Ready Player One by Ernest Cline : Book Review

A Riveting Science Fiction Carrying an Excitement of a Thrilling Ride

Ready Player One is a 2011 novel by Ernest Cline. This futuristic novel about a problematic society is on many reader’s top sci-fi reading list. Just like the book, its movie adaptation was a blockbuster. Legendary director Steven Spielberg directed it.

Story Plot

The year is 2044. The place is futuristic, Oklahoma. The citizens, including a young man called Wade, feel the need to escape the real world because their life is involved in disturbing situations. They find solace in an online virtual world created by a man named James Halliday. It’s a simulation game called OASIS and provides the escape the people always crave for.

Now, it so happens that the creator is about to die and worried that he has no one to give his entire life’s wealth. So he decides to choose his inheritor from the players of his game. He creates a challenge wherein he invites everyone to participate and declares whoever wins becomes the rightful owner of his wealth. The story actually kicks off when the challenge begins. Will the main character Wade manage to win? Who will be his closest ally and foe in this battle? Is the challenge he is facing only about winning money or something else is going on?

Flow of the Book

Before talking about the characters in the book, I would like to draw your attention to the challenges the author has created in it. They are the highlights of the book. The challenges belong to the 80’s pop culture! They are a sort of puzzle or quiz that revolves around the gone back culture. So people who belong to that era might feel like they are a part of the challenge and will be able to play along by guessing the answers. For the younger lot, this is equally fun as it builds mystery and exciting tension.

But before this exciting bit, the chapters preceding it are a little dull and slow. But with the author’s clear explanations and descriptions about the virtual world and the characters, the reader doesn’t feel lost about what’s happening like it so happens with books of this genre.

Characters

All the characters are as diverse as they could be from one another. Along with the story, Cline gives a mysterious edge to the characters as well. Apart from Wade, you don’t come to know about the other characters until the end. You just know them through their virtual appearances called Avatar but not how they are in the real world. All this is revealed as the story reaches the climax.

The Good

Imaginative storyline
Mysterious and fun characters

The Bad

Slow and dull beginning

Verdict

I would rate this book 4/5 stars for its brilliantly creative plot, intelligent, surprise-filled characterizations and the author’s simple to understand the description of the futuristic world. This book is recommended for all.

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Ready Player One by Ernest Cline