TL;WR (Too Long; Won’t Read)
The book’s good, with slight plot holes that aren’t detrimental to the enjoyment of reading it. I would give the novel 5 out of 5 stars. If the synopsis even just slightly interests you, please do give it a read and stick with it for around 10 chapters.
LONGER REVIEW
Ready Player One was an absolutely fantastic dystopian Sci-Fi read filled with countless references to old school videogames, movies, books, and media in general.
Summary:
The year is 2044 and there are problems. Big ones. There’s an ongoing energy crisis, real estate prices have skyrocketed, the climate has changed far too much... and one big, bad company called the IOI owns 99% of everything. There’s only one thing that a broke teenage kid living in his aunt’s RV stack (as shown in the cover) can do— participate in the Hunt! The owner of the biggest virtual reality simulation in human history died and what did that oddball leave in his will? The winner of his virtual reality contest riddled with clues from ‘80s pop culture will get full rights to his virtual reality company and his multi-billion dollar fortune. Except… nobody’s been able to solve even just the first riddle yet, after 5 whole years. Wade Watts, the broke teenage kid living in his aunt’s RV stack mentioned earlier, is one of the millions participating in the Hunt. Wade is suddenly brought into the international limelight when he shows up as the first person on the contest’s Scoreboard. What will Wade do in the virtual world of OASIS as the Hunt suddenly regains vigor? How will Wade deal with the IOI as they try to take control of the OASIS? Will Wade find hope? Love? Perseverance? Buzz cuts? Find out in this wonderful Sci-Fi novel by Ernest Cline!
Opinion:
I loved the premise and execution of the plot. I have read other novels with virtual reality gaming being the key part of the story, though they were mostly online LitRPGs. Seeing a published, physical book with such a topic was quite the surprise for me. The main difference from my online readings and this book was that books online had more of a focus on the leveling system and artifacts/equipment. This one was more focused on the overall plot than the nitty gritty gaming details.
I enjoyed reading about Wade, Art3mis, Aech, and everyone else within the novel. The character development was done fairly well. It was fun to see Wade grow as a character, alongside his relationship with his friends and enemies. The settings and unique mechanisms in the novel were also explained in an easy-to-understand manner. Also… there were A LOT of references to pop culture of the past (maybe present for some), all of which were explained well. However, I am 100% sure many of them flew over my head despite Mr. Cline’s coaching.
Nonetheless, I have some qualms about the novel: plot holes. I understand, thinking up a novel of this magnitude, referencing decades-old video games, AND keeping up the character development takes a lot of effort. But… some things just really stuck out to me. I will illustrate one to get your brain going on what I’m talking about.
The world is in an energy crisis. However, no one seems to be batting an eye to this virtual reality simulation which can handle billions of concurrent logged-in users at once without any lag. How does such a technological environment maintain itself if not by pulling energy excessively from its surroundings?
Aside from those sorts of questions I had about the plot, the novel was a page-turner. It also made me want to check up on those classics the book referenced (which was a goal of Ernest Cline, as he said in the Acknowledgements. Yes, I liked the book enough to read to the very end of the Acknowledgements). I knew about Monty Python, but have never fully sat down to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I will be sure to, now, after having read this book. It just might help me one day in the future (specifically, in 20 years) wink wink.
Overall? A fantastic read.