My Rating: 5/5
Century Publishing 2011 Favourite Quote:
"I sat in my stronghold, staring at the Jade Key and reciting the words etched into its spine, over and over, like a maddening mantra:
Continue your quest by taking the test.
Continue your quest by taking the test.
Continue your quest by taking the test.
Yes, but what test? What test was I supposed to take? The Koybayashi Maru? The Pepsi Challenge? Could the clue have been any more vague?"
There are a million other quotes throughout this book that are just amazing, but the thing is that whilst I could put them here for you, to really appreciate them you would have to be a big fan of 80's movie and game culture and if you are then I tell you to simply read the book and be swept up in the magnificence of it and its pure geek brilliance. If you are not all that familiar with 80's pop culture but have maybe caught films such as Wargames, Tron, Ferris Bueller, Weird Science etc when they have been on the telly then this book will make you appreciate the 80's and the good things that came from it like never before.
The story takes place in the not so distant future in which the world is circling the drain as fossil fuels have gone and the environment has suffered drastically. In steps our unlikely hero Wade, who is just a short few months away from finishing high school.
Wade is a Gunter.
That is to say that Wade or Parzival (his avatar name) spends most of his time in the massive online simulation universe called OASIS. In a sort of lamens Charlie and the Chocolate Factory way, the creator of the OASIS passes away and reveals that he has hidden an easter egg inside his "game". The person to find the egg will win his substantial fortune (richest person on the planet) and also a controlling stake in his company. He leaves a clue and the world tries desperatly to find the egg. In five years no none has made any progress on the first clue and the scoreboard remains empty. There is also an evil corporation that is trying to find the egg so that they can own the OASIS and charge people for its use.The people who are trying to find the sacred easter egg are called Gunters.
Most of the population of the planet "lives" in the OASIS and Wade himself even attends school there as they are of a far higher standard than real schools and they are free. Basically the OASIS has gotten World of Warcraft (or Star Wars the Old Republic, which is way better than WOW by the way) and Facebook and Amazon and rolled them all together.
I was hooked primarily by the attractiveness of the idea of the OASIS was and then it kept throwing in so many truly brilliant 80's references from things such as Macross, Wargames, Ghost Busters, Back to the Future and the list goes on and on. And then there are the games which are truly beautiful to hear them described that made me instantly remember the excitement that I used to feel playing games such as Joust and Pac-Man. Ah, the good old days.
I consider myself to be a geek and when I was reading this book and I was reading about Wades encyclopedic knowledge of 80's culture and gaming and his idol Halliday, I could easily put myself into his shoes and I was excited like it was Christmas morning with every turn of the page.
Even with a busy week filled with trips to see friends down south, climbing, golf and a host of other things I still read this in a couple of days and I still felt that wasn't fast enough considering how much I was enjoying it. The only bad thing I could say about this book was that it ends. When I turned the last page all I could think of was how I would love to go back in time and read it fresh again so I could feel the wonder that I had felt just a few days ago once again.
This has become my favourite book and has knocked a favourite off the top spot that has proudly sat there for nearly seven years. Go out and give it a read and if you like games, films and music, there is no way you will not enjoy this book.
Please see the link for a game based on the book but made in 80's style called Stacks
Also, Ernest Cline has also created a brilliant playlist on his blog to accompany the book, but it could contain spoilers.
Lastly, a game that plays a prominant part in the story is Adventure that was released by Atari in 1979 and was created by the great Warren Robinett whose name should have great meaning to any passionate gamer. If you want to play Adventure then Atari have released it on their website and I highly recommend giving it a go by clicking HERE.
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