"Finally read "Ready Player One"" Topic

Took me a while to get around to this one, having had it recommended by others, My thoughts, no spoilers (as such):

Premise: in the very near future, the entire world participates in a global virtual reality universe called OASIS. When the genius creator dies, his will takes the form of a world-wide puzzle challenge based on his obsession with '80s geek culture, especially video games and classic pen & paper RPGs. Whoever can find the three "keys" of his puzzle and open the three "gates" will inherit not only his wealth, but control of the OASIS.

Enter high school senior and typical nerd, Wade Watts, aka Parzival (!) in the virtual universe of OASIS (No, I had no idea that this was part of the story, and yes, I've had the name as my Internet presence for nearly 27 years. So I got it FIRST.)
Wade is dirt poor, an orphan, and (of course) a genius at video games, '80s geek trivia, and computers. Total cliché, but that's par for the course. Wade, of course, wants the fortune, but also wants to protect the OASIS he loves from the evil corporation that has a massive army of OASIS users trying to claim the prize and dominate the computing world forever (cue evil laugh, which the head bad guy actually has!!!).

Okay, so the '80s geek cultural references come fast and furious, and are a lot of fun. I guessed at parts of two of the puzzles right away (in fact, I thought they were obvious, and probably would be to most here). And I had some "yeah, wait, I knew about that" moments when others were revealed.

The tension is good, the story moves swiftly, and there are some decent plot twists, though nothinng really that grand or surprising.

Where the book weakens is in the stereotypical setting and left-wing Hollywood clichés-- post apocalypse caused by consumerism and global warming, dominated by "evil" corporations and their assassin hit squads (because, you know ALL corporations have those, right? Right?), and of course the hero has (or gains) a pure-hearted socialiist philosophy to "feed the world" with his winnings. Uh huh. Never mind, of course, that every bit of technology he uses and celebrates throughout the book ARE OR WERE MADE BY CORPORATIONS. And of course the bad guys are cast as utter two-dimensional trope villains (and nameless, too, save for the head guy). Fortunately, they get very little "screen time" as it were, so you pretty much accept the silliness and get on with the story.

One shame in the book is unnecessary profanity, a pointless (and plotless) digression about "pleasure" tech, and an opening nihilistic monologue about atheism that really has little to do with the story (and is a bit ironic, considering that two geek geniuses appear basically as god-figures, and there's even the standard "resurrection" moment with the resurrected character becoming the new god— where have we seen that before?). If even two of these were gone, it'd be okay teen fare.

So, yeah, in some ways it's a rewrite of The Matrix and Harry Potter, but the geek gamer references are fun enough that you probably won't care about the clichés and half-baked philosophy (which really isn't all that prominent).

3.5 out of 5 bookmarks.

Sounds more like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actually.

Never read this, but read his book Armada, which I found entertaining if very same same. Will look it up, cheers.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was my very thought at one point.

I read it and enjoyed it – I treated it as an homage to the "old school" gaming and RPG world. It's great fun and to hell with the rest of it.

Where the book weakens is in the stereotypical setting and left-wing Hollywood clichés

Ron

Yup. Knew about that. Kind of expected, as the book follows the favorite formula and all the Hollywood tropes, and is very much visually oriented.

Sounds intriguing and disappointing. I got a copy in a Loot Crate, but never got round to reading it.

Where the book weakens is in the stereotypical setting and left-wing Hollywood clichés

But of course, ya gotta walk that straw dog.

Never mind, of course, that every bit of technology he uses and celebrates throughout the book ARE OR WERE MADE BY CORPORATIONS. And of course the bad guys are cast as utter two-dimensional trope villains

Oh, you and your reasoning! Just boo and throw popcorn at the screen like the others.

What's wrong with two dimensional villains? They make for a great, ripping yarn. The Mitch Rapp series was, IMHO, pretty gung ho stuff but I tore through them and hugely miss the author, poor bloke. It's not always about any kind of left or right wing cliche, just enjoying a rattling good story.

The book draws heavily from cyberpunk tradition. Evil corporations is part of the genre.

This is like complaining that there's too much water in waterworld :)

If you re watch any westerns it's usually some big bad mining/grazing or railway company that is behind it all. That or restless natives made restless by such.

The audio version of this book is narrarated by Wil Wheaton. Despite all my issues with him personally, I can tell you he did a really good job telling this story. It's entertaining, and took my mind off the real world for a bit.

I listened to the audio book and enjoyed it a lot.

I just wish somebody could be original with their bad guys and future worlds. We've been stuck on dystopia since the seventies. It's becoming blasé.

I think it went away, and came back with big.