Ready Player One

Aug 26, 2011 Kemper rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, humor, cyber, future-is-now, 2011, dystopia, time-mower-adventures

Adventures in Time Mowing

After my laptop fused to my lawn mower due to a freak lightning strike, I discovered that I could use it to travel through time.

“Wow, where’d you come from?”

“I’m from 2011. Got a time mower and decided to come to the future. I’ll spare you the full origin story. My name’s Kemper.”

“I’m Wade Watts. Welcome to 2044.”

“Thanks. I gotta say, things are looking kind of grim around here. Are those mobile homes stacked up like hillbilly skyscrapers?”

“Yeah, I live in one of them. W ...more

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Jan 06, 2016 William Cline rated it it was ok

For most of the first half of this book, I was unimpressed. The writing was flat, and the story was unremarkable. The book gets hype because of its pervasive use of 1980s popular culture, particularly its references to science fiction, fantasy, and video games. The problem was that most of these references served no purpose. Something would be described by pointing out its resemblance to something from a film or television show—a particularly annoying form of "telling, rather than showing" given For most of the first half of this book, I was unimpressed. The writing was flat, and the story was unremarkable. The book gets hype because of its pervasive use of 1980s popular culture, particularly its references to science fiction, fantasy, and video games. The problem was that most of these references served no purpose. Something would be described by pointing out its resemblance to something from a film or television show—a particularly annoying form of "telling, rather than showing" given that a reader of the wrong age or background won't know the reference—but said reference would add nothing to the events at hand. Either that, or the reference would be carried to cringe-worthy, fan-fiction-grade extremes. For instance, in one scene, the online avatar of the main character, Wade Watts (known online as Parzival) pilots a DeLorean DMC-12 resembling the one used in the Back to the Future films, except for the addition of the computerized voice and sweeping red light of KITT from Knight Rider, a pair of Ghost Busters logos adorning the doors, and a license plate reading "ECTO 88".

Whether mentioned in passing or over the top like the aforementioned mash-up car, however, virtually all of these allusions are brought up and then dropped in the space of a sentence. The DeLorean, for example, takes up a couple of paragraphs and is then never used again. Ready Player One doesn't draw from 1980s popular culture; it just name-drops it all over the place. Sometimes it seemed the only purpose for these references was that the author and reader could share a knowing, self-congratulating smile.

The notion of a "massively multiplayer" online role-playing game becoming the human race's main form of entertainment presents some amusing possibilities, though, and Ready Player One doesn't completely squander its potential. The moment when I started to enjoy the book came about halfway through, in a chapter describing a day in Wade's life some time after his (view spoiler)

Cline shares the late twentieth century computer geek's vision of the Internet as a benevolent force. Wade has genuine feelings of friendship and love for his online friends, people he would never have met offline, people with whom he shares bonds of mutual interests and ideals rather than geography. An online world is one without racism or other prejudices. (Or at least, it's a world where you can avoid these prejudices by configuring your avatar appropriately. Let's not go into the implications of that.) Furthermore, despite its post-energy-crisis shabbiness, the world of Ready Player One is one in which the good guys have won: free speech, privacy, and "net neutrality" all rule the day.

At the same time, no matter how cool he tries to make the OASIS (and I admit, it is cool), Cline is conflicted about it. Its pleasures are tempered by the fact that for many of its players it serves as a drug, distracting them from the shabby state of real life in late twenty-first century Earth. Wade's dissatisfaction with a life spent entirely online is explored throughout the book, though never deeply. I would have liked to see the book explore this tension between the unifying and isolating effects of the online world in more detail.

In summary, Ready Player One touches on some interesting ideas, although it doesn't explore them as deeply as I would have liked. The writing is nothing special, but it gets the job done. The story gets more interesting in the second half, and the annoying popular culture references become less frequent. I'm glad I stuck it out to the end, but I don't think it deserves whatever hype it's getting in nerd circles. ...more

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May 25, 2011 Patrick rated it it was amazing

I got to read an ARC of this, and it appealed to every geeky part of me.

I'll probably write a blog about it later, but for now, a brief review:

Simply said? This book was fucking awesome.

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Dec 10, 2015 Khanh (the Grinch) rated it really liked it

This book is a geek fantasy. A nerd utopia. Speaking as a formerly addicted World of Warcraft player (among others), I loved it.

I believe you can tell the author's passion from what he's written, and it is clear from this book that Ernest Cline is a fellow gamer and geek. I salute him. His ardor for games is so clearly felt within this book. A fellow fangirl/fanboy can sniff out a fake one like a dead fish within a Bath and Body Works (ok, that may be a bad example, but you catch my drift). Erne ...more

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Sep 15, 2015 Melissa McShane rated it did not like it

Shelves: science-fiction, dystopian, did-not-finish, flawed

So disappointing. The premise of a treasure hunt inside a gigantic immersive online environment is interesting. I like the idea of the people of 2044 being fixated on '80s culture for clues to solving the puzzle. The execution simply doesn't live up to the promise. The writing goes like this:

interestinginterestinginteresting

INFODUMP

interesti-

BIGGER INFODUMP

...and so forth. I honestly don't know who the intended audience is. The author overexplains all the '80s references as if he expects readers So disappointing. The premise of a treasure hunt inside a gigantic immersive online environment is interesting. I like the idea of the people of 2044 being fixated on '80s culture for clues to solving the puzzle. The execution simply doesn't live up to the promise. The writing goes like this:

interestinginterestinginteresting

INFODUMP

interesti-

BIGGER INFODUMP

...and so forth. I honestly don't know who the intended audience is. The author overexplains all the '80s references as if he expects readers to be too young or too disconnected from geek culture not to get them, but my experience with SF fandom is that no element of fandom, however old, ever completely dies out; all of us old farts who were teens in the '80s (and, interesting fact, the creator of the book's treasure hunt has the same birth year I do) make sure the young sprouts experience all the golden oldies. This is a first novel, and I make allowances for first novels, but this stretches my tolerance quite a bit.

