Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was a very interesting novel.  Those of you who grew up in the 1980s will be in for a trip down memory lane as it’s littered with pop culture from that period.

It is set in a Dystopian 2040s, in which, the world is in a very dark place. An energy crisis, caused by a depletion of fossil fuel and global warming has left humanity with a depressing future.

To escape from this, people spend most of their time in the OASIS; a virtual reality simulator created by a computer programmer called James Halliday.

I could imagine the OASIS as being a real paradise where providing you have enough money, could lead to endless possibilities; I mean you can even purchase a spaceship and travel from world to world! It’s a scary thought for the future, that’s for sure.

Anyway, upon his death, Halliday announced in his will that he’d left an Easter egg hidden in the OASIS simulation and the first one to find it would receive his estate. For those who are unaware, an Easter Egg is a signature left within a video game by its creator (or programmer).  To get this final prize, a series of keys must be won by completing puzzles set out by Halliday.  These often involve old school games such as Pac-Man, Dungeons & Dragons to mention a few.

The novel follows Wade Watts who lives in poverty but is able to access the OASIS thanks to his online school. In his spare time, he actively looks for the Easter Egg; people like this are called “Gunters”

I really loved this novel, not only for the story, but for the references to 80’s pop culture; namely films, books, and computer games. As our protagonist is hunting for the clues inside the OASIS I was looking for the references on each page; a game within a game if you will.

Overall, it was easy to dip in and out of thanks to the short chapters, and the characters were really easy to like. For a debut novelist, Cline manages to create a world (OASIS Simulation) that is very appealing, I began to wish one existed. The only gripe is that for me the book went on a little bit too long.

Have you read Ready Player One?  Post in the comments below or join in the discussion on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.