Ready Player One

a book by Ernest Cline

Last summer I visited an old friend and we got talking about films and books, he then recommended “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, he gave me a quick run down about it and he said it’s full of 80s pop culture, which sold it to me instantly.

An EPIC STRUGGLE between good and evil.
The GREATEST QUEST in history.
the FATE OF HUMANITY resting in your hands.
ARE YOU READY?

reads the back cover of Ernest Cline’s début novel Ready Player One

You should never judge a book by its covers – but a back cover like this must tickle your imagination. This is definitely a book too please your inner nerd. If you, like me, grew up in the 80s, were part of the computer revolution, loved playing games, possibly in to D&D and role playing this book is a MUST read.

Publisher: Random House
Publication date: August 16, 2011
Pages: 385
ISBN: 978-0307887436

there will be no spoilers I promise! So please read on…

The book is set in the year 2044, and the world is not a great place to live, in fact earth is a totally dystopian place. Where resources are scarce and the division between rich and poor are epic. However the one saving grace in year 2044 is OASIS, a virtual reality simulator accessible by players using visors and haptic technology. In this parallel world people can escape the hardship of the real world.

The hero of the story, Will Wade, is one of the less fortunate people of this dystopian world and he uses the OASIS to flee the real world whenever he can. When the creator of the OASIS unexpectedly dies the future of OASIS is put in to jeopardy and an epic battle for the OASIS commences.

In my view the book may not be the greatest literary work but the story appeals so much, due to its 80s pop references, games I used to play and the music that was the hits. It truly made me feel nostalgic and proud to have been apart of perhaps not the birth but defiantly the adolescence of computing. Ernest Cline has written another book called Armada, which is currently sitting waiting for me on the bookshelf. Will review it once it’s been devoured.

here is also a film planned for 2018, and it’s rumoured that it’s no less than Steven Spielberg who shall direct it. Mr Cline has written the screen play so the film will hopefully stay true to the book. More details can be found on imdb

check out Mr Cline’s web site, Loving the retro look and feel!