Week 25: Ready Player One

This week's book:
Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline

This week's book was one of the gifts I bought my husband all the way back in September for his birthday. We read it together. I will be honest, it was totally for him, for I would never had chosen it in a million years. But now that it's done I am glad we read it.

The story is about a high school aged boy named Wade in the near future in a dystopian society. (Everything is in the pooper with the economy, society and environment all in shambles) As a result everyone lives on line in a virtual reality game called the OASIS. You can be whoever you want to be, look, sound and act however you want.

One of the creators of this world sets up an “Easter egg” moments before his death, and if you find it you receive his estate and control of the OASIS. Think Willy Wonka, but WAY more nerdy. If you don't know what an Easter egg in a video game is, don't worry, I didn't know what one was until I married my ridiculous husband. An Easter egg is a little hidden bonus or reference that game developers slip into the code for fun for the players to find later.

The book follows one boy's journey in his quest to find this ultimate prize. We meet fellow gamers on the same path to win the contest. Together, they race against a massive corporation who are trying to take over the OASIS by any means necessary.

The book is chock full of 1980 pop cultural references. If you have met me, you know I love the 80s, it was when I was made. Movies and music, not so much the video games and tabletop games, but it's still my favorite decade. If you were wondering if the Hubs enjoyed the book and you need a reminder of the nerd my husband truly is please reference my blogs about The Martian and The Hobbit. When my husband was explaining the book to his brother, my brother in law stated it was “nostalgia porn”. 

Hubby and I agreed about how the book is a little teen angsty in spots. This is the author’s first novel and I wish he was just a little better of a writer. The book has a cool idea but the author doesn't portray it well enough. As a whole, I would say that I would recommend the book. However, know thatthat book is filled with lots of nerdy/geeky references, and if i didn't have my husband acting as a nerdy Cliff Notes, I would've been lost.