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Reviewer Jennifer Flygare

Jennifer Flygare

Jennifer Flygare is a Research & Learning Librarian at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Title

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

Review

Ready Player One is the first novel by Ernest Cline that is filled with references to 80s pop culture, video games, and virtual reality. It is set in the year 2044, in a world that has depleted most of its natural resources. Earth has become a grim and impoverished place. Most of the population escapes this existence becomes by logging into the virtual utopian video game OASIS.

The creator of the game, James Halliday creates a contest to be played after his death. Anyone who solves a complex series of riddles, games, and puzzles, will inherit his vast fortune and company. These clues are hidden so well within the virtual universe that five years into the game, despite millions of players, no one has yet to discover even one clue. During his life, Halliday was a huge fan of 1980s pop culture, so players on this quest or "gunthers" as they are called become experts in all things 80s, studying everything about Halliday's childhood and the world he grew up in, hoping to stumble upon a clue.

The main character Wade lives a bleak existence in a vertical trailer part in Oklahoma City. The park is so overcrowded that the trailers are stacked on top of each other. He spends most of his life plugged into the virtual OASIS world and dreams of escaping his life by finding and solving Halliday’s puzzles. One day he stumbles upon one, and the game is on.  The world is watching, and players emerge who will do anything to win.

This book has lots of fun references to things like Duran Duran lyrics, Dungeons and Dragons, old 80's television programs, and vintage video games. It's a fun quick read that will appeal to teen readers as well as adults who can't resist reading about the pop culture of their youth. This is a great book to relax with during the summer break.

Review Date

Reviewed April 2013