Dream Park — Steven Barnes; Larry Niven

THEY WERE ALL PLAYING GAMES

Chester Henderson was playing at revenge, to shore up his faltering reputation as a Loremaster and erase the memory of an embarrassing debacle. . . .

Richard Lopez was out to crush Chet Henderson, and prove that his earlier successes as a Gamemaster were no fluke. . . .

Ollie and Gwen and Tony and Acacia were all playing at heroics to escape briefly from a world beyond their control into one where they could direct their own lives. . . .

Yes, they were all playing games--and then suddenly one of them was playing rough . . . and for keeps.