The Barsoom Project

Dream Park, Book 2

By: Larry Niven, Steven Barnes

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

A visionary science fiction classic from Larry Niven and Steven Barnes.

The Barsoom Project is the direct sequel to 1981's Dream Park. Eviane's first visit to the state-of-art amusement arena Dream Park ended in disaster: the special effects had seemed more real than life ...until the holograms she was shooting with live ammunition turned out to be solid flesh and blood ...and very, very dead.

Haunted by the past, rebounding from a lengthy spell in a mental hospital, she has returned to Dream Park to exorcise a nightmare that has become reality. But in Dream Park, nothing is what it seems. The Inuit mythology controlling the images is part of a "Fat Ripper Special" designed to implant new behavioral memes. The players are struggling against the game master, one another, and their own demons. And there is a killer who wants to ensure Eviane never regains her memory...no matter what it costs.

Blending together hard science fiction with virtual reality and RPG-like fantasy games, The Barsoom Project is science fiction at the cutting edge and a classic creation from two of the genre's most beloved writers.

©1989 Larry Niven and Steven Barnes (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

An excellent continuation of Dream Park

The setting is unique, and the primary characters are interesting. Definitely worth a listen.

A bit confusing as it weaves several threads

I am a Niven fan. Now that audio books are coming out, I can "read" many books I thought I would not get to. this book is the latest. The Dream Park theme is present again, and Griffin is back, which are good.points. The only gripe I have is that the Barsoom part of the story is rather minor. I suspect it was used for the title because "Thimble Winter" was not as commercially recognizable. Still, the actor was good on this reading and the usual murder mystery moderately interesting. I'm going to move on to the next in that Dram Park series.

sequels usually arent better than the original

but this is a great one. i can tell ALOT of thought was put into this book

Body fixation

Wheezing for breath and dripping with sweat, the overweight gamers heaved their enormous bodies up the mountain path, bulbous bellies and flabby limbs jiggling with every staggering step.

I meant for that to be a caricature, but honestly, you could drop it into the text and it wouldn't seem out of place.

Yes, the story is set in a weight loss program, and naturally the participants are especially conscious of their physical stature, but show that through their inevitable conversations on the subject. We don't need to be reminded that they're fat every few words.

Also featuring bad psychology and unethical therapeutic practices. And schizophrenia is not multiple personality disorder!

The story is fine, mostly, and the narration is well done, but my goodness! The fixation on fat is annoying enough to be distracting.

Great installment of the Dream Park series.

Barnes and Nivens do it again with a long awaiting sequel. The game is on and the greater mystery progresses.

Time traveling

It’s remarkable to go back in time to 1989 and forward to 2050 at the same time. I enjoyed the book even more than Dream Park and the fact that, over 30 years after publication, it still feels futuristic says a lot about the authors’ vision.

Still

As I have said before and will continue to say....
Larry Niven is a genius and I have enjoyed his books for decades. This is no exception.

so so

fun ideas and an amazing world to visit. I was not as into the store as the first because I found the game world and play a bit dull. just my personal opinion.

a let down

The first book in this series was great. this one not so much. loads of running around fighting monsters, but little enough of the wonder of a place like Dream Park should be.

Tongue & Cheek

The story and characters can be summed up as a bunch of overweight individuals (mostly) stuck in an virtual "Fat Camp" in the future and plagued by hormones wanting to hookup and all the while there's a manipulated psychotic killer who's also a victim of sorts plotting their deaths. Saying it like that might make it sound less interesting but it was an enjoyable experience.