Ready Player One by Ernest Cline [Review & Giveaway]
Back in May I headed to Book Expo America with my day job, and was fortunate enough to scoop up a ton of advance reading copies of awesome upcoming titles. Our booth was right next to Random House, and I regularly raided their tables, scoring copies of Robopocalypse, Icefall, the Scorpio Races, and Ernest Cline’s epic… Ready Player One.
Ready Player One finally hit stores last week, and I’m psyched to finally write about it. Cause you know, now you can go buy the book. And buy it you should.
In Ready Player One, we are introduced to a sad future where people live their lives in OASIS, a virtual reality landscape similar to that of today’s MMORPGs and Second Life. In the game folks fight, wear armor, get EXP, travel to imagined worlds… but they also go to school, buy merchandise, and work their day jobs inside the digital realm.
The story centers on Wade Watts, a poor boy on a quest to unlock the greatest secret of the OASIS… where the inventor of the game, James Halliday, hid his vast fortune. The key to unlocking it all? Unraveling Halliday’s complicated puzzles littered with 80′s music, television, movie, and video game references.
Not a fan of 80′s video games? Unfamiliar with the films of John Hughes? This book is absolutely not for you. A lot of the references are going to sail right over your head. But since you’re reading this blog, chances are you likely swoon over 8-bit t-shirts and curse remakes of your favorite flicks. You will adore this title. I sure as hell did.
Somehow, despite the fact that Cline’s novel depends entirely on pop culture reference, this device doesn’t get old. There are tons of “ahh” moments as you progress through the story, fondly remembering every bit and byte that Cline lays out for you. And while he’s dishing out all these little nostalgic nuggets, his writing sparkles with wit and detail.
Bottom line, if you’re a geek who loves pop culture and gaming, this book is absolutely for you. I tore through it in a couple of days, and loved every single page. Hilarious, thrilling, and at times utterly heartwarming (sigh, geek love), this is a shoe in for my favorite book of the year.
Want a free copy? Leave a comment about your favorite 80′s movie. I’ll pick one of you at random and send you a copy of the book next week.
The book sounds awesome, would love to win a copy. It took me a while to realize how much I love it, but whenever Big Trouble in Little China come on TV I’m powerless to resist it.
Wow, sounds great. My fave 80′s movie is probably The Abyss, although War Games, Big, Mannequin and Some Kind of Wonderful are all right up there. What a zany genre.
Favorite 80s movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark. Do I even need to explain?
I always loved Sixteen Candles (my grandparents forgot my birthday? they *live* for this sh*t!). Thanks!
I read about this book recently and am definitely curious to read it!
I’m going to go with The Breakfast Club, though I know as soon as I post this I’m going to come up with a dozen other things I should have said instead…
Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. High quality programming.
This is a question that has always been on my mind because I couldn’t decide between Ghostbusters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back, the Transformers Animated Movie, or They Live but last night it occurred to me just how great a job whoever was in charge of continuity did in this particular trilogy and because of that Back to the Future became king in my mind.
This is a tricky one, but I’ll go with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, since I just re-watched it.
I’d have to go with Ferris Bueller, especially the scene where Cameron is making fun of the hand motions and signals being used on the trading floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.
I can’t believe I gave my panties to a geek.
(from 16 Candles, of course!) Best coming of age movie of the 80′s.
I’d be surprised if I’ve watched Short Circuit any fewer than 100 times over the years. It’s as if my tv’s channel can’t change anytime it comes on.
My favorite movie of all time, The Princess Bride, is from the 80′s, but I wouldn’t call it an 80′s movie, because the setting is medieval fantasy.
Instead, I’ll say my favorite 80′s movie is The Last Dragon. It’s about a guy who does kung fu to save his vee-jay girlfriend from a guy who’s blackmailing her to put a music video on her show. Totally 80′s.
Ok, so I must say that I LOVED this book. I am currently in college and I will be honest, I haven’t read a novel in at least 3 years, but my girlfriend (an avid reader) wouldn’t let up about this book since she read it on it’s release date. I started it 2 days ago, and I am posting this literally 5 minutes after reading the last page. I haven’t done anything else but read for 2 or 3 days and I must say, it was an enjoyable experience. As others have said, if you think you are a geek, read it and it will be the best decision you have made in a long time, trust me.
Blade Runner is my favorite 80′s movie… visionary, one of the best movies of all time.