I can honestly find zero faults with this book. I did have
to look up some of the references about which Cline writes, but these were few
and did not take away from the completeness of the novel. It was an absolute
joy, both as a geek and 80’s baby, to learn and relive moments of the past. It
was also sobering to read about the destroyed world in the novel and wonder
just how far away our civilization is from such a reality.
Book Description:
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim
surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling
virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can
live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to
discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual
world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator
James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive
fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain
this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture
he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found
in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study
of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable
debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting
Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle
.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of
competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing
to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for
Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he
may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to
life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?
Daniel Tackett
Young Adult Librarian