More difficult for me to get past was the poorly-conceived dystopian future from which the story arises; to the bugaboos of environmental destruction, overpopulation, and economic collapse is added the fear of giant, evil corporations. This despite the fact that the guy who set up the enormous online multiverse AND created the treasure hunt did so by creating an enormous corporation of his own. His online creation is lauded (in one of those massive infodumps) as being so egalitarian because they don't charge anything for access, just for the things you buy inside it, but the corporation couldn't have set it up in the first place without needing a grundle of cash. (My computer programmer friends will fall on the floor laughing at the idea that all of those virtual items people buy are pure profit for the company because they "don't cost anything to make.") Every time I started to get interested in the story, I came up against some background element that only made sense in a tautological way--it is because it's said to be so.

But what really killed it for me, what caused me to finally give up about halfway through, has always been a deal-breaker for me in any work of speculative fiction. I don't like books that seem to exist independently of the great body of work that has explored the same issues or ideas. In this case, it's as if the author has never heard of Tad Williams' Otherland or (despite the hero's homage to Stephenson) The Diamond Age and Snow Crash. These books (I except Stephenson's more recent book Reamde because it was released the same year as Ready Player One) raised and evaluated issues with virtual reality, and yet Ready Player One does a lot of unnecessary reinventing of the cybernetic wheel. And yes, I do think this is a valid criticism; science fiction is interconnected to a degree that trumps any other genre, except possibly experimental literary fiction. There's an expectation that readers will be familiar with concepts raised elsewhere and have more than a passing familiarity with other SF novels. Ready Player One doesn't do much more than revisit ideas that other authors have explored, and the addition of a high-tech fantasy quest (an admittedly very cool idea) isn't enough to elevate it beyond the ordinary. ...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Flannery rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Anyone who loves the 80s, trivia, video games, RPGs, or is looking for a fun read.

Recommended to Flannery by: j

Shelves: swords-and-lasers, arc-galley-or-first-reads, so-good-i-stayed-up-to-read-it, read-in-2011, i-want-to-go-to-there, reviewed-2011, readalong, wishlist-for-dtbs-to-keep

This book is nostalgia porn. If you grew up in the 80s, enjoy video games, or go crazy for popular culture, you will devour this one. I was supposed to be reading this with a friend but I couldn’t stop. I read the beginning and thought, “what’s the big deal with everyone’s obsession?” Then Ernest Cline got his meat hooks into me and I read it while I was making dinner, while I was eating dinner, and then afterward until I’d finished it. I think I am just a few years shy of this books prime audie This book is nostalgia porn. If you grew up in the 80s, enjoy video games, or go crazy for popular culture, you will devour this one. I was supposed to be reading this with a friend but I couldn’t stop. I read the beginning and thought, “what’s the big deal with everyone’s obsession?” Then Ernest Cline got his meat hooks into me and I read it while I was making dinner, while I was eating dinner, and then afterward until I’d finished it. I think I am just a few years shy of this books prime audience but I can see how it will appeal to most of my ~~fellow geeks~~ friends. Ready Player One is set in a future where we have depleted our resources to the point where many people lives in Stacks, which are basically just trailer homes piled 20+ high and many people struggle to make ends meet. Wade Watts, the protagonist, attends school in OASIS like many of his peers. OASIS, an online world created by James Halliday contains thousands of different worlds, including copies of many famous sci-fi verses—I’m sure you could spend most of your time in Sunnydale or on Dune if you wanted to. In a very Westing Game move, Halliday leaves his entire $250 billion fortune to the player who can find the Easter egg hidden in OASIS. The book is set five years after his death and no player has gotten even one step closer to figuring out Halliday’s mystery. And the kicker? Halliday’s obsession, besides video games, was the 1980s. All the kids and adults alike are well-versed in all things 1980s from fashion to music to games to computers. These characters know more about the 1980s than most people who lived through it.

Wade Watts has spent years playing through all of Halliday’s favorite games and songs trying to figure out the first step. When Wade figures out the first move, his name shoots to the top of a previously empty high-scorers list and the world goes into a frenzy. The entire rest of the book follows Wade and his fellow contestants through the game in their attempts to reach the goal first. It seems like every person in the world is up against each other—especially the “gunters” (egg hunters) and the “sixers.” (Corporately-sponsored hunters who want to take over the OASIS for monetary gain, so-called because their avatar names begin with the number 6) My adrenaline ran high for the whole book. In fact, I actually kept speaking to Wade aloud. “Wade, what the hell are you doing? You are past the first gate! Pull your head out of your ass and stop spending your time at dance parties!” “Art3mis is so much smarter than you, Wade!” Wade’s fellow gunters include his long-time online crush, Art3mis and his BFF Aech (pronounced like the letter H). They were seriously awesome side characters with distinct personalities, which I especially enjoyed considering I have several friends on Goodreads whom I’ve never met in real life but I feel like I know pretty well. (view spoiler) My experience with WoW and Second Life is pretty minimal…well, I did once try Second Life but it mostly consisted of my friends and I goofing around and then accidentally wandering into an orgy and getting yelled at. Anyway, my point is that people quest all the time and talk to the same people regularly online. They have distinct personalities. I’m so happy that Ernest Cline was able to capture the personalities so well when the characters were only together outside of OASIS for limited amounts of time.

As someone who has spent probably entire weeks of her life playing video games, this book feels a bit like validation. SEE, NERD! YOUR TIME SPENT COLLECTING RUPEES WASN’T FOR NOTHING!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this highly addictive and fun read!
...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Rainbow rated it it was amazing

I felt like I was born to get the references in this book. And I was so impressed with the way the references WORK. The way they push the story forward and give it texture. So many scenes in the book FEEL like videogames or role-playing games -- but in a really rich, excellent way.

I read this right after I read "Ender's Game," which is the sort of book that would get mentioned in "Ready Player One" -- and I was struck by how Cline references old-school science fiction and videogames in the servi ...more

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Dec 29, 2014 Catriona (LittleBookOwl) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, owned

I just kinda wanna cry right now. I'll have a proper review at some point, but I gotta let myself recover.

VIDEO REVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hxa4...

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Mar 26, 2015 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, liburry-book, read-2015

NERDGASM!!!!!!! Video games, movies and music from the 80's!

My teenage years were spent during the 80's. I look through the pictures that were taken at that time and realize we could have been called a cheesy generation. This book saves us. This book makes us cool.

