Sunday, January 12, 2014

Review: Ready Player One


Ready Player One
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



My review can also be seen here.

Disclosure: Read in Dec. 2011 from a copy received from Amazon Vine.

My Synopsis: Wade - known in the OASIS as Parzival - like many of the people in his future society, spends most of his time immersed in the virtual-reality, on-line world known as the OASIS. Created by a brilliant but eccentric man, who was obsessed with the culture of the 1980s (as well as the 1970s and 1990s) named James Halliday, OASIS helps modern people forget the misery of their poverty-stricken lives in a world where energy sources are so rare and expensive that many people can't even afford to go to a job if they are lucky enough to have one. When Halliday dies and wills his entire fortune, and the control of the OASIS, to whomever manages to find a hidden Easter Egg inside OASIS, a fierce competition arises, leading to dangers that Wade couldn't possibly have imagined. Will he be able to solve the puzzles to find the clues to reach the end? Will he even manage to survive that long?

My Thoughts: I was about half afraid that this book would be so full of obscure, 1980s pop culture references that the average person wouldn't have a clue - being a child of the 80s myself, I wasn't too worried about it, personally, but I could see where it could be a problem. While it is true that there are some rather obscure references, for the most part they are explained enough so that pretty much anyone can enjoy and understand them. The evolution of Wade and his budding friendships with Art3mis and Aech made for fascinating reading, as did the intricate puzzles that were created to stump the players. I can definitely recommend this book for almost anyone.



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