Ready Player One / by Ernest Cline

Thursday, 07 June 2012 17:13

We can all geek out about something. Most people assume that geeking out has to involve things that are…well, “geeky”. But really, geeking out is simply reveling in your own particular passion and the best kind of geek is one who can show others how much fun geeking out can be. Ernest Cline, author of Ready Player One, understands this, which is why his book is so entertaining to read even if you’re not into his particular geek obsessions, which include vintage video games (like Black Tiger) and 80's pop culture.

The story takes place in a future not too far from our own where economic disaster and dwindling natural resources have compelled most of humanity to plug into a virtual reality program called OASIS (imagine Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, and the best video game ever created rolled into one thing). When we are introduced to our narrator, 18 year-old Wade Watts, we also find out that James Halliday (the eccentric genius that produced OASIS) created a peculiar “game within a game” to determine who would inherit his immeasurable fortune after he died. Somewhere inside the OASIS, Halliday hid an “easter egg”, a gaming term used to describe a hidden room or item left by the game’s programmer. Halliday’s egg can only be found by first finding three hidden keys that will open three hidden doors. To give players a clue on where to find the keys, Halliday left behind a thousand page collection of his writings on everything related to his favorite decade: the 1980’s. With the promise of massive wealth, players hunting for Halliday’s egg become experts on all things 80's, but no one has been successful in finding a key since the challenge was first presented five years ago.

Wade, of course, makes the first breakthrough that begins an incredible frenzy for the egg. Once Wade starts putting the clues together on where to find the keys and the gates, he finds that he is challenged not only by fellow egg hunters (called “gunters”), but also an insidious and powerful corporation that seeks to use the loophole created by Halliday’s game to seize ownership of OASIS. As crazy as this all sounds, it comes nowhere near to describing the wild fun contained in this book: there's world-spanning battles, DJing wizards, giant robots, and enough race-against-the-clock action to keep you hooked even if you don't get the references to Buckaroo Banzai or Voltron. So raise your geek-flag high, pick up Ready Player One, and enjoy the ride! (Dan, The Loft)

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