eBook, 384 pages
English language
Published March 10, 2014 by Crown Publishing Group.
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in …
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?
A great story regarding a late teen engaging in a video game quest with real-world impact. Set in a dystopian future, the tale gives you a blend of a virtual world learing to positive and meaningful real-life changes.
The story is told with enthusiasm and gives you a great insight into a late teen learning there is more to life than a virtual world. It also teaches you persistance, may lead to mindblowing results.
Even though I didn't much like it, I did actually finish it, which is worth an extra star.
//read in 2012
An enjoyable and quick read. Nostalgia is bound together by a fairly predictable plot line. I wanted to go back and create a playlist of all the music mentioned, but I borrowed the book from a co-worker and needed to return it.
To be honest it's been a while since I read the book so don't expect a full in depht review. Sorry.
I liked it, quite a lot indeed. I also enjoy playing video games and 90% of the action occours on a video game. I think that, as always, the book is quite superior compared to the movie.
In conclussion: I recomend it if you like cifi stuff.
Absolutely great book about the 80s, video games, movies, music and more. You will love it, even if you weren't part of that time.
At least one star is purely nostalgia. What a fun book, though.
