Ready Player One is a fun novel by Ernest Cline that I purchased mostly on a whim to have something to listen to while we were wrapping Christmas presents and preparing for tomorrow’s festivities. The reviews for this book on Audible.com were glowing, and there was more than one comparison to Douglas Adams. Since DNA is my all-time favorite author, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with Ready Player One.
The main characters of the book spend all their time immersed in an online game called OASIS. Even schools are virtual and online in the OASIS world. A very interesting idea. The players start out competing in an online competition to find an Easter Egg hidden by the game’s eccentric creator. The first person to find the Easter Egg will inherit his vast fortune, including control over OASIS. The online easter egg hunt quickly starts having real world implications and the young protagonists find themselves fighting an epic battle of good vs. evil.
If you have ever played World of Warcraft, Order & Chaos, Celtic Heroes, or some other MMO game then you will feel right at home in this book. Both because you will recognize the environment, and you’ll understand the addictive qualities these games have.
But you don’t have to be a World of Warcraft player to enjoy this book. But being a geek certainly helps. The books is filled with references to early video games and 1980’s pop culture. If you, like me, grew up in this era and had some exposure to computers and video games, then I think you will love this book. My son, who missed this era by about three decades, also thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Highly recommended. Especially the audio book version read by Wil Wheaton.