I actually wanted to revisit those times after reading this book. It's not deep literature but it is pure fun. I smiled and cheered so many times reading Wade's story, even though you know how the book is going to end it is still a po ...more

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Jun 11, 2011 karen rated it really liked it

let me get the gripes out of the way first, because despite overall being a fun, escapist book, there are things that rankle.

i have a crush on the 80's (not an obsession, mind you, but a crush. when i was little i managed to simultaneously want to make out with both jon cryer and molly ringwald and to this day depeche mode's album black celebration soothes many sorrows.

so a book that revolves around 80's pop culture sounded like my kind of thing, even if a lot of the references are video game re ...more

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Sam Tindal I'm English and 46 and was between 10-20 between 80 -90 and I don't know if it was a new series at the time or reruns I had way too strict parents and I'm English and 46 and was between 10-20 between 80 -90 and I don't know if it was a new series at the time or reruns I had way too strict parents and wasn't allowed monty python so I used to watch it in bed with headphones attached to my portable and there were series of monty python running from seventies all the way through the 80s and a lot of spin offs too , maybe not called spin offs I'm not a tv geek anymore I didn't own a tv since 1991 but we had the monty python series , then there was Fauwlty Towers then a few series where python guys other than and including John Cleese got serious and made travel programs and my parents let us watch these but I wasn't interested back then but maybe in America this didn't happen. Just wanted to let you know that monty python was huge in the 80s in U.K. Bigger than they were in the 70s. Oingo boingo or whoever never had any airplay here in U.K. So I actually thought they were made up until I googled them and found out how popular they were in America, I don't even think any of their songs were released here so when reading this book I had the similar feelings about his 80s references as you did. I also got the feeling the author may not have been as old as me but the references to Atari were accurate zx spectrum and bbc home computers don't seem to get mentioned as much or Duran Duran Blondie Wham smiths blur public image limited all the Hi-NRG gay bar music seem to not feature much yet either. I did however go to trocadero in London in 1989 and spent £20 (which was a lot of cash then) after queuing up for nearly an hour to go on the first virtual reality machine to come to England. I went into a ring , like a WWF ring with three other people and we put huge 360 degree helmets on and we had huge electric cables attached to them , (still dunno how we didn't get all tangled up) and we were instantly transported to space where we could attack UFOs if we came across any or just move and explore space and today's virtual reality machines are visually not that much better than back then , I guess because it didn't take off because it was so expensive and probably too advanced for most people then. But my experience of those virtual reality machines in Piccadilly Circus all those years ago made this book seem a lot more plausible. My friend read this book and she loved it but her view of it was quite different to mine I think maybe Cline experienced one of those machines because the oasis is very much how I thought VR would go. Politicians and the media in England were against VR because they thought it would take over every aspect of life if it took off , and the Cold War was still happening here then so this book is kind of describing a future that I imagined would be how it is now , my friend who was studying computer science at UEL wrote music for Commodore 64s and for pc games and I need to find him again and pass Ready Player One on to him when I finish it , he used to quote various monty python sayings regularly and I think he would enjoy this book. Monty python did have tv series not films that ran through the 80s maybe they weren't released in America, my American mate over here says they were not ever as huge in America as they were here so it may just be because they were British and not all the programmes were shown in America, he knew the films but only the popular ones but didn't know about monty pythons flying circus and later series that the python gang made. It may just be same as the boingo band were completely unknown in Europe we had red dwarf back in 80s but stand by me wasn't that popular here although some girls at my school went to see it but most of us didn't bother guess things weren't as global back then before the World Wide Web . Love all Karen's reviews and it's interesting to see that people read this ages ago . I only see it advertised in England since 2016 ...more
Dec 24, 2016 05:40PM

Sam Tindal Sorry my comment was way too long
Dec 24, 2016 05:42PM

Feb 14, 2012 Sissyneck rated it did not like it

Shelves: apocalypso

That one star is probably misleading...I thought this was going to be a 4-5 star book for a good portion of the time I spent reading it. The 80s pop-culture references are so pervasive and so relevant to my life that, at times, the book felt like it been written specifically for me. (The love interest is described as being like Jordan, from Real Genius...c'mon!)

But.
All of the Star Wars, Ferris Bueller, and Highlander references in the world can't hide that this story is at best, empty, and at wo ...more

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Aug 26, 2011 Stephen rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, signed-first-or-limited-edition, audiobook, cyber-punk-prep-and-post, 2011, world-in-the-shitter, comfort-food

WOOT, WOOT and UBER WOOT all you MMORPGers, this book is the perfect calm down, happy face diversion next time you find yourself offline and frustrated because:

** you’re stuck medding back in a safe zone after nearly being ganked by some douchey griefers who jumped your camp site when the mob you were going to farm spawned so they could kill steal it and abscond with your loot;

or maybe

** some group of questing ubers turned asshat and refused to let your alt join them so you could PL by leechin ...more

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Jun 03, 2011 j rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, dystopia, 2011, vote-getters, thanks-karen, i-am-8-bit

There's this conceit that keeps popping up in sci-fi dystopia novels that it is only a matter of time before we will all be glued to our virtual reality goggles 24 hours a day as elaborate MMPORPGs slowly take over the world.

I think this is stupid. No matter how increasingly ubiquitous computers become, I just don't foresee Second Life replacing the first one (FarmVille may have replaced actual farming, but that conversation involves a lecture on government subsidies that I just don't have time ...more

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Feb 11, 2015 Dan Schwent rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf, 2012, man-tears, downgrade-parade

In the dystopian future of 2044, the world is going down the crapper and many people spend most of their free time playing OASIS, an online virtual reality game, sifting through every minute detail of the creator's life, for whomever unravels a series of riddles James Halliday left behind inherits it all. Will teenager Wade Watts be the one?

As I've said in the past, every once in a while a reader will unearth a book that feels as if it was written especially for them. For me, Ready Player One is In the dystopian future of 2044, the world is going down the crapper and many people spend most of their free time playing OASIS, an online virtual reality game, sifting through every minute detail of the creator's life, for whomever unravels a series of riddles James Halliday left behind inherits it all. Will teenager Wade Watts be the one?

As I've said in the past, every once in a while a reader will unearth a book that feels as if it was written especially for them. For me, Ready Player One is one of those books.

I wasn't completely sold at first. OASIS reminded me of The Metaverse from Snow Crash and Wade wasn't all that interesting to me. Then he referenced The Last Starfighter and I suddenly became more interested. By the time the Tomb of Horrors was mentioned, I was completely hooked.

