Ready Player One
Ernest Cline is the kind of author that makes me proud to be a geek. When I was 16 I felt like I was the only girl in the world that read science fiction and fantasy. It seemed like I had to keep it a secret. Then, with the encouragement of my mother, I made friends with similar interests. I realized that I needed to be me, and that my intricate knowledge of the Star Wars movies, Star Trek, and the Lord of the Rings books wasn't something I needed to be ashamed of, it was a point of pride.
Ready Player One is set in a dystopian future. Oil has run out, people have fled to cities, poverty and crime are rampant. The only escape is to log into an immense video game called OASIS. (Think World of Warcraft but MUCH larger.) We meet Wade, a kid with no money, no power, socially awkward, but is immensely smart. He is on the hunt for an Easter Egg in OAISIS. If he finds it it gives him the keys to the kingdom. As simple as this story is, Cline spins the yarn well. He coats it in 80's pop culture references, drops funny lines all over the place, and made me smile the entire time I read the book. It's a book about geeks, written for geeks, that is immensely satisfyingly. At a certain point the book became a bit meta for me. As my cat 8-Bit (named after the Nintendo Entertainment System) curled up on my lap, and I listened to my husband and roommate discuss Angry Video Game Nerd, I realized that I needed to walk away for a moment. I reached the point where things became a bit too self referential. Also, it made me want to invite the author over for a drink because I finally reached the point where I put a book down because science fiction felt a bit too realistic. As I type this post my roommate is playing Cadash. See what I mean?
It's worth noting, that this is Cline's first book. As fun as it is, there are moments where things feel a tad forced. This isn't necessarily a flaw, it's something that gets better over time. As Cline publishes more, and keeps honing his craft this will improve over time. I'm willing to forgive a few clunky parts, because it's a matter of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Ready Player One isn't perfect, but it's an amazing start for a brand new author. I can't wait to read his next book, and the one after that, and the one after that. If Cline stays focused he could become one of the next great science fiction authors.
My next book is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. I'm a few pages into it, and I can already tell this is a wonderful horror novel.
Ernest Cline is the kind of author that makes me proud to be a geek. When I was 16 I felt like I was the only girl in the world that read science fiction and fantasy. It seemed like I had to keep it a secret. Then, with the encouragement of my mother, I made friends with similar interests. I realized that I needed to be me, and that my intricate knowledge of the Star Wars movies, Star Trek, and the Lord of the Rings books wasn't something I needed to be ashamed of, it was a point of pride.
Ready Player One is set in a dystopian future. Oil has run out, people have fled to cities, poverty and crime are rampant. The only escape is to log into an immense video game called OASIS. (Think World of Warcraft but MUCH larger.) We meet Wade, a kid with no money, no power, socially awkward, but is immensely smart. He is on the hunt for an Easter Egg in OAISIS. If he finds it it gives him the keys to the kingdom. As simple as this story is, Cline spins the yarn well. He coats it in 80's pop culture references, drops funny lines all over the place, and made me smile the entire time I read the book. It's a book about geeks, written for geeks, that is immensely satisfyingly. At a certain point the book became a bit meta for me. As my cat 8-Bit (named after the Nintendo Entertainment System) curled up on my lap, and I listened to my husband and roommate discuss Angry Video Game Nerd, I realized that I needed to walk away for a moment. I reached the point where things became a bit too self referential. Also, it made me want to invite the author over for a drink because I finally reached the point where I put a book down because science fiction felt a bit too realistic. As I type this post my roommate is playing Cadash. See what I mean?
It's worth noting, that this is Cline's first book. As fun as it is, there are moments where things feel a tad forced. This isn't necessarily a flaw, it's something that gets better over time. As Cline publishes more, and keeps honing his craft this will improve over time. I'm willing to forgive a few clunky parts, because it's a matter of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Ready Player One isn't perfect, but it's an amazing start for a brand new author. I can't wait to read his next book, and the one after that, and the one after that. If Cline stays focused he could become one of the next great science fiction authors.
My next book is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. I'm a few pages into it, and I can already tell this is a wonderful horror novel.
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