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A review by mschlat
The Barsoom Project by Steven Barnes, Larry Niven
2.0
Definitely not a great reading experience for many reasons, and here's the big one. In the prequel ([b:Dream Park|357922|Dream Park (Dream Park, #1)|Larry Niven|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309200983l/357922._SY75_.jpg|1775372]), we are introduced to the eponymous amusement park featuring live role playing games in totally immersive environments. The first book features (mostly) experienced gamers acting out (mostly) traditional classes (Warrior, Magic User, Engineer, ...) in an event run by an International Fantasy Gaming Association. It's a big deal to everyone involved.
In contrast, the game featured in this book is a "Fat Ripper" --- an immersive experience designed to help the players lose pounds and change eating habits. (The latter is often accomplished by psychological effects, such as having your food talk to you during a meal or honoring the spirits of the animals you are eating.) So, we have a regular adventure in Dream Park (based in Inuit culture) combined with... attitude adjustment? And the effects are threefold:
1) There's a strange combination of fat-shaming (particularly at the beginning of the book) with some heavily gender-based body positivity. At the least, we've got men who are overweight (but it covers a lot of muscle) and women who are overweight (but the book sure wants us to know how sexy they are). So, it's as if the book wants to approach the issue of weight loss and can't really decide on a tone.
2) Unlike the prequel, our adventurers aren't broken into classes, and they're all there for mainly one purpose (the "Fat Ripper"). So, the cast isn't that differentiated, and - for the first half of the book - I had troubles connecting names with characters. That issue did diminish by the second half, but it was enough of an issue that I looked forward to the chapters featuring Dream Park personnel over in-game chapters.
3) As mentioned above, there's a LOT of psychological manipulation in this book. What's surprising is seeing it both inside and outside the game, including some performed on a character with severe mental trauma. By the end of the novel, Niven and Barnes provide some "you don't watch to see the sausage being made" speeches, but the result is a layer of darkness a couple of times heavier than the first book and a less appealing setting.
There are other issues. Just like in the prequel, the game story involves Europeans rescuing an indigenous culture. And the title of the book refers to an almost unconnected plot point (the parent company of Dream Park wants to spearhead colonization of Mars) that seems to be little more than an excuse to feature space elevator porn (that is, expositional pieces on the benefits and drawbacks of different types of space elevators, not sex in a space elevator).
And yet... the second half of the book is much better, with some good callbacks to the first book and nice pieces of actions. I will probably drop this out of my collection, but I had some fun rereading it.
In contrast, the game featured in this book is a "Fat Ripper" --- an immersive experience designed to help the players lose pounds and change eating habits. (The latter is often accomplished by psychological effects, such as having your food talk to you during a meal or honoring the spirits of the animals you are eating.) So, we have a regular adventure in Dream Park (based in Inuit culture) combined with... attitude adjustment? And the effects are threefold:
1) There's a strange combination of fat-shaming (particularly at the beginning of the book) with some heavily gender-based body positivity. At the least, we've got men who are overweight (but it covers a lot of muscle) and women who are overweight (but the book sure wants us to know how sexy they are). So, it's as if the book wants to approach the issue of weight loss and can't really decide on a tone.
2) Unlike the prequel, our adventurers aren't broken into classes, and they're all there for mainly one purpose (the "Fat Ripper"). So, the cast isn't that differentiated, and - for the first half of the book - I had troubles connecting names with characters. That issue did diminish by the second half, but it was enough of an issue that I looked forward to the chapters featuring Dream Park personnel over in-game chapters.
3) As mentioned above, there's a LOT of psychological manipulation in this book. What's surprising is seeing it both inside and outside the game, including some performed on a character with severe mental trauma. By the end of the novel, Niven and Barnes provide some "you don't watch to see the sausage being made" speeches, but the result is a layer of darkness a couple of times heavier than the first book and a less appealing setting.
There are other issues. Just like in the prequel, the game story involves Europeans rescuing an indigenous culture. And the title of the book refers to an almost unconnected plot point (the parent company of Dream Park wants to spearhead colonization of Mars) that seems to be little more than an excuse to feature space elevator porn (that is, expositional pieces on the benefits and drawbacks of different types of space elevators, not sex in a space elevator).
And yet... the second half of the book is much better, with some good callbacks to the first book and nice pieces of actions. I will probably drop this out of my collection, but I had some fun rereading it.