It's been over a decade since the very popular Ready Player One was released to the world. I've circled around this book for the last few years and for whatever reason, never felt the inclination to pick it up and just read it. Well, I was in between a few other books I've had on my list that aren't available yet, so I gave it a shot. As you can guess from the rating, SUPER happy I did.
I presume you are likely aware of, or even read this book. It was a made into a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg (look forward to seeing), and received much adulation and, more recently, critique. Prior to reading it, I figured it was just a book about something in the future that related to video games. Which, was pretty spot on; of course, it's so much more than that too.
I flew through the first half of the book, struggling to put it down because I found the plot so captivating. That, coupled with so much (almost too much) nostalgic references, made me enamored when I began. And, while that enjoyment and engagement didn't go away as I continued the novel, I did slow myself down a bit. Besides having less time after Spring Break concluded to read, it was pretty clear I really enjoyed the book and wanted to do my best to savor the last of it.
And savor I did. The ending stood up as a pretty solid finish after a super entertaining novel. Again, I think the focus on so many 80's pop culture references - music, tv, movies, made the book especially enjoyable to read. Of course, the age of the cast of characters, full on adventure vibe with almost no slow parts, and light "science fiction" edge made it a great read.
After finishing I did do some short research into the book as I enjoyed it so much. Besides looking forward to watching the move, which, by all counts, will definitely disappoint compared the book, I was curious to see a backlash against the book that is more recent. Complaints include that it's super repetitive (I'd counter that most adventure stories are as they keep having adventure after adventure - hence the name of the genre), and that the prose is not as strong. I do agree with that last critique, though it never bothered me. I certainly didn't expect an adventure book about video games and 80's pop culture, to have amazing writing and great prose. If you are getting into a book like that with that assumption that's just off. However, if you going in wanting to read a super fun story, with a great plot that keeps you engaged the whole time, this book might be for you.
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