "...the disco dead boogied to life" struck me as ridiculous enough to remember all these years.

Others have pointed out other flaws, such as the thinness of the characters (and yet the same reviewers still gave the book four or five stars) and those flaws were indeed there. The fatal clunk for me, however, came when the crime has been committed and Dream Park's administrators decide how to handle it. Rather than report the crime to the police (fearing the economic consequences-- never heard of insurance, I guess) they fix upon some circumstantial evidence (another thing they never heard of are security cameras for their top secret research lab) and decide to send the head of security into the game. They've already deduced that the criminal is well prepared. Wouldn't that suggest to them that the criminal may have seen a picture of the park's security chief? That's not a spoiler, by the way. It didn't seem to cross anybody's mind, ever.

The one part of the book that I enjoy is the game's setting, which involves the old cargo cult that existed in the South Pacific around the time of World War II. They also do a better job of working their research into the story. It's fiction, so there were changes made and dramatics added, as the authors admit in the afterword. They stuck with their story that the Fore are "feared as magicians and cannibals of terrific ferocity" but researchers got along with them well enough to study them, so I don't know about that.

I'm giving it one star for the interesting myths and another for the nifty real life RPG idea. To any readers with a lingering interest in this book, I'd suggest buying used only.

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Science fiction, mystery, and fantasy rolled all in one
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Imagine going to a theme park and battling hologram monsters and interacting with live actors. Of course there is some romance in this book and a murder mystery. After reading this book I searched for another, finally came across Barsoom Project, but it lacked the levels that Dream Park has.

Rating:
Summary: It was a very complex book, and fun to read!
Review: I thought that it was interesting the way the book was a mystery and sci-fi novel in one. Most authors have one or the other, but this book works out quite well. Many unexpected things pop up in this book, which makes it hard to put down. I lost a couple of nights of sleep to this book, but it was fun to speculate about what was going to happen next. I loved this book. You should read it!!

Rating:
Summary: It's a shame this book is out of print
Review: This book is a great adventure about a group of gamers who go on an elaborate adventure in a futuristic theme park akin to, say, the holodeck. The hero is forced to join up when a real murder occurs. The details are fantastic, a great blend of Carribean mythology and American history. Great, fun reading if you can find it.

Rating:
Summary: At last....In print again
Review: This book ranks as one of my most favorite SF books of all time.
I got this book in hardback when it first came out in the early '80's. I've read it so many times that it's not in the best of shape. This book is going to make a great gift for a friend of mine who has heard me mention Dream Park a lot. Until now, the book has been out of print. I'm also getting myself a new copy.
Now let's get Hollywood to make a movie or a mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel!!!

Rating:
Summary: At last....In print again
Review: This book ranks as one of my most favorite SF books of all time.
I got this book in hardback when it first came out in the early '80's. I've read it so many times that it's not in the best of shape. This book is going to make a great gift for a friend of mine who has heard me mention Dream Park a lot. Until now, the book has been out of print. I'm also getting myself a new copy.
Now let's get Hollywood to make a movie or a mini-series on the Sci-Fi Channel!!!