Book Review: 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline

Re-read 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline because of the upcoming movie, but I've not done a review, so here goes.

James Halliday, the creator of the OASIS, a free to connect massive online VR universe in which the majority of the world is logged into to escape the dystopia of real life, has died. And in the tradition of 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' (of which this book tips its hat to), in his will he will leave his entire fortune of $250 Billion, to whoever can unlock a series of puzzles and find the Easter Egg.

I enjoyed this, it calls to my geekiness, and as someone who grew up in the 80's as well, it does hit the nostalgia button very hard! From movies, TV, games and music, there is so much referencing of the 80's and pop culture in the story. And as such, somewhat unfortunately, does come across as an 80's pop culture checklist at times. Yes, I get that in the story retro nostalgia for the 1980s is cool, because of Halliday's obsession for it, but maybe it's a bit too much, as it did make me disconnect from the story a bit. A least in the early chapters.

Once the plot gets past the introductions and gets going, it actually gets a lot better, as Cline seems to focus more on building the story instead of calling out and checking off his pop culture favourites. The High Five, Parzival, Art3mis, Aech, Shoto and Daito - the top 5 on the scoreboard and the first 5 to locate the first key in Halliday's puzzle - are all in a race, along with everyone else, to find the hallowed Halliday Easter Egg before IOI, a big communications conglomerate looking to seize control and 'monetise' the OASIS, does.

The plot may be basic but I did find it an exciting read, as we follow the main protagonist, Parzival / Wade, as he scours the OASIS VR universe for the clues to unlock the prize. He's a very likeable character, as are the others in the High Five, although they weren't explored or fleshed out as much as Wade, seeing he was the main protagonist and is told from his perspective, and Sorrento from IOI is your standard evil corporate CEO, although we don't get to see much from him.

It's a light froth of a story, but an enjoyable one at that and seems to be written for gamers, those that like to reminisce about the stuff that came out in the 1980s, and enjoy the various fandoms of geek pop culture. If you're one of those, then you'll definitely get a kick out of this.