2015 Book #16 - Ready Player One

It's the future. An online, virtual reality, multi-player game almost rules the world. People with nothing else spend much of their time playing to get away from their miserable lives. When the founder of the game dies, he leaves his entire fortune, billions, to the person that can solve the puzzle and hunt he hid inside the game. Years go by and no one has done it. Ready Player One is the story of the hunt.

Wade is a high school kid that goes to school online, hides in an old van hidden near stacks of trailers outside Oklahoma City, where his Aunt lives. He spends most of his time researching and trying to solve the puzzle and hunt. The founder was obsessed with the 80s, and all sorts of pop culture, games, and movies, and these are littered in the story.

When Wade, known as Parival online, finally has a breakthrough, he finds the first of three keys. However as he's leaving the cave where it was kept, he encounters Art3mis, a famous gunter (game hunter), who he has a crush on. She's discovered the cave already, but hasn't solve the puzzle. He gives her a hint, and when he comes out, he's famous. The first person to solve the puzzle, with Art3mis following, and then Wade's friend, Aech, right behind them. There's, of course, an evil corporation, IOI, who also wants to solve the puzzle and offers Wade money. When he refuses, they try to kill him.

The rest of the story is the hunt. A typical story, the hackers banding together (somewhat), their efforts to get ahead, but then fall behind, and a plan to exact revenge on the corporation and solve the puzzle.

It's exciting, it's interesting, it's sad that people live inside a computer game, but also exciting to think of how amazing it is. At times, I'd forget it was a game, and think it was just an incredible world.

A page turner, easy to read, and fun.