New York : Broadway Books, c2011.
374 p. ; 21 cm.
This is a great book, one that should appeal to a wide variety of readers. I'm not a videogamer, but I loved how Cline creates a thrilling, realistic sci-fi adventure story that seamlessly weaves videogaming and videogaming allusions into the text and texture of his novel. Ready Player One is a dystopian adventure, a love story, a paen to geekdom, an homage to 80s pop culture, and frankly a fun and smartly plotted novel. Not bad!
I found the novel a pleasure to read. It wrestles with the evils of corporatism, the alienation of virtual reality, the pleasures of camaraderie and romance, and the basic human struggle between good and evil. There is just enough real violence (not much) in the book to keep the reader on edge, and a plot that moves smartly along. Even for non-geeks, the book has many moments of recognition where the reader thinks, "Ah ha, I know what ______________ he's talking about!" (Fill in the blank with book, movie, videogame, TV show or song depending on the situation.
Cline somehow manages to convey the reality on the online experience, while always the maintaining the more final reality of the actual world - while at times having them almost (almost, but not quite) dreamily/nightmarishly blur closely together.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for an unusual, creative, and thrilling read.
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