The plot's structure isn't that revolutionary. It's pretty much your standard hero's journey. As the story unfolded, the characters are what made the book unputdownable. The setting, a dystopia where there's a Global Energy Crisis going on and people live in skyscraper-trailer parks called stacks is both imaginative and horribly plausible.

I hate to admit it but I was feeling some kinship with Wade as the book progressed. Is spending most of your free time in OASIS really that much different than reading for hours on end? Also, the book explores the nature of people and their online avatars. The revelation of Aech's true identity illustrates the difference between perception and reality quite nicely, just like the time when I met Kemper and discovered he wasn't a gun-toting chimp in a suit. Apparently, he left his guns at home that day. Or the time when I met Stephen and discovered he WAS a book-reviewing robot.

A large part of the appeal of Ready Player One is the astounding amount of pop culture references. While most of them are from the 1980's, a few are not. The Matrix and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, for example. I suspect younger readers won't get as many of the reference and not enjoy the books as much. However, as a child of the 80's and a dyed in the wool geek, I enjoyed the book very very much.

As I said earlier, the plot isn't revolutionary but it's still an enjoyable read. A single man-tear threatened to escape my eye during the epilogue but I fought it back.

Much Later Edit: The passage of time has colored my perception of this book. As I was reading Ready Player One, I thought it was the greatest thing since Tetris. However, once you strip away the nostalgia, it's still enjoyable but really nothing special. I'm downgrading it to a more realistic 3.5. ...more

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KT This book was a strange experience for me. I never got excited to read it. When I was bored, I didn't think, 'Huh, maybe I could read my book.' I love ...more
Apr 12, 2015 06:59PM

Madelyn Smart I do agree with your comment about the book. I was captivated within the first 50 pages of the book. I have read all of the post apocalyptic stories i ...more
Apr 27, 2015 06:06PM

Aug 19, 2012 Marie Lu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites

This reached into the gamer part of my heart and gave it a big piece of red velvet cake. :)

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Nov 30, 2015 Jeffrey Keeten rated it really liked it

"I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a decent meal." Groucho Marx

The middle school I attended was a 1930s WPA project that by the 1970s was a lethal cocktail of toxic mold from the water leaks and cancer causing asbestos. I'm hoping, since several decades have passed, that all the nasty microbes I inhaled while conjugating verbs and wrestling with algebra have long since been frog marched out of my body. I was a rural kid and had to wait for the bus to come pick me ...more

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Jan 25, 2016 April (Aprilius Maximus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, 2015

THIS IS POSSIBLY THE BEST BOOK IN EXISTENCE. LIKE...FO REALZ.

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Feb 03, 2016 Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ Rabid Reads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, rabid-reads-reviews, and-now-for-something-completely-di

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

I've heard, you've probably heard, HELL, most people who read some variation of SFF have heard that READY PLAYER ONE is freaking amazing b/c it's swarming with '80s pop culture/nerd references.

And it is. Absolutely.

But even though I've had the book for years, I only recently got around to picking it up (and only b/c impromptu roadtripping with Husband, and sacrifices must be made when trying to find a book we'll both have a shot at liking), b/c as much fondness as I have ...more

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Jan 03, 2015 Zoë rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

OH HOHOHOHOHO THIS BOOK WAS GOOOOOOOD
It was so different from anything else I've ever read and it put my knowledge of 80s movies, Dungeons and Dragons, and Monty Python to good use! Honestly, read this. Just do it.

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Aug 29, 2014 Alejandro rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Alejandro by: Estelle

Shelves: science-fiction, religion, humor, manga, romance, military, espionage, politics, video-games, magic, novel, dystopia

WOW !!! (Pun intended, if you what I meant ;) )

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets The Big Bang Theory meets TRON (raised to the nth power(TRON, I mean)).

The most clear appealing to read this novel is obviously the insane quantity of geek references, mostly to 80's era (and some of 70's too), so maybe people who aren't geek (don't worry, nobody is perfect) may be feel alienated and/or not interested to read this book.

I can't deny the advantage of being a geek, specially raised in the now ...more

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Apr 02, 2016 Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, dystopian, read-in-2016

Don't hate me...please.

description

But I'm pretty sure I didn't like this one as much as most of my friends. I'm guessing the 80's were super rad n' all to a lot of people, but I don't remember them being all that amazing.
Granted, I was only 10 in 1985, but still...
I passed my middle school years during this tubular time period. Ick.
Most of what I recall involved a mushroom cloud of hairspray (centered around bangs), lots of plastic bracelets, and tons of really loud colors.
Not that there's anything wrong w ...more

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Sep 03, 2016 Mohammed Arabey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

رواية مجنونة مثيرة سريعة، جذبتني كما لم تفعل رواية خيال علمي أخري
ستجد نفسك بديستوبيا مستقبلية، بها الكثير من الواقع المؤسف الحزين بحق الذي نعيشه..وتهرب منها الي يوتوبيا إفتراضية، عالم الكتروني محاكي للواقع..فيسبوك ثلاثي الأبعاد
"قل لي هل سمعت عن الهيكيكوموري؟؟ المتقوقعون؟"
في لعبة فيديو مجنونة برمجها مؤلف "غريب الأطوار" مهووس الألعاب والثمانينات..أيرنست كلين

"بالنظر حولي، تعجبت لِمّا هاليداي الذي طالما أدعي أن طفولته بائسة، صار يشعر بكل هذا الحنين اليها لاحقا. أعلم أنني حين اهرب من الكومة التي اعي

رواية مجنونة مثيرة سريعة، جذبتني كما لم تفعل رواية خيال علمي أخري
ستجد نفسك بديستوبيا مستقبلية، بها الكثير من الواقع المؤسف الحزين بحق الذي نعيشه..وتهرب منها الي يوتوبيا إفتراضية، عالم الكتروني محاكي للواقع..فيسبوك ثلاثي الأبعاد
"قل لي هل سمعت عن الهيكيكوموري؟؟ المتقوقعون؟"
في لعبة فيديو مجنونة برمجها مؤلف "غريب الأطوار" مهووس الألعاب والثمانينات..أيرنست كلين

