One of the other reviews I read for this book called it "Nostalgia Porn" and that seems like a hugely accurate descriptor. If you're actually in the set of people to whom that nostalgia resonates, this book is fantastic. If you're a young teen who likes hunt for treasure stories, you'll probably like it too.

This is the story of a hunt in virtual reality through 1980s video games and movies. A rather desperate hunt actually, in a fascinating virtual world and in a devastated real world. There are puzzles, which are fun (and which I was quite proud of solving faster than the protagonist), and there is a light touching of the deeper philosophical implications of a populace that spends most of it's time (both leisure and work) in a virtual landscape.

If you aren't a 1980s geek, this book may have very little for you. But if you played old text adventures between your Dungeons & Dragons games, you are smack dab in the middle of this book's target demographic and will probably have a great time. Those descriptor certainly describe me, and I absolutely did have a great time. (And for what it's worth, my teenage, treasure-hunting son loved it too.)

5 of 5 stars.

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This is a fun book if you like rooting for the underdog and if you recognize the 80s references (which you will if you lived through them: PacMan, Devo, etc). Its not particularly well written, but its not too techie either, so the lay-reader like myself can follow the plot easily.

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This is a rip roaring ride - an Indiana Jones gauntlet of thrills.
If you are a nerd, geek, Trekkie, sci-fi junkie, bookworm, 80's (and 70's or before) movie, TV-show and music aficionado - than this book is for you. (Which is the reason I only gave it 4 1/2 stars - not everyone is...). Its the perfect book for summer reading.

Instead of living in the real world - which is awful and shows signs of what we are going through right now (2020) - everyone and I mean everyone lives in the OASIS - a virtual holo-deck of gaming where you are in the video games. Kids go to school in the OASIS (Online learning sound familiar?), people shop, its where all go to win instead of live. A place where anything that you might really have of any value gets sold to get more time in the game.
The creator, well one of them, dies and instead of bequeathing his vast fortune to his now ex-partner in the OASIS, he leaves a game - a winner takes all game - leaving hidden eggs and gates. If you are the last one standing then you are mega-rich and own the OASIS and control all of it. Throw in a few high school students that only know each other by their avatars, a rich cooperate company that owns everything else and also wants the OASIS and a bunch of geeky people trying to save it.

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I recently finished reading a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It had a perfect mix of suspense and action that kept me on the edge of my seat, always wondering what would happen next. While some readers may have struggled to understand the drama due to the 80s references, I found it to be filled with memories and nostalgia from movies and video games of my youth. Personally, I would give this book a five-star rating and can't wait to see how it translates to the big screen once the movie is released.

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What a fun book to read! Gives one insight of what might happen with Meta. I do not play computer games, so lots of the terminology and acronyms I had to look up. The story had intrigue and moments where I would laugh. I really like it.

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I loved this book! After the first 50 or so pages (which is a lot of world-building), I couldn't put it down! Highly recommend for anyone who loves video games, the 80's, and just plain great books.

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The year is 2044 and the world is not a nice place. Most of humanity avoids the real world and lives their lives in the virtual world of OASIS, created by Billionaire James Halliday. When Halliday dies, he leaves a message for the world. He has hidden an easter egg inside the OASIS. Anyone who can solve a series of intricate puzzles and find the easter egg will inherit Halliday's fortunate along with ownership of the OASIS. Teenager Wade Watts along with millions of other people spend their days and nights trying to solve these puzzles. He does research on the inventor of OASIS, knowing that Halliday's life and love of games and pop culture will surely be the key to the puzzles. When Wade, with his avatar Parzival, solves the first puzzle, everything changes.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton. It was 15.5 hours long and I have to say the first couple of hours were SLOW. Even though Wil Wheaton does a fantastic job with the story, there was way too much world building at the beginning of this book. I almost gave up on this one. I'm glad I didn't. After getting all of the background about the world in 2044, along with James Halliday's life and everything he ever invented or had his hands on, the story finally moved forward. Parzival (Wade) figures out the first clue using his knowledge of 80's trivia and pop culture to work his way through the various worlds in the OASIS. Parzival and his virtual friends, Aech, Art3mis, Daito, and Shoto are racing to find the next clue when a company named Innovative Online Industries (IOI) decides that they will do anything to be the first to solve the puzzles and rule the OASIS.

People like me who grew up in the 80's will enjoy the huge amount of 80's trivia and pop culture references. If you can wade through the first few hours of the book, I think you will enjoy this story. My rating: 4 Stars.

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