The Barsoom Project
Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
Tor, Nov 23 2010, $15.99
ISBN: 9780765326683
At Dream Park, the participants have signed on to play "Fat-Ripper Special". The rules are simple: exercise and behavior modification when it comes to eating habits. In other words, the gamers are paying big bucks to lose big weight through new memes.
As the firm who runs Dream Park begins work on the Barsoom Project expedition of Mars, investment capital is needed. Everything involving the weight loss role playing program must go smoothly or else. However, Dream Park Security Chief Alec Griffin realizes the facility is under attack by nefarious capitalist Kareem Fekesh who wants to own the theme park and much more. One of the gamers, Eviane after a stay at a mental asylum following her previous visit to Dream Park when holograms she killed turned out to be real people; returns with hopes to recover missing aspects of her memory that a stalker plans to never allow happen.
This is a reprint of the second Dream Park science fiction thriller that merges Inuit mythos with gaming technology. Although well written especially the gaming confrontation between Griffin and Fekesh, this lacks the unique freshness of the first novel. Also like Dream Park, the ironically titled The Barsoom Project is not for everyone as the targeted audience is predominantly players; who will find this is an interesting enjoyable tale.
Harriet Klausner
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