When the movie came out, all this seemed to come to a boil especially on my Twitter feed. That is where I spend an unhealthy amount of time. And people either LOVED IT or HATED IT. And I was surprised by how much hate it got from people I consider "geeky." Wasn't this our jam?
Quick summary...in the not too distant semi post-apocalyptic future people are able to access a hyper realistic online VR "game" called the Oasis. Like the world wide web today it is a major center of business, life, and education and people interface in realistic avatars they craft. It both mirrors and defracts the "real" world which many try to escape this way. The creator of this system, a paint by numbers lonely genius, creates a contest to find a hidden treasure (The Egg), which would grant control of the Oasis and untold wealth. Our plucky hero (paint by numbers gamer nerd) is thrust into this world spanning battle in which he makes friends and fights a sinister corporation. And lots of pop culture references. Lots.
Like, I make pop culture references in work emails. Or in jokes or little asides. I'll end work emails with actual foot notes explaining jokes or re-occurring characters and instances. Big hits include wisdom from my mom, who are fave teachers, growing up in the Godless country that is Puerto Rico, ley lines, being a mech pilot, and yeah pop culture references. Lots of memes. I just had a Twitter post go viral where I asked someone what stats and buffs a bone whip (See it on Twitter @garikapc) granted. And yes...I too am shocked that I am married with children.
Ready Player One lays them on thick. These are Patrick Bateman-esque monologues usually saved for Huey Lewis and the News. And I like those bits in American Psycho! And if you get these (I am maybe 5 years too young to really squee out about these. So my squee levels were 8 out of 10 but I think a very old Millenial or young Gen X'er would be 11 out of 10. (If you don't get this think of how hyped you were for the timely/world building touches in Stranger Things)
And this is something that I remember people on Twitter either loving or hating. Its awesome! It's derivative. It gives me the nostalgic feels! C'mon up with something new!
You need to understand that everyone is 80's pop culture obsessed in this world because the creator of the OASIS (and the contest) was. And there is billions of dollar on the line so yeah we are going to have a PacMan scholar and people reciting War Games from memory. Lot of Dungeons and Dragons references (No Magic, which I found odd since other non 80s geek touchstones are. There is a Firefly/Serenity reference for maximum geekery credit! C'mon!
Oddly enough, with all the DND none of the best DND jokes with are the characters alignments and die roll jokes. "I am going to have to roll a natural 20 on this charisma check if we want our boss to believe I was just kidding on my Facebook post yesterday!"
"That cute girl at work. OH Fuck she saw me looking at her. Going to have to roll for stealth check. NO whammy!"
This is a book about a world that literally is a video game and I have referenced how I think life as one big video game. And, for some reason, the part I liked about the books was everything that wasn't the game. Because I get that the world sucks (per the narrator) but never really sure how. Yeah they are poor and lonely but there seem to be "haves" in the world. And others just getting by so a bit more of that was cool. I found the most telling parts where the hero, Wade, meets his friends and enemies in the real world and how expectations are challenged then. A real nice scene when he meets his online best friend in real life.
The geeky stuff, like when he is picking which ship to fly to or the buffs his gear gives him, these are neat but that is my life yo so thanks but I got my own daydreams.
And, that brings me to my only quirk with the book. For how much these characters imbibe everything geeky (It literally is how they can survive) there is nothing new. Everything is a reference or a cameo. And yes, I have dreamed about driving the OG Gundam and mow down Zakus in it but I have also dreamed and doodled my own mechs. Why don't these characters? I wanted more of that world building and felt that ran a bit hollow. I get that their shtick is loving the 80s so much that it is their entire world but you can't tell me they have come up with something original. How cool would it have been for Wade to save the day with an original creation. Something no one in the OASIS could see coming. Can you imagine that. The bad guys are fucking Unicron and they have beat every Transformers in the canon (even rare Japanese only releases!) and then Wade comes up with his own machine and saves the day. That would be cool!
The book is true to its world, however, so I can't begrudge too much. The final battles involve knowing the nuances of classic arcade games so well that if you spent even a minute coming up with your own little game you would likely lose. And I billions was riding on it you know I would go hard on Joust. I just know anyone that deep into geekiness or DND would love to create their own characters and not just copy someone else.
Some quick closing hits
- A female heroine character named Artemis. How original...I do like that Wade calls her Arty, however.
- Surprised no Rocky, Rambo, or 80s horror slasher made it in. Or Dune! Dune always gets shafted on these geek compendiums.
- The focal point of the world seems to be Columbus, OH. I've been there.
- Surprised there has been no sequel even with the huge sequel bait we get. It literally is a scene where someone says not to push a button or the world will end. Something out of the Lego Movie levels of self awareness.
- Hey I love...well, even for me...I mean...err...the little ditty on masturbating was cringey. We get it, OK!? No one would put that in their magnum opus unless they self published it. Which maybe they did but the universe treats this book with the same omnipresence as Gideon Bibles.
A neat little book. Worth a read especially if you are even casually geeky. And, no I have not seen the movie but that is coming. Get hyped for that post, porn bots!
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