Monday, February 6, 2012

#7: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

In a depleted future world, society has largely retreated into OASIS, a virtual world coded by a Bill Gates/Steven Jobs figure with an 80s obsession.  Upon his death, he releases a "treasure hunt" into the virtual world that spells danger for a teenager in the real world in Ernest Cline's debut Ready Player One.

If The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz was the ultimate tribute to growing up in the 70s, then Cline's book will have the same importance for readers who grew up in the 80s.  Cline name-checks everything from old arcade games, imported Japanese TV shows, Matthew Broderick movies, and dog-eared D&D modules in our protagonist's quest to escape his trailer-park life and reach his reward.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cline's novel and read it quickly, and can think of a few friends who would enjoy this just as much.  Recommended for fans of nerd-dom from the 80s forward.

I checked this out from Morrison-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

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