Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Published: 2011
Genre: Sci-Fi
Synopsis:
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.
Thoughts:
Ready Player one was a book that I waited entirely too long
to read. But when I did finally read it,
I absolutely adored it.
The idea behind this book is amazing. I loved the idea of a society where everyone
basically lives inside this game and not actually in the real world. (It’s actually terrible, but such an
interesting and believable concept) I
was so intrigued by how the OASIS works and amazed by the technology of
it. The creator of the OASIS, James
Halliday, has issued a competition to whoever can find all of the “eggs” or
things hidden within the code of the OASIS.
The person who gets all of the clues and solves the puzzle, will inherit
his fortune. The players of the game who
are searching for these clues are called “gunters”.
Our protagonist, Wade Watt, has devoted his life to finding
these keys and solving the puzzle. He
has studied every aspect of Halliday’s life and knows pretty much everything
about him. He has watched, played, and
studied everything that Halliday has every mentioned or listed as liking. What I like about Wade is that he’s just a
normal guy. He lives in a trailer with
his (aunt?) and most of the time doesn’t even hang out there. He’s basically on his own and has very little
money. Yet, his circumstances don’t
prevent him from being successful in the OASIS.
Wade is the authority on everything Halliday or pop culture of decades’
past.
It took a couple of chapters for me to get sucked in, but
once I did, I was addicted. I was
absorbed, as Wade was, into this whole different world of the OASIS. I loved every second of this book. I got so invested in the competition and I
loved seeing the clues unravel. Wade is
best friends with a fellow gunter called Aech. I loved the banter between them and with the
collected knowledge that they have you wonder why they haven’t found the clues yet. I thought the thing between Wade and Artemis
was a little unnecessary, but it didn’t really prevent me from loving this
book, because I thought Art3mis was a great character, too. Eventually, it became cute but at first it
just seemed stalkerish.
I just love how much happens and all of the places we go in
just this book. The OASIS is such an
expansive universe and it’s something that you could explore forever. It seems like so many things happen in just
this book – not even in the OASIS but to Wade personally in real life. You see how much the OASIS is connected to
and integrated into everything in this society and how much it affects what
happens in the real world.
Rating:
In Short:
Ready Player One was fast paced and addictive - I never
wanted it to stop. I really loved
everything about this book and was sucked in from page one. I really liked Cline’s writing style and was loving
all of the references, even if I didn’t recognize most of them. (Though I will
tell those moments when I GOT a reference were seriously so exciting). I can’t
wait to read more from Ernest Cline in the future! Ready Player one is definitely a book that I would
recommend to everyone.
Olivia
