A review by mildnothing
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
3.0
*** Rating: 3.5/5 ***
The Story
The year is 2044. Ever since the death of the original founder of the OASIS, James Halliday, many so-called gunters are on the quest of finding an easter egg that Halliday himself had coded/planted somewhere in vast universe that is the OASIS. The instructions to finding the first of three keys is presented as a riddle. The one who finds the egg first will inherit the rights to the OASIS as well as all of the founder's riches. For years, nobody seems to get ahead in the quest so that the motivation to go on in the quest ebbs quickly. Until one day, a name appeared on the scoreboard dedicated to this adventure, announcing the first riddle had been solved.
The story includes many generic features: a poor, nerdy protagonist, an evil antagonist, an adventure and some romance and heartache on the side. Not quite generic is the setting: most of the story takes place in the OASIS–a virtual reality.
My Two Cents
It took me a while to get into the story and the frequent references to 80's pop culture (mostly movies and video games) ticked me off in the beginning. Overall this book felt like a young adult novel but for die hard 80's kids–i.e. ca. 40+ year olds now–or other people with a hardcore obsession for the gaming culture of that decade. Being neither of those, I just did not get many references and was also not interested enough to research.
I can see how this is going to be made into a movie, it had a very cinematic feel to it throughout the whole story. I'd say, it was okay and would probably recommend it to one or the other friend, but I'm quite sure I won't read it again.
The Story
The year is 2044. Ever since the death of the original founder of the OASIS, James Halliday, many so-called gunters are on the quest of finding an easter egg that Halliday himself had coded/planted somewhere in vast universe that is the OASIS. The instructions to finding the first of three keys is presented as a riddle. The one who finds the egg first will inherit the rights to the OASIS as well as all of the founder's riches. For years, nobody seems to get ahead in the quest so that the motivation to go on in the quest ebbs quickly. Until one day, a name appeared on the scoreboard dedicated to this adventure, announcing the first riddle had been solved.
The story includes many generic features: a poor, nerdy protagonist, an evil antagonist, an adventure and some romance and heartache on the side. Not quite generic is the setting: most of the story takes place in the OASIS–a virtual reality.
My Two Cents
It took me a while to get into the story and the frequent references to 80's pop culture (mostly movies and video games) ticked me off in the beginning. Overall this book felt like a young adult novel but for die hard 80's kids–i.e. ca. 40+ year olds now–or other people with a hardcore obsession for the gaming culture of that decade. Being neither of those, I just did not get many references and was also not interested enough to research.
I can see how this is going to be made into a movie, it had a very cinematic feel to it throughout the whole story. I'd say, it was okay and would probably recommend it to one or the other friend, but I'm quite sure I won't read it again.