"بالنظر حولي، تعجبت لِمّا هاليداي الذي طالما أدعي أن طفولته بائسة، صار يشعر بكل هذا الحنين اليها لاحقا. أعلم أنني حين اهرب من الكومة التي اعيش بها اخيرا، لن أنظر للخلف أبدا وبالتأكيد لن ابتكر محاكاة الكترونية مفصلّة لها"
ولكننا جميعا نحّن لها في النهاية
ايام الطفولة والتحول للبلوغ والرشد...نشعر بحنين غامض لكل هذه الأيام،مهما كانت قاسية، ونسعد بكل ما يذكرنا بها
وهي حالة عالمية
"هل سمعت عن نوستاليجا الثمانينات؟"

وتلك الرواية، او لعبة الفيديوجيم عن النوستاليجا، وعهد الثمانينات الجميل، العصر الذهبي للكارتون والعاب الفيديو وتطورها، والذي كان جنبا الي جنب مع العاب التخيلية التي لا تحتاج الي الكترونيات كألعاب النرد

وهي ايضا عن التقوقع داخل العوالم الافتراضية والمواقع الإلكترونية- المفترض انها للتواصل الإجتماعي،- عن العزلة الاجتماعية، الهيكيكوموري

وهي ايضا ربما عن ازمة الطاقة والاحتباس الحراري، الشركات الرأسمالية الجشعة، عن إنتشار الفقر...اللامبالاة وغيرها من الموضوعات المحببة للنفس

ولكنها كأي رواية تحترم نفسها عن الصداقة، الحب، الشجاعة، تقبل الأخر...في إطار متسارع وعالم مرسوم بإتقان شديد وحبكة مذهلة فعلا جذبتني بشكل جهنمي

هل قلت لك انها اول رواية يكتبها المؤلف؟
رسم عالمها المتكامل، بل العالمان بتلك الرواية، الديستوبيا و العالم الافتراضي، بشكل متقن، جهنمي وبه الكثير والكثير من الواقعية
عالم مرسوم بحرفية ودقة كأنه يخطط لسلسلة كاملة، ولكنها قصة واحدة مثيرة سريعة، لا تحتاج اجزاء اخري

عالم كتبه مهووس العاب كمبيوتر
Nerd, Geek

اذا أردت ان توصل الإستمتاع بالرواية لأقصى 'مستوي' لها حل من اثنان
اولا ان تكون ممن قضي جزءا من طفولته ومراهقته بالثمانينات
او
ثانيا تفتح جوجل وتبحث عن صور وشكل ألعاب الفيديو، الافلام، اغلفة الالبومات وكتب الخيال العلمي التي يتم ذكرها خلال الأحداث

نعم، كما كنت أبدأ في مقدمة ريفيوهات روايات دان براون، حسنا، هذا عبقري اخر

حسنا، يمكنك أن تكتفي بهذا الحد بالريفيو

او لو كنت تريد شيئا من الاسترسال؟
برجاء الضغط علي زر
Player One..
ولتبدأ لعبتك مع
Ready Player One..
---------------------------

**** القصة ****

“هاليداي كان معروفا بهووسه. اهم ما هو مهووس به ألعاب الفيديو الكلاسيكية، أفلام وروايات الخيال العلمي، والأفلام بكل أنواعها. وأيضا يركز اهتمامه بالثمانينات، العقد الذي كان به مراهقا. هاليداي كان يتوقع من كل فرد حوله أن يشاركه هذا الهوس"

ولذلك عند وفاته ترك كل أمواله وحقوق شركته، اضخم شركة بالعالم في 2040 لمن يستطيع حل لغز في اضخم ألعاب الفيديو التفاعلية في العالم يمكنك ان تتصورها...يبحث عن ثلاث مفاتيح لثلاث بوابات ليجد الجائزة "بيضة عيد الصفح" المخفية بلغة ألعاب الكمبيوتر والفيديو
ولينجح في ذلك يجب ان يكون مثله مهووسا بنفس هوايات هاليداي...الثمانينات وافلامها،اغانيها ورواياتها..والاهم، العابها
بطلنا، وايد واتس، مراهق من الفئة العامة للشعب، مستوي الفقر الطبيعي..صار احد مهاوويس الثمانينات كملايين سكان العالم بسبب البحث عن الجائزة الخفية
ولخمس سنوات لم ينجح أحد في العثور حتي علي المفتاح الأول
كل ما يتمناه وايد ان يعثر هو او اي فرد علي الجائزة قبل ان يجدها احد موظفي شركة انترنت عالمية كبري
IOI اي او اي
تسعي بكل طاقتها العثور عليها للاستحواذ علي شركة هاليداي وضم العالم الافتراضي هذا لها

ولكن لماذا تسعي شركة اتصالات كبري لفوز لعبة الفيديو تلك؟
بل ولماذا قد تكون شركة العاب فيديو هي اهم شركات العالم في 2040؟

هنا يأتي دور المؤلف العبقري الذي رسم ذلك العالم بإتقان مهووس
------------------
**** العالم ****

رسم إرنست للعالم الحقيقي كان كابوسيا جدا، ديستوبيا مقبضة لسبب خطير... فهو لم يبتكر غزو فضائي، او حرب نووية ما، او نيزك، او ايا من إرهاصات روايات الخيال العلمي المعتادة
بل مجرد رسم لما ما قد يحدث في العشرين عاما المقبلين اذا ما بقي الحال علي ماهو عليه في عالمنا الحبيب
من سوء استخدام للبيئة، اهدار لمصادر الطاقة، اللامبالاة بالفقر والجوع الذي يلتهم بعض دول العالم، إدمان مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي والتي تسببت بعض الشئ في زيادة فجوة التواصل البشري الطبيعي

اما العالم الاخر ، الواحة 'اواسيس' فرسم إرنست لهذا العالم يجعلك تدرك مدي هوس هذا الرجل بالعالم الإلكتروني والألعاب

بالنسبة لي بالرغم من اني لست محترفا للألعاب الإلكترونية ولا تستهويني كثيرا، إلا أنني منذ صغري وبالتأكيد الكثير منا تستهويه اكتشاف حجرة سرية بلعبته، مرحلة لم يصلها احد...سر خفي كسلاح او قدرة او مفتاح يقودك لمكان آخر
او كما يطلق عليه الغرب "بيضة عيد الفصح المخفية" ، وهي أحجية ليست بالألعاب فحسب
لقد استخدم دان براون غلاف روايته الأشهر شفرة دافنشي لاخفاء سرا ما، كذلك تفعل بعض الافلام والتي يكتشف المشاهدون مشهدا مخفيا في القائمة من خلال أقراص تشغيل الافلام دي في دي

