Ready Player One.

First thing I'd like to say is that I'm sorry that I wasn't able to post for the last two weeks. Last week I had a major headache and couldn't even conceive of writing that day. The Sunday before that was a different story. That Sunday, I had just finished Ready Player One on Friday and I was still trying to get the words to describe what I experience by the midnight deadline. I'm gonna get down to business and say that is is one of the few must reads I've stumbled across, and I heard about it via word of mouth, which is even rarer these days. This book is as unique as it is strange. I wonder how Ernest Cline came up with  the concept for it? Anyhow, the book is about a teenager named Wade, who leads a rather insane life on future earth. The entire plot is based on a concept similar to The Westing Game, where a wealthy entrepreneur, towards the end of his life, set up a major treasure-hunt. Whoever puts all the pieces together gets his fortune. With a twist. The entire puzzle is taking place in a virtual world that's bigger than anything you could possibly imagine. Throughout the entire book the author kept me on my toes, I never knew what to expect next. If you've got the chance I'd recommend the audiobook, read by none other than Wil Wheaton. While he's not the best voice-actor I've ever heard he does lend a certain atmosphere to the story that would be lacking otherwise. I hope that the movie is as good as the book was, and as I read it I was picturing who I thought the cast should be. I figure that either Wheaton or Andrew Garfield could play Wade, and there are several roles that Freema Agyeman, William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Matt Smith, Bruce Willis, David Tennant, Vin Diesel or Daniel Craig could fill. Since non-gamers would probably not get most of the references, it probably wouldn't be entertaining to people who know nothing about games. I guess you could say that I'm a strange case, since some of the references might not have been gotten by people under a certain age. I guess my knowledge of all things Spider-Man and otherwise finally paid off in the fact that I didn't have to look anything in the book up. That being said, the book references things that I know that people probably wouldn't get. Despite the massive amount of gaming and 70s/80s pop-culture references that someone who didn't spend their childhood watching retro TV wouldn't get the book is still entertaining. It's a massive slice of history, and it could get you interested in gaming culture if you're not. I know that's taking a massive leap of faith, and I know I'm not covering the plot very much, but this book is something that should not be spoiled. Beyond all of the nods towards games and gaming lies a unique journey unlike any other. To be perfectly honest, I loved the book for the story as much as I did for the references to the span of time that produced most of the entertainment I enjoyed as a child and still enjoy today. All in all, Ernest Cline's Ready Player One is a must read for those who enjoy surreal science-fiction, post-apocalypse scenarios, slices of life, personal journies, and all things of the 70's through 90's. It gets and 10.0* rating.