Ready Player One
Locus Award nominee 2012, Tähtivaeltaja Award nominee 2013.
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut — part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.
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?
“Completely fricking awesome... This book pleased every geeky bone in my geeky body. I felt like it was written just for me.” — Patrick Rothfuss
“A nerdgasm… imagine Dungeons and Dragons and an 80s video arcade made hot, sweet love, and their child was raised in Azeroth.” — John Scalzi
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Ernest Cline
Ernest Cline’s name has become almost synonymous with the thrilling blend of 80s pop culture, futuristic technology, and an unapologetic love for video games. Born in the small town of Ashland, Ohio, Cline’s journey into writing was a mix of passion and serendipity. With a deep affection for sci-fi classics, arcade games, and the rich tapestry of 80s nostalgia, it’s no surprise that his breakthrough work, Ready Player One, would become an instant cultural touchstone.
Ready Player One
Ready Player One consists of two books — considered a complete series. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Book Reviews
I really liked this book. Ernest Cline managed to build a post-apocalyptic world that actually felt new, rather than just a re-do of an old idea. Cline managed to hook me from the start and I felt like I was following along the clues with him. But, whatever you do, do not watch the movie. It didn't do the book any favours, just sayin'.