Death Dream

From the Paperback edition.

Dan Santorini is hired to make sure that Cyber World, the virtual reality theme park of the future, opens on time. All too soon Dan realizes that he and his family are trapped in a nightmare world where dreams can literally come true. Full of insider's knowledge about virtual reality, this novel is a breakthrough thriller.

It's the ultimate adult playground. Cyber World  will use the latest technology in computer produced  virtual reality to provide thrills and chills  beyond any ever experienced at a theme park. Here  children of all ages will live out their wildest  fantasies: fly jet fighters in combat, take part in a  gunfight in the OK Corral, play in the World  Series, or take a walk on the moon or a trip inside the  human body.

Publishers Weekly

Mayhem is afoot at Cyber World, the futuristic setting of this ambitious but not entirely satisfying thriller by SF stalwart Bova ( Voyagers ). While computer programmers Damon Santorini and Jason Lowrey are in Florida creating a virtual reality (VR) park that will simulate a walk on the moon, combat in a jet fighter and other exotic adventures, users of a VR flight simulator they developed for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are suffering inexplicable strokes. Santorini agrees to investigate, tugging the story line into several curious twists--and nearly as many false starts and blind alleys. Bova concocts a complicated melange of high government and Air Force officials, old love affairs and possible identity changes, but he fails to deal fully with several plot fragments. Although each major adult character here is sexually dysfunctional, their peccadilloes--one of which leads to a significant subplot--are rendered in the same subdued voice as the rest of the novel. Also, descriptions of the VR programs in strictly workmanlike prose prove disappointing--as does the book's incredible denouement. Though Bova's attempt to combine SF and high-tech thrills occasionally engrosses, it ultimately fails to slip into high gear. (Aug.)

Ben Bova has been a presence in science fiction for more than four decades. He is past president of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and a recipient of the Hugo and other awards. His novels include Brothers, Moonrise, Mars, and Return to Mars, all available from Brilliance Audio. He lives in Naples, Florida with his wife and literary agent, Barbara.