I pretty much loved everything about this book. I listened to this book on audio, imagine my surprise when I realized that this was narrated by Will Wheaton (I just listened to Fuzzy Nation a couple weeks ago which was also narrated by Will Wheaton) and he again did an absolutely stellar job of narrating. This book is so fun and is really a kick to read if you were ever interested in, or part of, 80's geek culture. It also has a strong cyperpunk feel to it; so fans of cyberpunk should also considering checking this book out.

Wade lives in 2044 and the future is bleak, power shortages have most of humanity struggling and out of work. So most of humanity live their lives in the OASIS; a virtual reality creaked by James Halliday that consists of thousands of worlds. This is where Wade goes to school, where he plays, and where he is raised. When Halliday dies he leaves the ultimate puzzle/lottery behind. Halliday has hidden an Easter Egg in the OASIS and whoever finds it will win Halliday's substantial fortune. Wade is one of many Gunters (egg hunters) who has spent years searching for the prize. When Wade stumbles on a clue that leads him to the first key his life is changed forever.

Did you grow up in the 80's? Do you love games of all types? If so this is the book for you. This book basically is everything 80's geek culture could ever ask for. There are references to numerous 80's video games in here: Joust, Golden Ax, PacMan, Zork, and many others. As well as references to 80's movies, music, TV shows, etc. All of this is wrapped into a quest to find three keys, conquer three gates and win the prize. So there is a bit of a classic Dungeons and Dragons feel to the book as well. But this is DnD with a cyber punk twist. Certain worlds will allow magic, and others tech, but chaos regions allow for both creating some truly mind-blowing scenes involving magic, guns, and lasers. The amount of awesome 80's trivia in this book is incredible; Cline definitely put a ton of research into writing this book.

This isn't just a geek fest, there is a lot to think about in this book too. Wade's closest friends are people he's never meet in person. Wade also spends a very small amount of time in the real world; his body is mearly a piece of equipment that he keeps exercised and fed so that he can jack in to the OASIS. This brings up questions about what it means to live; do we need to do things in person for them to be real and fulfilling? As you learn more about the genius that is Halliday this question comes to a head; was he happy with his creation or did he regret his lack of interaction with other humans?

Then there is the evil corporation that has hired people to play in the OASIS for them; this group of OASIS players is known as the sixers and they do everything in their power to win Halliday's Easter Egg. The sixers are basically everything corporate that Halliday hated. With the Gunters going against the Sixers you have a classic story about the normal everyday man facing off against the evil corporation.

As Wade and his friends make more progress towards finding the Easter Egg consequences start to leak out of the OASIS into the real world and people start dying. It becomes less and less clear where the OASIS ends and the real world begins.

The characters in this book are awesome; they are all so real and fun to read about. The story is absolutely engaging, it is pretty quest based so that is the main driver...but as the story continues it becomes more and more compelling and impossible to put down.

All in all this book was an absolute blast to read. It was a fun read for someone like me who loves gaming of all types, it provided some great food for thought, it was funny and heartwarming, full of great action scenes and completely engaging. I highly recommend this book. My only caution would be if you do not like gaming and do not know anything about 80's culture then a lot of this book is going to go right over your head. A lot of the negative reviews for this book are from people who don't like gaming or just don't get it. So, uh, seriously if you don't like gaming why are you are reading a cyberpunk fantasy novel about 80's gaming culture called Ready Player One!?

Highly recommended, an absolute blast to read, I can't wait to see what Cline comes up with next.

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Calling all nerds, geeks and dorks . . .

If you are a child of 1980s or even if you arent, but are a fan, youll love Ready Player One. This novel, set in the future dystopian world of 2044, relies upon all things eighties pop culture: movies, television shows, music and yes, video games.

Wade Watts is a poverty-stricken video game geek that ends up in a reality-simulation universe called the OASIS. The creator of the OASIS, James Hallidaywho seems to be a combination of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Mark Zuckerberg (all those in that category) has died and left his billions to whoever can solve the riddles in a huge video game race throughout the OASIS. Everyone is out to get the prize, especially an evil corporation named Innovative Online Industries which will go at any length to gain the prize, which includes control of the OASIS.

RPO is not just a nostalgia feast for those of us from that 80's era, but the story actually contains characters youll root for and a plot that keeps throwing them out of the frying pan and into the fire.

I listened to the audio book. Im glad I did because its narrated by current pop culture nerd, Wil Wheaton who is the perfect choice. More than once, Wheaton actually has to mention himself since he was a part of the Star Trek, The Next Generation lore from the 80s time period. Even if youre not familiar with every movie or video game mentioned youll enjoy the novels frenetic pace as the protagonist races to find the prize. And there is an actually love story in the middle of it all, one of the best Ive read in ages.

I knew I was a nerd before reading RPO, but now I know how much of a nerd I truly am. I can already tell this is going to be my favorite read of the year. Love it.

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This is the best book I've read in a long time! It's got so much of everything that gets me really into books - the future, an alternate universe, nerd facts, virtual reality, love, action, war, intrigue. It takes place in 2044 where virtual reality, the Oasis, has become the world's escape to the horrible economic crisis plaguing everyone. The vastly wealthy inventor of Oasis dies without any family and sets up a cut-throat competition in Oasis, find the easter eggs he's hidden and his company and wealth is your's!

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WOW. If you are a child of the 80's, you HAVE TO read this book. Such a good book. Read this now! Five stars don't do this book justice. I would give it a ten. It's set in the 2040's, a bleak future when the great recession is going on its third decade, humans have vastly overpopulated the planet, and global warming has decimated the earth. The majority of human interaction, whether for work, school, or pleasure occurs in a virtual reality world known as OASIS. The man who developed OASIS recently died alone and left his billions to the person who can find all of the easter eggs he has left behind with a series of clues. Wade Watts is a teenager living in a trailer park when he finally figures out the first clue and is sent on an adventure where he encounters friends and mortal enemies in a world peppered with 80's cultural references. This book was the most fun to read, and the best book I've read this year. You owe it to yourself to read this.

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