374 pages
The year is 2044. Things are not looking good in the United States, or the rest of the world for that matter. The Great Recession has devastated the planet, and almost everyone is having a tough time. In the real world, that is. Online, everything is different. OASIS is a sprawling virtual utopia where people are entertained, go to school, do business, and meet people from all over the world. James Halliday, the co-creator of OASIS and richest man in the history of the world, has just died. But he leaves behind one last legacy: a puzzle, embedded somewhere in the thousands of virtual planets that make up OASIS. Whoever solves the puzzle will win an unbelievable fortune, not to mention the fame and power associated with such a prize. Fast forward five years. No one in the world has found even the first clue to the puzzle. Like most of the world, seventeen-year-old orphan Wade Watts would do almost anything to be the winner. And he's got a better shot than most, as he's as obsessed with the 1980s as Halliday was. He's an expert on the 80s video games, movies, TV shows, and other cultural icons that the deceased genius used to create his challenge. And then, suddenly, Wade stumbles across the first piece of the puzzle. His work is far from over, however. In fact, the stakes get higher as Wade is pursued by a global corporation that will stop at nothing--not even real-world murder--to win the puzzle and gain control of OASIS. If they do win, they'll turn the available-for-all OASIS into a corporate money-making machine for the elite only.
This is definitely one of my favorite books from 2011. I've never read anything quite like it before: totally futuristic, but with a retro feel. It's so bizarre to be reading about the insanely awesome virtual reality technology being used to play Frogger or watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I recognized a lot of the 80s stuff, but I missed some of the references since I was born in 1985. I had a lot of fun looking things up and adding old movies to my Netflix queue. I couldn't put the book down; it's nonstop action from page one to 374, but I didn't feel like it was too rushed, either. It's not often that such a thrilling book makes me think a lot, but this one certainly did. It brings up a lot of questions about virtual reality and the implications it can have on society. Is it unhealthy for people to live in a virtual world most of the time, or does it simply give people the opportunities to do things they can't do in real life? Does living in an online world cause people to care less about the real world? If so, is that good or bad? And who should pay for this thing--should it be free for everyone, or should there be a charge for it? All very interesting things to ponder, considering the increasing impact technology has on our lives. But, as much food for thought as this book provided, it's mainly just good, plain fun. I say it's a must-read for anyone who grew up during the 80s or is into video games, but even people who fall outside of those categories will enjoy it as well.
The year is 2044. Things are not looking good in the United States, or the rest of the world for that matter. The Great Recession has devastated the planet, and almost everyone is having a tough time. In the real world, that is. Online, everything is different. OASIS is a sprawling virtual utopia where people are entertained, go to school, do business, and meet people from all over the world. James Halliday, the co-creator of OASIS and richest man in the history of the world, has just died. But he leaves behind one last legacy: a puzzle, embedded somewhere in the thousands of virtual planets that make up OASIS. Whoever solves the puzzle will win an unbelievable fortune, not to mention the fame and power associated with such a prize. Fast forward five years. No one in the world has found even the first clue to the puzzle. Like most of the world, seventeen-year-old orphan Wade Watts would do almost anything to be the winner. And he's got a better shot than most, as he's as obsessed with the 1980s as Halliday was. He's an expert on the 80s video games, movies, TV shows, and other cultural icons that the deceased genius used to create his challenge. And then, suddenly, Wade stumbles across the first piece of the puzzle. His work is far from over, however. In fact, the stakes get higher as Wade is pursued by a global corporation that will stop at nothing--not even real-world murder--to win the puzzle and gain control of OASIS. If they do win, they'll turn the available-for-all OASIS into a corporate money-making machine for the elite only.
This is definitely one of my favorite books from 2011. I've never read anything quite like it before: totally futuristic, but with a retro feel. It's so bizarre to be reading about the insanely awesome virtual reality technology being used to play Frogger or watch "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." I recognized a lot of the 80s stuff, but I missed some of the references since I was born in 1985. I had a lot of fun looking things up and adding old movies to my Netflix queue. I couldn't put the book down; it's nonstop action from page one to 374, but I didn't feel like it was too rushed, either. It's not often that such a thrilling book makes me think a lot, but this one certainly did. It brings up a lot of questions about virtual reality and the implications it can have on society. Is it unhealthy for people to live in a virtual world most of the time, or does it simply give people the opportunities to do things they can't do in real life? Does living in an online world cause people to care less about the real world? If so, is that good or bad? And who should pay for this thing--should it be free for everyone, or should there be a charge for it? All very interesting things to ponder, considering the increasing impact technology has on our lives. But, as much food for thought as this book provided, it's mainly just good, plain fun. I say it's a must-read for anyone who grew up during the 80s or is into video games, but even people who fall outside of those categories will enjoy it as well.
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