R3: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Released: August 16^th 2011

Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian Future

Number of Pages: 372

For at least five decades now, entertainment media has become a fledging part of society; all the fan conventions, nerdy gatherings and gaming tournaments you see today are products of years of build-up and nostalgia. Tapping into this spinal cord of culture, Ernest Cline’s first novel embraces this mentality wholeheartedly. Seeing how it homed in on one of my favourite pastimes, I picked it up towards the start of 2018.

Ready Player One blends the real world with the virtual one, visualising a dystopian future where just about every human on the planet hooks into the Oasis, a virtual world where you can live an entirely different life as an entirely different person on an amalgamation of varied worlds and levels. Designed by the near god-like James Halliday, the renowned games designer leaves a final gift; a cryptic Easter egg hunt where the winner will receive his entire life’s fortune. In short, it’s the ultimate gaming contest and the young Wade Watts (Known by the alias “Parzival” inside the game) sets out with his close friends “Aech” and “Art3mis” to find it, all the while being pursued by the corrupt corporate eye known as the “Sixers”. It’s told from Wade’s perspective across three “Levels” in the first person and the book’s opening lays bare the rules that make the Oasis tick. For all its sci-fi trappings, the dystopian real-life the book portrays does feel somewhat plausible; a world ravaged by global warming, corporate greed and poverty, which does pull you in from the offset despite an obvious exposition dump. This also gives way to some of the novel’s bleaker moments which sees the villainous IOI Corporation pressing down on the thousands of players within the system.

The characters are all equally nerdy techno-geeks with a considerable knowledge of the virtual world’s ins and outs, with their ramblings casting the reader’s mind back to works of pop culture; classic arcade games, retro films like 1983’s Wargames and a scattering of music tracks here and there. It’s very clear from the offset that “Parzival”, “Aech” and “Art3mis” are the main leads and while they’re all well-rounded in terms of characteristics, there are some other characters who go by underused. Shoto and Daito, two Japanese brothers show up far less often, which reduces the amount of impact they have on the plot. In turn, this means you can often see the twists and deaths coming which removes some of the unpredictability. Be that as it may, the novel makes a gradual shift from basic video game contest with everyone in it for themselves, to something more personal and emotive towards the end and this is also a welcome change of pace.

Recommended?

That depends on your own preferences; if you’re a fan of the eighties, entertainment media or cultural hits in general, then Ready Player One, despite its intentional clichés and somewhat predictable moments will read like a love letter to your favourite hobbies and old nerdy fantasies. If not, then you’ll probably find the book jarring, even tiresome with all its references laid throughout the narrative. You’ll have a tough time picturing the assorted items, vehicles and worlds mentioned throughout the book.

In December 2017, Cline confirmed that a sequel (likely titled Ready Player Two) is in the works as well as a film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg set to be released this year in March 2018; knowing his penchant for whimsical tones, he’s sure to lay off the darker aspects of the book to keep the age rating down while adding in all kinds of modern references to the plot. Will it rely too much on this to pander to nostalgia? Regardless of such, I’ll check the film out when it releases, along with the eventual follow-up.