Rarely do I induce common acronyms in my speech UNLESS I have witnessed a phenomenon. Ladies and Gentlemen, may i introduce Ready Player One. I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical at first. Although I have many skills in my repertoire, I do lack the ability for what the youth call 'gaming'. I mock those who waste timeless hours glued to their Xbox's filling their brains with the COD warfare and whatever else there is. There is so much else they could be doing like indulging themselves with J.K's fine arts or start easy, perhaps a bit of Riordan. BUT, I have been subjected with a well known debut piece by a talented fellow who goes by 'Ernest Cline'. His inclination towards ingenuity can astound just about anyone. Lets delve right in!
Immediately, we are introduced to a lonely and unloved protagonist named Wade Watts. Can we just take a minute to absorb and appreciate his hip name, yeah, I just said hip. We're submerged in the year 2044, in a world eerily accurate to what i presume the world will be like. Reality is an ugly place folks. Wade Watts really only fits in when he's 'jacked' into an online virtual world known as OASIS. Watts has spent his life training up on decades of pop culture. The reason for this is because the creator of this virtual utopia has created puzzles within the game. These puzzles promise great power and wealth to whoever can unlock them and they're all based on the creators obsession for pop culture. Who else can unlock the first puzzle but Watts himself right?
Watts player, Parzival is thrown into an intense competition with Art3mis, who also worked out the key to the first puzzle. Watts is #1 on the OASIS scoreboard and soon enough, everyone catches wind of their triumph. Its a race to the death as everyone is now intent on gaining the ultimate prize, the Easter Egg. Gunters are on the lookout too and they all follow in pursuit of Watts. Watts develops a close bond with Art3mis and a few others and its these guys who are teamed up against the opposition, whose main aim is to acquire the money and close OASIS down. I don't want to give too much away (she says after revealing most of the plot) but its utterly worth the read. Overall, i give a 4.5 stars out of 5. This is for the dynamic and rapid world we are introduced to which makes it impossible to close the book. You do not need to be fluent with 1980 trivia and pop culture. I certainly wasn't. Read on guys, read on.
