I was just a kid in the 80s, but I remember a lot about it. It was great being a kid back then. I don't think I'd want to be an adult in the 80s, though.
Ready Player One
On 07/01/2016 at 01:38 AM by KnightDriver See More From This User » |
I don't consider myself overly nostalgic for the time of my growing up but there are still lots of memories of those times in my head that are unavoidable. It always seems like pop culture effects one most strongly in the high school years. My high school years were firmly in the 80s, 81-86 to be exact. So when a book comes along that is chock full of 80s pop culture references, and I mean stuffed to the gills with them, I can't help but be pulled in even without a strong sense of nostalgia.
Ready Player One takes place in 2042 and the youth who star in this book are obsessed with 80s pop culture and all things geeky. Why? Because, in the VR, MMORPG world of The Oasis that they play in, its creator, James Halliday, has laid before them a challenge to find his easter egg, the winner getting his vast fortune, and the clues are all hidden in the things he was obsessed about: 80s pop culture and his nerdy persuits..
I found myself feeling much like James Halliday minus the intense obession with the past. His formative influences are my formative influences. I was familiar with just about every reference made in this book. That doesn't happen too often in my reading. And I also feel much like these youths, who's lives are desperate and lonely, and who find solace existing almost universally in a virtual world via head sets, haptic gloves and chairs that are just like what seems to be coming in force this holiday season. I don't exist solely in front of my TV playing games, but it is my main pursuit at the moment, and I am definetly a bit desperate and lonely.
I'm somewhat scared of the dystopian future this book predicts because it is very believable: a world in decline and most of society escaping the harsh realities through an online virtual world. That's really not far off the truth even today. At least, I somewhat feel like that.
In summation, whether or not you are into encylopedic 80s film/TV/video game references, this book is a lot of fun to read and even got me pretty choked up near the end. At first it seemed pretty superficial but a few chapters in things get very serious and then it gets really engaging. It's a heroic fight against a clear evil force and there are relationships, and revenge, and intrigue to glue you to the page, or speakers as in my case 'cause I listened to the audio read by Will Wheaton, who does a great job of it btw.
Any gamer as got to check this book out. I really dug it.
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