From Sydney Morning Herald (July 25, 1998)

by Charlotte Harper

She's got it

THE man who brought us Microserfs and Generation X is back with a book about the digitally buxom Lara Croft. Games specialist Prima Publishing (www.primapublishing. com) has released Lara's Book - Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider Phenomenon, by Douglas Coupland (with help from Kip Ward).

Croft's character started life as the disowned daughter of an English lord in the Tomb Raider PC games series, but has rapidly risen to become a pop culture icon.

Her wealth, intellect, posh accent and resourcefulness help her to stand out from the usual crowd of damsels in distress.

She will soon feature in a Tomb Raider film from Eidos Interactive and Paramount Pictures. Liz Hurley is among the actors suggested for the role.

Cultural commentator Douglas Coupland (pictured right) is a bit of an icon himself, so his take on Lara's success should make for interesting reading. As well as examining the Croft phenomenon, Coupland writes the character into some fiction of his own.

Prima Publishing's Tomb Raider tipster Kip Ward adds strategies for video games.

For lust of a different kind, skim through the thousands of Lara pictures in the book. Or you can find out where the lovely Lara came from through a series of interviews with the designers and game developers.

Lara's Book is not yet available in Australian bookstores, but Sydney's Gleebooks (www.gleebooks. com.au) will order it for you, or use Amazon (www.amazon.com).