Book Review: READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline

Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Published: August 16, 2011 by Random House
Format: Hardcover, 372 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia

Description: 

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Review:

In Wade's reality, the world has crumbled into a decayed wasteland, but locked away in a junkyard on the edge of the Stacks, the ever-growing piles of RVs that have sprung up world-wide, Wade lives a different life in the virtual reality of the Oasis. As Perzival, Wade, can be who he wants to be: one of the elite nerds obsessed with the creator of the Oasis, James Halliday, and the search for the easter egg he's hidden inside his masterpiece. Only Wade's not the only one racing towards the egg; he's up against other players, his best friends, and the evil IOI corporation. If IOI finds the egg first, they not only inherit Halliday's fortune, but the virtual keys to the fortress and control over the Oasis. They'll be able to reshape the world as they see fit.

But Halliday's been dead for over five years, and no one's even made it on to the scoreboard. Then Perzival's name jumps to the top, and everything changes.

Ready Player One is a geek's book. Yes, it's SF and dystopia, but mostly it's nerdy reference after nerdy reference. Halliday was obsessed with the 1980s, and his easter egg is one giant trivia-filled riddle that only true videogame and '80s fans can crack, meaning the book is packed with trivia and references to everything under the sun and lightyears beyond it. Which I absolutely loved. I felt like I had found my people. I have nerdy friends, but not everyone has seen all the movies I have or read the books I love or played the games I have, and while some bits were beyond me or over my head, I certainly appreciated every bit of it.

If you love videogames or '80s music or movies/television in general (Monty Python, Ferris Bueller, Blade Runner, Firefly!) then I highly recommend for the nerdery alone. If you like science fiction and/or dystopias, you should definitely give this one a go. I enjoyed trying to figured out the riddles myself and guess at what was coming next as much as I did the reenactment of The Holy Grail and the image of giant robot dinosaurs fighting over a castle. Admittedly, this book isn't for everyone, but it's certainly a fun enough read to attempt.

Buy It Now: 

Amazon. B&N.com. Book Depository. IndieBound.