A review by branch_c
California Voodoo Game by Larry Niven, Steven Barnes

3.0

Although the original Dream Park is a long-time favorite, I’m concerned that it might not hold up to my current tastes if I were to reread it today. Maybe it would, but this one, I’m afraid, never really engaged me. There are some interesting concepts surrounding the unique varieties of voodoo that formed the basis of the game, but beyond that, things were less interesting. The “real” plot involving espionage, theft, and murder just didn’t hold my attention for long. The gaming jokes were less funny than I’d hoped, perhaps due to my reading this so long after it was published. So probably Niven and Barnes don’t deserve all the blame, but for me this book was just okay.