Review: Ready Player One

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Why did I wait so long to read this?

I have a love/hate relationship with high profile books. The books that generate a ton of hype rarely live up to it so I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And then Hollywood decided this book needed to be a movie, which was the kick in the ass I needed to read it. Because I can't have Hollywood out-doing me with the books.

If you ever wanted to visit the 80s, but you weren't sure how you only need to pick up this book. But don't let that fool you. There is so much more than 80s throwback happening here.

The time is 2045. The real world exists, but there's a better place you can go for an escape. OASIS, if you will. It's virtual reality at its finest. No, really, it's virtual reality. You can go online to attend class, you can play video games online, you can make friends, hang out in chat rooms, posses weapons, cars, and magical item. It's the coolest place ever. I'd like to visit the OASIS.

But all of this virtual reality comes at a price. It comes at the cost of human connection and relationships and life. It allows people to ignore the real world and get lost in the virtual world.

So, aside from the 80s nostalgia, it has an underlying message, and underlying theme.

Or, maybe I just read to far into it and it's just an 80s pop culture treasure chest.

Either way, it's a pretty good audio book. Wil Wheaton narrates. He's amusing. So, give it a read or a listen. Shouldn't matter the method, the book is fun regardless.

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