Ready Player One

I think this is the blog equivalent of showing up 5 minutes late to class. Sorry about that. I am excited to introduce myself and talk about books. My name is Aubrey. I am a high school English teacher; sparking a love of reading in my students is my highest priority and greatest privilege as a teacher. My husband, Mike, is studying to become a video game programmer; I was pretty positive he was “the one” when he called me before our second date to find out what book I was reading with my book club so we could talk about it together. Also, he regularly quotes Pride and Prejudice in conversation, which I find admirable. We have a happy, nerdy little life together.

The first book I’d like to share with you is Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. This one came strongly recommended… as in, Mike brought it home, ecstatic that he had found a second copy so we could read it together. It’s hard to resist that kind of excitement.

The book is set in the year 2044 and things are pretty dismal. The economy has never recovered from the recession and people miserably eke out their lives of extreme poverty. But, there is a silver lining… the OASIS. The OASIS is a massively multiplayer online simulation game. The real world no longer has much appeal, and people are more than happy to escape into the virtual world. This is especially true for Wade Watts, the teenaged, socially outcast main character who, along with millions of others, is on a quest. Five years before the story begins, James Halliday, the creator of the OASIS passes away. The legendary programmer left the world one final, epic video game quest… to find the three hidden keys that will lead one player to the hidden “Easter egg.” The person who finds the egg will inherit Halliday’s incredible fortune and stewardship of the OASIS. Oh, and, to find the hidden keys one must have a vast knowledge of video games and 80s pop culture. Wade and other video game enthusiasts have plenty of motivation to find the egg, but so does Innovative Online Industries, the massive company that hopes to privatize the OASIS to increase potential profits.

I think the main appeal of this book is how fun it is to have an epic quest designed around video games and 80s pop culture. At various points, being able to quote Monty Python and the Holy Grail and play a perfect game of PacMan are crucial to Wade’s success and survival. Honestly, I wasn’t terribly familiar with a lot of the referenced texts, but Cline does a good job of explaining them just enough to let you in on their significance without overdoing it for those who get it.

Ready Player One raises an interesting question in today’s world: is the real world actually better than virtual reality? To some people that may seem absurd, but I see people every day trying to find a balance between reality and virtual reality. We spend hours escaping from life with Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, video games, etc. There are people who prefer texting to actual conversations because they find those conversations uncomfortable. Wade has to answer this question, and it is surprisingly hard to guess which side he’ll take.

Overall, I enjoyed Ready Player One quite a lot, but something that bothered me was the frequent swearing/use of uncouth phases. I don’t usually mind swearing, but I did feel like there was too much of it and that it didn’t serve much of a purpose. Maybe it was meant to show that these people are angry and alienated. Either way, I could have done without it.

Ready Player One has an original premise, relevantly questions our relationship with technology, and keeps readers interested with its high stakes adventure. I would give this geeky epic 3 stars and warn you that reading it may end up in a trip to the arcade.