Book review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One, Ernest Cline's wonderful debut novel, was suggested to me by a friend, and just a few pages into this clever novel, I was hooked. Slightly reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, this well-done science fiction novel is set in an entirely too plausible future in which the founder of the ultimate gaming/social networking site dies, leaving the ownership of his creation and his multi-billion dollar fortune to the one who finds his "Easter Egg," hidden somewhere in the world he has created.

Filled with references to 80s pop culture and plenty of nods to all that is geeky, Ready Player One warmed every nostalgic, nerdy bone in my body.

Wade Watts, aka, Parzival, is the protagonist of the story, and one of the first to figure out the first piece of the several puzzles that will move him a step closer to obtaining the vast fortune left by the former owner. (In a bizarre life-imitating-art twist, I happened to be reading this book at the same time Steve Jobs died, and the parallels between Jobs and Halliday, the creator of the virtual world in the book, were a bit uncanny.) Parzival is a likable character, and his insecurities and wry outlook on his life only make him more believable and likable. The antagonist, a faceless corporation personified by executive Nolan Sorrento, is perfectly despicable, and its (his) slick yet threatening persona only adds fuel to the fire.

The narrative flows easily and well, and I found myself eagerly wanting to move the story along, not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. This is one of those books where you can't wait to see what happened next, yet every turn of the page brings you agonizingly close to the end.

From Crown Publishers and available from your local, independent bookseller. (Make a difference: shop local; shop independent!)