TPL Book Review: 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline

Video game enthusiasts and children of the 80's will love this book!

The story is set in the future when the Earth is ravaged with waste and it's resources mostly depleted. The status of the world goes largely unnoticed, however, because everyone is logged into the Oasis -- a free virtual world open to everyone.

When the founder of the Oasis, James Halliday, dies he leaves his entire fortune up for grabs to the first person to find his hidden Easter Egg within the Oasis. Halliday was a child of the 80's and his creation of the Oasis stemmed from growing up with arcade games, and movies like War Games. His whole life revolved around video games and computers.

Wade Watts attends public school in the Oasis, and he is a gunter -- an obsessive video game geek who is determined to find Halliday's egg.  It's been five years, with nary a clue, until one day Wade develops an idea about where the first gate might be hidden. He is right.

Then, the race is on. Wade and fellow gunters must reach the egg before the evil IOI employees who are bent on taking control of Halliday's fortune and the Oasis, and making the once free virtual world available to paid-members only.

The story is fast paced and exciting. Readers who have a basic knowledge of the 80's and video games will be delighted. There's a bit of a love story in it and I enjoyed how the characters grew as people. Great action and story telling. Very unique.