At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century.
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century.
My Thoughts
Easily one of my top reads of the year. I am placing this right up there with Game of Thrones for my fiction reading of 2011(more science fiction). I was put into memory bliss reliving and reading names of games and 80's pop culture that I grew up with. I kept a tab on all cultural references and now have a long list of items to read, watch, and play.
Aside from my nostalgia moments, the story was so intriguing. I was fascinated by the online world. It seems so plausible as each generation growing up is more tuned in online than the real world. I was so curious about how the author would intertwine all the elements presented. I was blown away more than once at how he integrated so much and made it seem so easy to follow. I felt like I was actually part of a game myself.
There is a lot of action, a lot of tense moments, very likable characters, and of course everything for a geek to love and adore. If you are a fan of movies, video games, pop culture, the future of technology, etc. then you MUST read this book. You will not be disappointed. Too bad this book is going to put a damper on my reading time as I go back to relive my moments of glory on my 8 bit NES.
No comments:
Post a Comment