It's been a while since I've read something that wasn't written by a YouTuber. I feel like it was a nice break.
I decided to read Ready Player One after my boyfriend recommended it, and he also suggested I read it soon because the movie is coming out later this month. I thought I would give it a go because it sounded interesting and I had remembered that Joey Graceffa mentioned it ages ago and I wanted to see what it was about.
Ready Player One follows the story of Wade as he explores a virtual reality world called the OASIS in search of an Easter Egg that was hidden there by its creator, James Halliday. And whoever found this Easter Egg first would be the winner of the fortune and the virtual world created by Halliday.
When I first started reading the book I knew right away that there was a lot of it I was not going to understand. Because the book is filled to the brim with 80's references and I wasn't even born until the 90's so I basically didn't get any of the references made in the book. And essentially that was 99% of the content in the book. So right away I decided not to get too hung up on the fact I didn't get any of the references. The gist is that Halliday was really into 80's culture and so the challenges he put in place on the way to find the Easter Egg were all 80's related.
So I guess if you've ever wanted to learn more about the 80's pop culture then this is the book for you.
It's kind of weird to imagine a virtual universe where a lot of the worlds in it were based on ideas of the past but at the same time, it's not so crazy. Trends from the past make come-backs all the time, and I guess the author just really wanted the 80's to come back in a big way.
I also thought when I first read the book that the pace of it was going to be faster than it was. Which I'm glad it wasn't so fast. I did think that once Wade had found the first challenge and succeeded that the second challenge and third wouldn't be that difficult for them to find and so the search for the Egg would have ended halfway through the book.
The book starts with Wade logging into the OASIS and telling the story of how he found the first Gate - there were three gates to clear in order to find the Easter Egg and gain access to Halliday's fortune. And Wade was the first person to find the first gate.
Naturally, after he found the first gate and everyone found out about it he became instantly famous and people were trying to find out from him where the gate was and how to clear it.
As the book goes on, it's clear that the OASIS is not just a virtual world, but it has become everyone's reality. And that some people's threats were more than just virtual ones.
I think the one thing that kept me reading was the idea of the OASIS itself. I wanted to know more about this world where possibilities were ended and I found it fascinating. Virtual Reality is something that has recently come up more in the tech world so to read about a world where VR has become everyone's entire lives is very interesting. And it's also scary how you could see it becoming a reality.
Though I think one of the main points of the book is that while you can experience amazing things in video games and through VR it will never compare to experiencing it in the real life. Several times in the book it does describe Wade logging out of the OASIS and taking in his real-world surroundings and it's not great. I guess it makes me appreciate that we are not at that point yet. And I hope we don't get to it.
Anyway, didn't expect to get serious about that but back to the book.
I enjoyed the story, I also liked that there was a little bit of a romance in the book but that it wasn't the main focus of the book. I think it would have been weird to have an all-out romance in the middle of this book. Even if the story seemed to veer in that direction for a bit.
I do think the biggest plot twist for everyone was the identity of Aech, Wade's best friend in the OASIS but at the same time shouldn't we have expected it? I think so but I ain't mad about still being surprised at the reveal.
I was super excited for Wade to finally meet the people he had been talking to in the OASIS, I guess because I know what it's like to meet someone you've only talked to online. It's scary and it's a risk but it can also be a great thing. Sure, there are dangers, just like everything but it's still cool that the internet connects people in lots of positive ways.
As for the ending, well it was kind of expected. In fact, seemed kind of boring towards the very end but that was okay. I feel like everything leading up to the final gate was good and I think the movie will do really well in capturing the end. But I guess we will have to see.
And so, to sum up - I enjoyed this book. Thought it was a fun read. A nice break from what I have been reading recently. And of course, I am excited for the movie. Although that being said when I watched the trailer, the OASIS didn't look how I imagined it would - but that's the risk you take when you read the book before you see the movie.
Now moving onto my next read... I have decided it will be Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I've been meaning to read this for a while, especially because I have been calling myself a fangirl since 2009 so I feel like this is something I can relate to. So, look out for that review (hopefully) soon! Can't make any promises though, sometimes you read something and don't have a lot of thoughts on it but, I will still leave a rating on Goodreads, so follow me there if you wanna know more about my reading ventures. (And please don't judge me for how slow it seems I read)
~ Courtney x
