For all you Gamers and Movie-Buffs that scoff
at novels, spit on bookstore windows, and remark, "Words? We don't need no stinking
words." The gateway drug to the
wonderful world of fantasy prose has been found in one lone novel.
Ready Player One takes everything you love
about video games, music, movies, sitcoms, commercials, literature and the
like, and throws it into a blender to create one of the most unique and
original stories that even the truly die-hard book hater will love. "That's
great and all, but I hate video games." Do you like movies? "Actually,
I hate everything you mentioned above." Oh, well in that case, here's a shovel: start
digging until you're about six feet deep, then jump in and have a friend bury
you, because really...what's the sense?
STORY:
Wade is your typical introvert living in the
crappiest future you could imagine (probably
not far off). Instead of spending
his days battling scary robots or trying to survive a deserted earth like other
novels, Wade logs into Oasis: a free online world consisting of everything you
ever wanted in a game and life. Oasis
allows the player to go to school, dance clubs, level-up to a powerful wizard,
become a virtual arms dealer, or visit places only dreams can hold. But the number one reason everyone uses it:
anonymity. You can be and do anything
you want in Oasis, provided you have a big enough virtual bank account. Wade, on the other hand, has nothing. Not even a family life he can be thankful
for, so he spends almost every moment of real life in a simulation.
The fun begins when the creator of Oasis, James Halliday—the richest man in the world—dies.
With no heirs to his fortune, he leaves a Will. It states that lying deep in Oasis is an
Easter Egg—no, not the colorful crap you see during the holiday—a hidden secret
that only the most ingenious Oasis player will be able to unlock. The prize: Halliday's estate and full
ownership of Oasis, making the individual who solves the puzzles the richest
person in the world. For years nobody
comes close to finding the first of the three gates leading to the secret
egg. People even start to forget and
give up, until one night a lone name appears at the top of Halliday's
scoreboard stating someone has found the first gate. That someone: Wade. Overcome by excitement, he doesn't realize
that some people would kill for that kind of cash in the virtual and even the real
world. Crazy gaming, 1980's pop-culture,
wizard-whipping, and puzzle-solving ensues.
THOUGHTS:
The novel itself literally reads like an MMORPG
(Massive multiplayer online role playing
game). If you like the idea of a
low-level broke virtual wizard becoming famous overnight, and battling against
greedy killers…then this is your novel.
If you spend countless hours without food and water, nursing blood-shot
eyes, and getting no sleep, because you just have to level up before you call
it a night…then do yourself a favor and pick this book up. You'll love it.
Talk about writing what you know and in this
case, what you love, because this book literally found a way to massage an
entire decade into coherent paragraphs.
Ernest Cline (author) turns
the 1980's into the greatest ten years of this planet's culture. And he does so through a thrilling ride about
a young man with nothing, whose sole purpose in life is to become the first one
to find Halliday's Egg.
The writing in the novel is top notch and will
keep you pinned to the pages no matter where you are in the story. The setting is original and fully developed,
so you never find plot holes or problems with character motivations. And the amount of research that had to go
into putting this epic tale together is unfathomable. The story throws espionage, corporate theft,
assassinations, school problems, love, bad parenting, a crappy future, and
sitcom puzzles in your face, and you'll want more. It might even be a sad moment, when you turn
the last page and see no more words.
WHAT IF I HATE GAMES AND MOVIES?
Then what the hell are you doing on
P&P? Seriously? If you really find sci-fi, fantasy, video
games and movies repulsive, then don't even attempt this book. The story does tackle harder concepts like
relationships, family trouble, love and greed, but they're not the core of the
book. Most of the story involves the
main character retracing certain 80's pop culture (mainly old video games and sitcoms), to try and tie it in with the
current puzzle at hand. So if literary
feats like The Great Gatsby are your cup of tea, then maybe you should head to
a bookstore and test out the first couple chapters of Ready Player One, before
diving in.
WHAT IF I HATE THE 1980's?
Some people look at the 1980's tremendous hair
styles and wacky color coordination and shun the whole decade. Others think the music was as good as jamming
a fork in your ear and then jumping off the nearest cliff. But there's so much more in the novel then
just the music or hair styles or clothing.
The sitcoms and movies and commercials and books all factor into the
story too. And let's not forget about
great games like Joust for Atari. Or
Pacman. Who in their right mind doesn't
like Pacman? Okay…maybe the Nazis, but
that's it.
CONCLUSION:
If you’re a 60th level wizard who has never read a
novel in their life, this may be the gateway drug you've been looking for. It may open up all kinds of magical worlds
built on words. Or you might just go
right back to playing GTA5 (who doesn't
like hitting hookers with their car, right?). With fantasy, sci-fi, games, movies, sitcoms,
commercials, Japanese anime, cartoons, and the kitchen sink, how can you not find something you love about this
story? Think Tron meets World of
Warcraft meets The Firm. It's a story
about chasing your dreams, even if everyone tells you they're unreachable. And who can't get behind that theme?
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