Probably the most fun book of 2011 is Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One.
Cline is a screenwriter by trade (he penned the geek movie Fanboys), poet and spoke word artist. Ready Player One is his first novel, and like Fanboys, it’s an ode to the pop culture icons that Cline grew up loving, including (but not limited to) sci-fi films, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and 80s pop music.
Ready Player One is set in 2044. The world has fallen on hard times (wars, energy shortages, crime). The one thing that everyone can enjoy is the Oasis – a massive globally networked virtual reality that most of humanity uses on a daily basis. Thousands of virtual worlds now exist, allowing anyone to visit any place – real or imagined. How about a trip to the Louvre? Or a recreation of Star Trek? Or a trek through Middle Earth? The options are almost endless.
The creator of the Oasis is James Halliday, a reclusive computer genius, who’s death kicks off the novel. Halliday is worth billions, and has no heir. Therefore, Halliday has concocted a final game for the world to play – one where the winner gets to become the owner of the Oasis – and thus the world’s richest person.
The game sets off a world-wide frenzy as thousands of people (and corporations) strive to win Halliday’s prize. And what a game it is. Halliday has hidden clues in the virtual worlds within the Oasis. And the key to the clues reside in Halliday’s obsessions with the era he grew up – the 1980s.
This allows for an orgy of geek nostalgia. There are movies (War Games, Blade Runner, Princess Bride, Star Wars), Japanese Anime and monster films, novels, 80s popular music, Dungeons and Dragons, video games and much more.
The hero is Wade Watts, a brilliant teenager who takes up the hunt for Halliday’s secrets. Watts immerses himself in ‘Halliday Lore’ as he strives to unravel the clues that Halliday has left behind. Wade is a classic orphan in the Disney mode. He must overcome his own insecurities as well as battle an evil corporation who wants to take control of the Oasis.
Ready Player One reveals in geekdom. It is funny, fast and fun. It never gets bogged down or takes itself too seriously. It’s just a wild ride that will keep you smiling from beginning to end.