حسنا، إرنست مهووسا بكل هذا، مهووسا ببناء عالم افتراضي ضخم متكامل به كل ما اخترعه عقل أديب ومؤلف في رسم عوالم خيالية كهوجوارتس، نارنيا، الارض الوسطي لتولكن،مجرة حرب النجوم، وغيرها، ليضعها بهذا العالم الافتراضي بنفس شكلها وتفاصيلها
OASIS
Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation.
هو برنامج محاكاة عالمي، حتي لو لم تكن محترف ألعاب مثلي فانت بالتأكيد سمعت عن
Silkroad
والتي تعد عالما يدخله مئات الالاف بالعالم ليتجولوا بخريطة ذلك العالم الافتراضي لمصارعة الوحوش أو نزال بعضهم البعض، او عقد تحالفات وتبادل الاسلحة والهدايا والدردشة

قد تبدو "اواسيس" (او اذا ما قرأتها ككلمة واحدة فمعناها الواحة، في استخدام موفق من المؤلف) انها مجرد لعبة ، ولكنها بإستخدام التكنولوجيا المعلوماتية الإلكترونية في 2040 صارت عالم بديل متكامل، يمكن الاطفال في جميع انحاء العالم الدراسة فيه في مدارس افتراضية منذ المرحلة الابتدائية وحتي الجامعية، بقوانين صارمة وفعالة اكثر من نظام التعليم ببعض الدول -كنظام التعليم في مصر مثلا- وايضا به مكتبة بها كل ما نشر في العالم
وجميع المسلسلات والافلام ،البرامج والالعاب، وأماكن للتعارف او اماكن للدردشة تفاعلية افتراضية باعلي تقنيات الجرافيك
بها فرص عمل حقيقية ورواتب.. بها ايضا بالطبع أماكن للقتال والمسابقات و و و و
يمكنك قضاء نصف الرواية في الاستمتاع بالتفاصيل التي ابتكرها المؤلف في وصفه لتلك الواحة الضخمة
ولكن
هذا العالم هو حيث يهرب جميع سكان العالم القادرين منهم والفقراء من واقعهم الأليم...تفشي الفقر وأزمة الطاقة المستفحلة في العالم
من خلال خوذة وقفازات تفاعلية تدار بكهرباء سواء مولدة من لوحات الطاقة الشمسية او عجلات توليد الكهرباء بالحركة
وتستخدم شبكة انترنت من اكثر من منفذ سواء خاص بشركة هاليداي او الشركة المنافسة 'اي او اي' ، فمنتشر في كل مكان مناطق انترنت لاسلكي
كل فرد يقوم بأقل القليل من الجهد البشري منذ لحظة استيقاظه، حتي يرتدي خوذته والمعدات لدخول اواسيس ليستكمل يومه بشخصيته الافتراضية في هذا العالم الافتراضي

عالم مجاني بشكل كبير، بلا رسوم اشتراك لاول مرة ولا رسوم شهرية….حتي وفاة هاليداي
والأن. . لك ان تتخيل لماذا تريد الشركة الرأسمالية السابقة الذكر الحصول علي الجائزة والاستيلاء علي حقوق شركة هاليداي، والواحة، اواسيس

هنا ستجد نفسك فعلا تتفاعل مع شخصية البطل، وايد واتس، وباقي منافسيه من الشخصيات وأصدقائه في الحصول علي البيضة الخفية قبل الشركة الاستغلالية

----------------
**** الشخصيات ****

"هيكيكوموري ひきこもり Hikikomori"
هي ظاهرة حقيقية واقعية للاسف تفشت في اليابان وفي طريقها لباقي العالم للاسف.. الهيكيكوموري، هو مصطلح ياباني معناه حرفيًا إنسحاب، التقوقع ،هو الإنسحاب الإجتماعي أو العزلة لدى المراهقين والبالغين. هناك أكثر من مليون هيكيكوموري في اليابان يرفضون الخروج من منازلهم والتفاعل مع المجتمع عن طريق انعزالهم في المنزل لفترة زمنية طويلة، يكتفون بمشاهدة الانيمي والافلام وقراءة الكتب والمانجا، والعدد في إزدياد مستمر، نتيجة المشاكل الإجتماعية والثقافية

-لقد بدأت اخشي انني اشعر بهذه الأعراض، وال'اواسيس' الخاصة بي هي مكتبتي التي تتضخم يوما تلو الاخر، وان شخصيتي في الجودريدز صارت حقيقية اكثر مني-

لقد ظهرت شخصية ما في الرواية يابانية لإظهار تفشي تلك الظاهرة، ولكنك إذا ما دققت النظر ستجد ان جميع الشخصيات الرئيسية ماهم الا منعزلون اخرون
لاحظ ايضا ان عدم القيام برياضة حقيقية او عدم الحركة بجد او عدم الاهتمام بالمظهر سيجعل من البشر بدناء -هناك نظام رجيم ممتاز بالرواية علي فكرة وقاسي بحق- وايضا سيجعل منهم بالطبع مختلفين تماما في الشكل عن مظهرهم في اللعبة

حتي البطل الرئيسي ، وايد واتس

هو مراهق، يتيم، يعيش مع خالته ولديه اقل القليل من المال، نعم هو يعرف كل شئ عن اواسيس، وعن هاليداي، ومنذ بدأت المسابقة من أربعة سنوات صار خبيرا بكل ماصدر بحقبة الثمانينات، بل وصار مهووسا بكل ما كان هاليداي مهووسا به

ولكن 4 سنوات انقضت ولم يعثر احدهم علي مفتاح واحد من المفاتيح الثلاثة، ناهيك عن بوابة من الثلاثة
والأمر نفسه بالنسبة لوايد… ولكن عذر وايد رغم ذكائه هو فقره، فقد تكون اواسيس مجانية ولكن التنقل بين عوالمها المتعددة وامتلاك اسلحة ومعدات للنزال لها تكلفتها
حتي 11 فبراير 2045...بعد 4 اعوام ، عندما وجد احدهم المفتاح الاول

