Blooklist: Ready Player One

Science fiction that verges on science fact-ion with a heavy dose of nostalgia

I had just finished reading Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackery’s oversized novel from1847/48 and I was looking for something completely different. When published as a single volume, Thackery subtitled his work “A Novel Without a Hero.” I was looking for something a little more traditional, I suppose. A book with someone I could root for.

Ready Player One, a debut novel by Ernest Cline, was a random recommendation from my library’s audiobook listings. I dipped into it and found it interesting, perhaps a little prescient for a book written in 2011, and an enjoyable read/listen. It has plenty of twists and turns, so there is a good supply of wondering, “What happens next?” The characters live in a world where one’s identity is a malleable thing, frequently out of necessity, in order to avoid danger. And there is a rom-com element to it all: boy avatar meets girl avatar, and so on. Of course, it’s always possible that girl avatar may be a 300-pound couch potato living in mom’s basement in Kentucky, so that’s something to worry about).

Here's a summary via Wikipedia (link here).

Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which would lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune and the game itself. Cline sold the rights to publish the novel in June 2010, in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House). The book was published on August 16, 2011.  An audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton was released the same day. In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2011 Prometheus Award.

A film adaptation, screenwritten by Cline and Zak Penn and directed by Steven Spielberg, was released on March 29, 2018. A sequel novel, Ready Player Two, was released on November 24, 2020, to a widely negative critical reception.

Why I liked It

While reading the book, I had a couple of lines of thought running in parallel with the story.

First, the story is deeply immersed in early gamer culture from the late 1970s and early 1980s. There are lots of mentions of early personal computers and game consoles, as well as the games that were played on them.

I’ve never been a gamer, but I was very interested in the computer tech of the era, so those bits piqued my interest. Additionally, my son was a gamer growing up in that era. There were references to games I knew he had played as an 8 or 10 or 12-year old. The story brought back memories of trips to arcades where I would stand back in something a little like awe-struck admiration as he punched, kicked, and flipped his way through games like Streetfighter II.

All in all, the 80s were a bit of a lost decade to me; I was operating in survival mode at the time. The novel provided a positive spin on those times past.

The Matter of Avatars

There’s another thing that comes out in gaming, and in online culture overall these days—the business of imagining, creating, and sometimes hiding behind avatars.

What is the decision-making process like for any individual: creating an artificial identity? Sometimes it’s from scratch, so what influences are at work? How are a person’s/character’s aspirations reflected? What can you see in the outer façade that can be used to identify the person IRL (in real life)? Inquiring minds want to know. Avatars and their lives in virtual reality are central to the story in Ready Player One. I suspect it was exciting, relevant, and new in 2011. From a 2024 perspective, I think the issues raised in the story related to huge technology companies, online tracking, the masking of identities, and a global energy crisis are even more relevant.

I think it’s a good book for sci-fi fans, for folks just interested in getting a feeling for the world of gaming, and for young adults.

Additionally, based on reviews of the film adaptation, I’d suggest reading the book. The movie reviews aren’t terrible, but it seems unlikely that the story would translate well into a standard theatrical format. However, people with a strong recollection of the late '70s and ‘80s will enjoy the nostalgia factor.

Anon.

Ridge