World Famous Comics: The California Voodoo Game (A Dream Park Novel)
The California Voodoo Game (A Dream Park Novel)
By: Larry Niven, Steven Barnes Publisher: Del Rey Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Del Rey Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 343 Publication Date: December 23, 1992 Release Date: December 23, 1992
Book Description: Dream Park, the ultimate in amusement parks, was about to embark on the greatest Game ever: the California Voodoo Game. Across the world bets were being placed; fortunes and reputations hung in the balance. Gaming careers would be made--or destroyed. And the most advanced software package ever invented was going to be tested. But one of the players was a murderer--and worse. Only Alex Griffin, head of Dream Park Security, and Game Master Tony McWhirter guessed the extent of the treachery tainting the Game. Somehow, they had to catch the killer--but above all, the Game must go on....
Plenty of action and strategy in the Game and out Alex Griffin is back as the intrepid Chief of Security at the theme park of tomorrow, where the adventures are scripted but the gamers are on their own. Welcome back to Dream Park - Niven and Barnes' not-so-futuristic getaway resort, where a combination of animatronics, live actors, holograms, and computer-aided design allows well-heeled patrons to participate in the fantasy adventure of a lifetime. Once again there's been a murder at Dream Park, and once again one of the gamers must be the culprit, so once again Griffin has to join the game to try and identify the killer.
You don't need to read the other books to enjoy this bi-leveled adventure-ride, although it might be best to read Dream Park first to get to know the characters better. As the title suggests, this time around the game deals with a uniquely Californian brand of voodoo, but Griffin has his hands full keeping his eye on the five competing teams of fanatical gamers who seem willing to go to any length to win. As in the previous novels, the Game really steals the show, so this book is recommended for gamers more than for sci-fi readers, who won't find much in the way of scientific innovation here. But there's plenty of action and strategy both in and out of the Game, so despite the feeling that we've seen it all before, this may be the best of the three Dream Park novels. This volume's mystery gets a much neater resolution than that of the original novel, while the book as a whole possesses considerably more meat than the lightweight Barsoom Project.
Not Free SF Reader Again, a murder is committed in Dream Park, and this time the deceased is Alex Griffin's girlfriend. That was probably a mistake.
The California Voodoo Game is massive, involving several teams of top class players, and five Gamemasters, including Tony McWhirter.
Griffin again has to join the game, but this time as a NPC guide. Eventually they discover a complicated, very clever game of industrial espionage is being played within the Voodoo Game itself.
Not as good as the original If you're already a fan of Dream Park, this is a decent read. Don't expect it to be as good as the original, but it's worth the cost for a light, entertaining read.
That Voodoo That They Do This second followup to the cult hit "Dream Park" is not as good as its inspiration, but is mounds better than its predecessor, "The Barsoom Project". I'll save my Barsoom bashing for another review, though, and just talk about "The California Voodoo Game" in this one.
This novel has everything that was good about "Dream Park", but still manages to be a tedious, less interesting version of the original. Most of the familiar characters are back, Griffin, the tough-as-nails Security Chief with the heart of gold, Acacia Garcia, the tough-as-nails gamer with the squishy insides, Tony McWhirter, the hacker criminal made good. They're all tossed into the Dream park salad to play a game called "California Voodoo", which would be fine if not for the fact that - DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUHHHH - someone get's murdered before the game and the Dream Park staff must infiltrate the game in order to catch the killer without setting off the alarms, spooking the gamers or losing their merchandising rights.
Just like the other two novels.
Sadly, this outing picks up a little of the creaky, world-weariness of the second book and keeps none of the rollicking, out and out fun of the first. The concept of Voodoo magick played out in a gigantic, ruined building is at once interesting and limiting. The authors, for all their bibliographic citations, show only a rudimentary understanding of vodoun and its many variations. The random appearance of loa is distracting and confusing.
The thing that was most fun about "Dream Park" was the fact that Griffin had to join a game as a player and track his prey from under cover; this meant the reader got to experience the game much as the players did. Here, the real focus is on the investigation. Too much takes place outside the game, too little explanation goes into the game and the authors don't really support the world they've created within the walls of Dream Park.
Frankly, the mystery just isn't that compelling. While the outcome may have cost Dream Park's parent company a ton of dough, I just didn't care. While the villain had murdered someone in the beginning of the book, I just didn't care about the victim or the methods used to catch the killer. What I DID care about was The Game. And there just wasn't enough game to go around.
The writing duo's prose this time around is more accessible than in The Barsoom Project and those reading the series for the first time will not be too disappointed to finish here instead of there. But overall, the magic feels like it's gone.
What a waste! There was a time that I read every book that Larry Niven was involved in, until this book came out. I haven't read a single one of his books since. After reading Dream Park, I thought I'd give him one more chance. Then came this book, and I decided that if he was going to write such tedious books, I just wouldn't waste my time. The book involves several teams of players in an imaginary game in which some things are real, and some are just kind of projected into that reality. Meanwhile, some people are trying to play the game, while some are trying to circumvent it. It was simply too much effort to keep track of what was real, what was projected, who was playing, who wasn't playing, and who was just pretending to play. Plus, when you find out, their motives are implausable. The worst thing about this book is it serves no purpose. Science Fiction should provide the reader insight about science, human nature, possible worlds, or the direction of society. This was just a silly reason to tie some characters together and publish a book.
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