Friday, February 17, 2012

Moon Maze Game (fiction)

Living on the Moon,
working on the Moon,
playing on the Moon?

The most complex and challenging live-action role-playing game of all time will take place on Luna in 2085. Physical agility, weapon skills, and innovative puzzle-solving experience will help players win big money and admiration throughout the Solar System.

New team alliances, old grudges, baffling riddles - what else has game master Xavier planned for the Moon Maze Game? Not the Luna-separatist terrorists who hijack the Game domes, that's for sure!

Niven and Barnes return to their fascinating Dream Park worlds in this intriguing novel - plenty of subplots to go along with the action, from old romances to new technology hiccups.
**kmm

Book info: The Moon Maze Game / Larry Niven and Steven Barnes. Tor, 2011. [Larry Niven's website] [Steven Barnes' website] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: A live-action role-playing game on the Moon! Broadcast in real-time to Earth, this 2085 contest pits clever players against one another. But they’ll have to work together to outwit and outlast the terrorists who try to kidnap them.

The Moon Maze Game includes not only physical challenges, but also mental riddles, countless puzzles, and psychological twists tailored to trip up each player. With the largest viewing audience in entertainment history, every slip or success will be seen by billions of people throughout the Solar System.

Xavier is a supreme Game Master. His decision to construct the first off-world fantasy game complex draws many IFGS league competitors to the trials, but only the very best will get to Luna. Wayne and Angelique know that their former gaming partner has spent years planning this event and would be happy to see them fail.

The high-ranking IFGS pro players are expected; the Crown Prince of the Republic of Kikaya is a surprise qualifier. His father, President for Life of the small African nation, is not pleased that his son will enter the Game, but must allow Ali to go to keep Kikaya’s advisors happy.

The lunar colony where the enormous Game domes have been built is a bit tense as some Moon residents want independence from Earth now, while others remain convinced that support from their homeworld will always be needed.

When the Game takes a turn that Xavier did not script, the command center grows hectic. When Xavier’s main controls to the Game are cut, his team gets worried. When real bullets start flying in the Game’s pressurized domes, the players realize that they’re on their own and must solve Xavier’s complex puzzles before the terrorists crack open Game’s walls to the vacuum of space.

Lots of action and excitement – readers will wish for a chance at The Moon Maze Game for themselves. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.