شخصية وايد هي الراوي، شخصية ظريفة ذكية، مهووسة كهاليداي،والمؤلف بالطبع

وبذكر المؤلف بالنسبة لي السلبيات الوحيدة بالنسبة لي بخصوص تلك الرواية، او اسلوب إرنست عاما -فقد قرأت له أرمادا من قبل، كتابه الثاني- هو ان هناك دائما شخصية ملحدة، ويجب ان تكون صريحة الإلحاد وبسطور بسيطة قليلة تشرح وجهة نظرها وكأن الأمر جليا إنه لا يوجد آله
لا أدري حقا وجهة نظره في -التبشير-بالالحاد كما يفعل غيره أيضا وكأنهم قد يدخلوا جنة الملحدين في النهاية لمجهوداتهم
لم انتقص نجمة هنا لمجرد ان ما قاله كان قليلا جدا وغير مؤثر، بل فعله مؤلفين مصريين وعرب بشكل اكثر وقاحة بحجة تقديم رواية ذات رسالة دينية-راجع جبلاوي نجيب محفوظ
من السلبيات الاخري هنا، لا ليس الجنس، الحديث عن العادة السرية، بالطبع لا جنس مع هؤلاء المنعزلون غريبو الأطوار. .. ولكن مايشفع له هو خفة الدم وعدم الابتذال بل وتقديم الجانب السئ لها
~~~~~~~
اتش Aech
صديق وايد الصدوق، في العالم الإفتراضي فحسب بالطبع، وسيم جدا، قوي، بعضلات...لم ينفك يخبر وايد أنه اكثر وسامة في الواقع
بالطبع لم يقابله أبدا من قبل في الحقيقة، هما اصدقاء بالعالم الافتراضي فحسب
هو اغني منه افتراضيا،وشخصيته بمستوي أعلي ويرفض وايد ان يسأله اي مساعدة فهو لا يود أن يعثر علي الجائزة بفضل اي أحد
هل تتذكر محادثات البرامج القديمة علي الإنترنت حيث لا تدري شكل من أمامك، هنا نفس الأمر
(view spoiler)
ولكن قدر ما كنت متشوقا لمعرفه شكله الحقيقي، قد ما كنت اريد بقوة رؤية من يهواها وايد، من طرف واحد
آرتيمس

فتاة ذكية جميلة لبقة، من نجوم السوشيال ميديا بهذا العالم، وبالطبع سبب شهرتها انها غريبة الاطوار، مهووسة البحث عن الجائزة وكل اهتمامات هاليداي بالثمانينات وتحفظ كل افلام الفترة وتتقن كل العابها
لقائها -الافتراضي- مع وايد كان مفاجأة سارة وبتوالي الأحداث ستقع في حبها، وتتمني ان تعرف وجهها الحقيقي بالظبط كوايد واتس
وهناك
اوجدين
صديق هاليداي الوحيد ومؤسس الشركة معه قبل انفصالهما
سورينتو
ذو منصب هام بالشركة المشتغلة واحد كبار الشخصيات باواسيس والذي يسعي وشركته خلف الجائزة بأي ثمن...حتي لو بالقتل والدمار
ديتو وشوتو
شخصيتان من اليابان، حيث سنفهم مفهوم الهكيكيموري وهما من المنافسين في البحث عن الجائزة

كل شخصية من تلك الشخصيات لها خلفيتها وحكايتها وتاريخها والمفاجأت التي ستقابلهم وتقابلك من خلال سير الاحداث والتي يتضافر بها بشكل بديع هذا العالم الضخم المرسوم باتقان، الشخصيات القوية ثلاثية اابعاد، لتأتي قصة ورواية مثيرة، تحبس الانفاس، ممتعة وشيقة...ومتقنة

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
والنهاية

صداقة، شجاعة، تقبل الاخر، عدم التمييز
لا جديد؟ هي رسائل هاري بوتر وجي كي رولينج

إثارة، متعة، تشويق، غزارة معلومات حقيقية
لا جديد، هو نفسه دان براون ولكن في مجال الترفيه

ولكن قصة غير مكررة، بلا كلاشيهات، مثيرة، الاسترسال بحساب وممتع وجديد وليس مجرد حشو، اقتباسات ظريفة ولها محل من الاعراب في الرواية وليست مقحمة
قد يكون هناك بعض البطء في بداية المرحلة الثانية...ولكنه كان الهدوء الذي يسبق العاصفة

بناء للعالم متقن ومنطقي
قصة تضع علي وجهك ابتسامة عريضة...تدفعك للتحرك والتغيير
تمنحك ولو جرعة امل صغيرة

استمتعت بها وكأنني العب اقوي ألعاب الكمبيوتر
وشعرت بنوستاليجا كأني اشاهد فيلم فيديو مؤجر ب4 جنية في ليلة اجازة الصيف
وحبست انفاسي وكأني في خطر حقيقي
ضحكت كانني أشاهد مسرحية قديمة، وخفت من المستقبل بعض الشئ
وشعرت انه يجب ان يكون هناك تغيير

تغيير حقيقي
هل انت مستعد؟
Ready
Player
One

محمد العربي
من 8 أغسطس 2016
إلي 16 أغسطس 2016
Oh and it's August,12 ... Happy Birthday Wade Watts

In the remaining 7511 characters left, I will sum up an English review if u r interested enough in my humble English reviews..

Detected to the great cast of Stranger Things :)

It's 7394 only now :(
...more

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Aug 07, 2016 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: futuristik, into-the-past

it's like Ernest Cline decided to do something really nice for me, something really personal, and so he got together some of my favorite things - sympathetic yet highly flawed protagonist, diversity in race and sexual orientation, down-with-the-man anti-corporate sentiments, an absorbing dystopia, a breezy narrative - and then he put it all in the context of the decade where I formed my interests and essentially became myself. well he also put in a bunch of video games and I've never been a gam ...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Hugh Howey rated it it was amazing

I had the feeling while reading this book that it was written expressly for me. This is my childhood captured. And since it was an insular and introverted childhood, it felt unique. It wasn't connected with Facebook. I had no idea that I was legion. And so I imagine many other readers felt the same sensation of having a book speak directly to their most private memories and moments. And what could be more cherished than that? It was like having a videogame written for you. Or being able to be ca ...more

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Oct 04, 2011 Veronica Belmont rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, sword-and-laser, humor, alternate-history

Ready Player One is one of those books that I'll be recommending to people for a long, long time. If you love geeky media... books, videos, TV shows, music (and especially if it's from the 80s) this book will be a favorite of yours as well.

The characters are engaging, the descriptions of the scenes inside OASIS are vivid, and it's fun (and thrilling) at the same time.

Does the 80s trivia come on a little thick? Yes, but that's kind of the point (and the plot).

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Oct 17, 2016 Matthias rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: my-reviews, out-of-the-box-reviews

Did Ready Player One push all the right buttons? Let's find out!

______________________
Ernest's Quest
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Level 1: Command & Conquer: Starbase Defense

Ernest is seen from a top down perspective. He's in the top left corner of a green battleground dotted with trees, mountains and rivers. The bottom rig ...more

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Nov 14, 2016 Lyn rated it it was amazing

I found myself smiling frequently while reading this.

Willy Wonka meets The Matrix in the near future online game age. I almost typed video age and that would date me back in the 1980s, but that would be OK too. Like James Halliday, I was a teenager in the late eighties and so Ready Player One by Ernest Cline has a special place for me. I played Dungeons and Dragons (I was even dungeon master for a Tomb of Horrors campaign) I played coin operated video games, I obviously dig science fiction and I found myself smiling frequently while reading this.

