Ready Player One
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The front of my copy of Ready Player One has a quote from USA today stating its “Willy Wonka meets The Matrix,” and that sums up the vibe of the book perfectly. Alongside this wild high-concept, every page is also filled to the brim with pop culture reference’s from an era I grew up in, so there was plenty of nodding my head and telling myself ‘I got that reference.’ I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and it felt like I was its intended reader.
Ready One Player is set in a dystopian future––which will probably become reality one day––where most of the world now lives its life in an immersive computer game known as ‘Oasis’ because the real world sucks and everyone wants to escape from it. Think living in The Sims, if it was more like Cyberpunk 2077.
When the creator of the Oasis, Halliday, dies, his parting gift to the world is a riddle in the form of an Easter Egg, which if solved, would give the victor ownership of the Oasis, and the vast fortune which comes with it. Our hero Wade, aka Parzival, is one of many trying to solve the clues, along with an evil murderous corporation known as the Sixers who want to take charge of the Oasis and monetise it.
The book reads like a geeks dream. Every book, film, and video game ever are significant, all research. It’s a chance to reminisce about retro games and classic movies. A book which reads like the conversations you used to have when discussing Star Wars or Goonies, which suits me just fine.
I’ve always liked pop culture referencing heroes if done correctly––John Crichton being my favourite––so immediately took to Wade and his quest. I enjoyed reading about him levelling up, and solving the famous clues linked to games I remembered, or wanted to know about.
The supporting characters were all great, and you were rooting for the good guys throughout as the baddies descended into moustache twirling megalomaniacs––all whatever the cyber version of that is. There were no blurry lines. No fake outs or double crosses. It was good old fashion good vs evil, with nerdoms future at stake.
Unlike most noirs or mysteries the clues aren’t ones you can solve yourself, or even have the vaguest idea what they’re referring too. To solve the problems, you have to be part of this world, and as the reader you’re always waiting for the characters to clue you in. I guess for some this could be a negative, maybe wanting to solve them yourself, but I didn’t mind. It added to the immersive nature of the book. This really is their story, you’re just along for the ride.
I read Ready Player One a lot quicker than I intended too. The short chapters and fast pace meant I always wanted to see what was next. As mentioned, I like the characters and enjoyed hanging out with them while they talked about the movies I love. It’s a simple read outside of the endless references with an easy to follow plot despite the huge amount of world building. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I was leant a copy of the book years ago by a friend who adored it and I never got round to reading it, now that I have, I can safely say i’m a fan too. Wonder what the sequels like?
