It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in …
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?
80s nostalgia with a clever concept, but weak narrative
3 stars
Overall this was a fun read. The world itself is quite dystopian, but the OASIS is incredible. It feels like a very natural evolution of today's online society, for better or worse. Some of the plot can feel a little sluggish with the exposition and the slowdown in the second arc of the book, but it has a good payoff at the end. The characters are OK, but not developed as well as the focus is almost solely on the main character Parzival and his obsession with the 80s, the hunt, and Art3mis. I think the concept behind this (and the nostalgia) was pretty good, though the narrative could have been better, both in terms of characters and plot.
A great book for videogame enthusaists and those who love 80's culture.
5 stars
A great story regarding a late teen engaging in a video game quest with real-world impact. Set in a dystopian future, the tale gives you a blend of a virtual world learing to positive and meaningful real-life changes.
The story is told with enthusiasm and gives you a great insight into a late teen learning there is more to life than a virtual world. It also teaches you persistance, may lead to mindblowing results.
An enjoyable and quick read. Nostalgia is bound together by a fairly predictable plot line. I wanted to go back and create a playlist of all the music mentioned, but I borrowed the book from a co-worker and needed to return it.
To be honest it's been a while since I read the book so don't expect a full in depht review. Sorry.
I liked it, quite a lot indeed. I also enjoy playing video games and 90% of the action occours on a video game. I think that, as always, the book is quite superior compared to the movie.
In conclussion: I recomend it if you like cifi stuff.
A great nostalgic romp through the past, the present and, perhaps a not too distant future. It points out what's wrong with our global culture today in a way that brings back the hope we had growing up in the 70's and 80's. It reinvigorates a faith in the goodness of humanity in spite of our current mistakes and failings. And it points out the absolute value of charity towards one another. And it shows how we know all this; we learned it all growing up but forgot it being part of the rat race or being run over by it.
It's full of Easter eggs from pop culture and the best ones are those he brings up without pointing them out, leaving the reader to notice them.
For anyone who is nostalgic about the late 70's and 80's and the tabletop role-playing game that spawned many others and computer …
A great nostalgic romp through the past, the present and, perhaps a not too distant future. It points out what's wrong with our global culture today in a way that brings back the hope we had growing up in the 70's and 80's. It reinvigorates a faith in the goodness of humanity in spite of our current mistakes and failings. And it points out the absolute value of charity towards one another. And it shows how we know all this; we learned it all growing up but forgot it being part of the rat race or being run over by it.
It's full of Easter eggs from pop culture and the best ones are those he brings up without pointing them out, leaving the reader to notice them.
For anyone who is nostalgic about the late 70's and 80's and the tabletop role-playing game that spawned many others and computer games and movies to follow, you'll see just how deeply Dungeons and Dragons has shaped our culture.
