Ernest Cline’s debut novel, Ready Player One, is a dream for any ’80s pop culture obsessed, video-gaming geek out there. But, even if this doesn’t describe you, this book will still entertain you. And for those of you who grew up in the ’80s, get ready to feel nostalgic.
I was alive for maybe three years of the ’80s and by no means an expert on ’80s pop culture. Of course I’m familiar with some of the popular films and music from the decade, having been exposed to it over the course of my life, but that’s about the extent of it. Despite my lack of knowledge, I loved Ready Player One.
The story takes place in the year 2044 in a dystopian world. Times are hard; poverty-stricken people live in vertically stacked trailer parks and are taken into indentured servitude if they are unable to pay their debts. The outlook is grim for many. But in hard times, people find a way to escape their lives, and in Cline’s world, this escape comes in the form of a virtual reality called the OASIS. In the OASIS, people create their own avatars and are free to live their lives however they want and be who they want to be.
The story revolves around a game involving a search for an “Easter Egg” that brings the finder a vast amount of riches. The creator of OASIS, James Halliday, set up this game to occur after he dies as a means to gift his multi-billion dollar estate to the winner. To win, however, requires expert knowledge of all things ’80s from film and television to video games. After years of progress in cracking the first riddle, teenager Wade Watts becomes the first to figure out the clue and instantly becomes famous. His discovery sets off an all-out hunt for the egg that quickly escalates to a high-stakes game as some people become willing to do almost anything to win. These people are the employees of the corporation IOI known as the “Sixers” and headed by the story’s villain, Sorrento, who will cheat and even kill for a shot at retrieving the egg.
What’s fun about this book are the many ’80s cultural references (many of which I’m sure I missed, but those that I noticed made me smile). It seems as if there’s everything from beloved ’80s arcade games such as “Pac-Man” and “Joust,” to films like “Wargames”, and music including Duran Duran, Rush, and even some “Schoolhouse Rock”. There’s a little something for everyone, although true gamer geeks will likely get the biggest thrill out of reading this book.
The book is a virtual adventure from start to finish. It’s a fight between good and evil, the underdog against the evil corporation. There are battles, games, magic and even a little bit of romance thrown in.
The book even seems to touch on our own growing culture where it seems people spend more and more time in their own virtual world and neglect reality. It isn’t difficult to imagine someday experiencing our own large virtual “oasis” sometime in the future. With a film version of Ready Player One on the way, we won’t have to wait long to at least see a Hollywood rendering of the OASIS.
So, if you’re ready to relive the ’80s and find your own (non)virtual escape for a few days, I enthusiastically recommend checking out Ready Player One.