Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Hey, all! 

I just finished reading Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline! 

"In the year 2045, 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."





I feel like this book has blessed my geeky heart and soul - it took it and made me want to dive right back into arcade games, Star Trek, and 80s music, and never come back to the 21st century. 

Ok so I'm going to be the first to agree that the book and the movie have very little in common. If you want the authentic, go for the book. But if you want an awesome story in a short amount of time, watch the movie. It's the same basic principle, just very different plot points. 

Actually, totally different plot points. 

But both are amazing! I absolutely adored the story. Picture this - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, but with a giant all-powerful video game instead. Whoever wins Halliday's Easter Egg wins the entire Oasis - the virtual reality in which people spend most of their time to escape reality. 

The story follows Wade/Parzival, who is a genius about everything concerning the pop culture Halliday was obsessed about. He is a gunter - an egg hunter - who uses clues from around the Oasis to find the location of the Easter Egg. (In gaming an Easter Egg is something that is not expected, but finding it gives a bonus of some sort. In movies this can be compared to Pixar movies almost always has the A113 notation somewhere). 

I really, really liked the characters. They were well thought-out, incredible geeks, and still humble. They were diverse and different and generally broke the stereotypes of popular gamers. 

There's also the whole concept of why the world is a mess in 2045 - and it's scary plausible. I don't want to give too many spoilers so I'll let you figure it out for yourself! 

I loved the pace of the book, and its impossibility to put down, and its incredible attention to detail! There was one thing I could not get my mind around: how in the world do Wade, Art3mis and Aech find the time to know so much about Halliday, chill in the Oasis and, for example, watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail 170-odd times? Time doesn't work that way, as far as I know! 

I also found the book to be much more plausible than the movie - it included school and the speed of Light and other things that just made more sense! I loved the subtle references thrown into the plot such a the Tomb of Horrors, the Kobayashi Maru, among so many others! 

Also can I get a hands up for geek appreciation ey? 

The book itself is not YA-written, but can be read by YA readers, for sure. 

I want to keep this spoiler free - I feel like this is a book that should be discovered on a individual basis! 

Definitely giving this book a 5/5 feathers! I was amazed! 

Have you read Ready Player One? What did you think? Let me know! 

Stay bookish!