Ready Player One

New
Paperback
2011
$13.45

It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle. Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

Synopsis

It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty, and disease are widespread. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late twentieth century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle. Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: Century
Published: 18 Aug 2011
ISBN 10: 1846059372
ISBN 13: 9781846059377
Book Overview: A jaw-droppingly cinematic, genre-busting debut that's part virtual space opera, part classic coming-of-age story, part brilliant pop-culture mash-up

Media Reviews

The science-fiction writer John Scalzi has aptly referred to READY PLAYER ONE as a nerdgasm [and] there can be no better one-word description of this ardent fantasy artifact about fantasy culture...But Mr. Cline is able to incorporate his favorite toys and games into a perfectly accessible narrative. --Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Triggers memories and emotions embedded in the psyche of a generation...[Cline crafts] a fresh and imaginative world from our old toy box, and finds significance in there among the collectibles. A- --Entertainment Weekly
A most excellent ride...the conceit is a smart one, and we happily root for [the heroes] on their quest...fully satisfying. -- Boston Globe
Enchanting... Willy Wonka meets the Matrix. This novel undoubtedly qualifies Cline as the hottest geek on the planet right now. [But] you don't have to be a geek to get it. -- USA Today
Ridiculously fun and large-hearted, and you don't have to remember the Reagan administration to love it...[Cline] takes a far-out premise and engages the reader instantly...You'll wish you could make it go on and on. --NPR.org
A fun, funny and fabulously entertaining first novel...This novel's large dose of 1980s trivia is a delight...[but] even readers who need Google to identify Commodore 64 or Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde, will enjoy this memorabilian feast. -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

The grown-up's 'Harry Potter'...the mystery and fantasy in this novel weaves itself in the most delightful way, and the details that make up Mr. Cline's world are simply astounding. READY PLAYER ONE has it all. -- Huffington Post
Incredibly entertaining...Drawing on everything from Back to the Future to Roald Dahl to Neal Stephenson's groundbreaking Snow Crash, Cline has made READY PLAYER ONE a geek fantasia, '80s culture memoir and commentary on the future of online behavior all at once. -- Austin American-Statesman

READY PLAY

Author Bio

ERNIE CLINE is best known for creating the cult film Fanboys, about a group of Star Wars fans on a pilgrimage to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch. His work has been covered in numerous national publications and all over the internet.