Willy Wonka meets The Matrix in the near future online game age. I almost typed video age and that would date me back in the 1980s, but that would be OK too. Like James Halliday, I was a teenager in the late eighties and so Ready Player One by Ernest Cline has a special place for me. I played Dungeons and Dragons (I was even dungeon master for a Tomb of Horrors campaign) I played coin operated video games, I obviously dig science fiction and comics, I listened to Rush, REM and Van Halen, etc. etc.

And for my Goodreads friends who enjoy my trivia questions, I went all out for my Ready Player One chapter; after all, 80s trivia was a big part of the book and so what better tribute could I pay than to level up with a treasure load of trivia questions? Cline invites us, especially those of us who were teenagers in the 80s, to geek out and it is a fun experience.

Like Among Others, Jo Walton’s Hugo award winning novel, part of the charm of this book is the fun nostalgia, but Cline takes it to another level as the 80s trivia is an integral part of the plot; a near hopeless post cyber-punk (gamer punk?) dystopia with excellent characterization and with a very likeable cast.

More than this even, Cline makes an intelligent, humanistic observation about where our world is now and where it is heading with the loneliness and isolation that comes when the cyber-world is more interesting, and more vital, than the real world. Yet Cline also makes a statement about the resiliency, tenacity and perseverance of the human sprit by demonstrating that even if the only connection two people can make is on a purely artificial and mental level, as in two people who only know each other as online avatars that genuine fellowship can still occur, that even love can bloom.

One of the greatest compliments that can be paid to a book is to say you could not put it down, that’s how it was with Ready Player One, a very, very good read.

I am stingy with my Goodreads 5 star votes, this one had my vote about a third of the way in.

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Apr 06, 2016 Jessica (priceiswong) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

If you want to get REAL technical, I would probably give this book closer to a 4.5 rating. I really, really enjoyed this book. I feel like it was a pretty quick read, and I can honestly say it was like nothing I've ever read before.

It did take me quite a few chapters to really get into the story. But once you do you're hooked. It was so unique, and I loved the riddles and hearing about all of the 80's stuff. I wasn't a teen in the 80's, I was born in 92, but I still grew up on a lot of the tv s ...more

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Nov 22, 2014 julio rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: 70's babies, 80's babies, and California computer nerds

Recommended to julio by: the god of 1980's trivia

1980's mass-media nascent-computer-nerd porn disguised as a mystery-caper.

Perfectly enjoyable, but probably only for Americans born between 1968 and 1982.

It really is, start to finish, an entertaining homage to the corny, the magnificent, and the perhaps-unjustifiably-popular culture of a certain slice of America—and even worse, only for a specific span.

So your mileage may vary.

As for me...

...It was like watching Back To The Future and War Games back to back while playing the Legend of Zelda on ...more

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Apr 24, 2015 Sean Gibson rated it really liked it

4.5 Stars

I’ll say this for Mr. Cline—the man knows his audience. Take one genius high concept, throw in a liberal sprinkling of geek-friendly 80s pop culture references, and add a dash of solid writing and you’ve got a crowd-pleasing recipe for anyone of a remotely dorkish hue (that hue, incidentally, is nearly colorless, as you can clearly see from my own pale countenance).

I’ll refrain from much in the way of plot summary here, in part to avoid spoilers, and because I’d rather focus on what I f 4.5 Stars

I’ll say this for Mr. Cline—the man knows his audience. Take one genius high concept, throw in a liberal sprinkling of geek-friendly 80s pop culture references, and add a dash of solid writing and you’ve got a crowd-pleasing recipe for anyone of a remotely dorkish hue (that hue, incidentally, is nearly colorless, as you can clearly see from my own pale countenance).

I’ll refrain from much in the way of plot summary here, in part to avoid spoilers, and because I’d rather focus on what I found so appealing about the book (beyond the Rush references, of course, which never hurt). It wasn’t the amazing array of game, movie, music, and cartoon references in and of themselves (though those were, of course, delightful, and may or may not have caused a steady flow of nostalgia-induced tears to stream from my eyes, much to the discomfort of my fellow commuters…fortunately, I wrapped a copy of Old Yeller around the outside of my Kindle as I read those parts, so they understood—or thought they understood—the source of my melancholy optical water expulsion; apparently, it’s more socially acceptable to weep at the thought of a loyal canine getting one to the temple than it is at the thought of an Atari 2600). Rather, it was the way that Cline paid homage to the brilliance and creativity of the storytellers and artists who created those seminal works while also pushing them forward into a world of technology that allowed their vision to be more fully (and interactively) realized. In a time when it seems like we’re constantly moving onto the next thing, even as we’re in the midst of the previous thing, and sometimes not even done with the thing before that, the notion of immortalizing the works of the giants upon whose shoulders we so delightedly stand, even in the midst of a virtual and ephemeral world, is an appealing one.

Any book that moves me to want to reengage with and reexamine old favorites or to seek out landmark works I’ve yet to read/see/hear is a book that gets a place of honor on my (in this case virtual, appropriately enough) bookshelf. And any book that references Ghostbusters (which we all know I love), D&D, Rush, and Pitfall is just f@#$ing splendiferous.
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