Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

The real world is a dump. And that's why Wade Watts spends all of his free time in OASIS, an online world where anything is possible. 

When the billionaire creator of OASIS died, he left behind his fortune to be found by any OASIS player who could solve the puzzles he has set up within the game. Wade has dedicated the last four years of his life studying eighties pop culture––the decade that the creator of OASIS was obsessed with––in hopes of finding the fortune hidden within the game.

When Wade manages to find the first clue in the hunt to find the prize, he realizes just how far some people are willing to go to find the prize, and that he'll have to win to survive.

Rate: 4 stars

Calling all nerds and geeks, this book is for you! Ready Player One revolves around video games, a contest to win a fortune, and '80s pop culture, and is the ultimate book for anyone who loves those things. Even though I don't really like video games, and I'm not too into '80s pop culture, I still enjoyed this book. I really liked the whole concept of the contest, and there was a fair amount of action to top it off. Overall it was a great read, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I loved video games or '80s pop culture.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

I really enjoyed everything about the contest.  I liked how there were keys that had to be found, and portals opened with that key in which Wade had to complete a challenge. All the different clues and challenges made for an entertaining read.

The characters weren't too bad either, although they weren't the best I had ever read. I liked how they all struggled with things offline though. Wade was fat (at least in the beginning), Art3mis a reddish birthmark across her face, and Aech turned out to be a black lesbian woman, not a white man. She struggled with being treated differently, and I found that her mother was right in thinking that she should make her avatar on OASIS a white man. It's ridiculous that people are treated differently based on their gender, sexuality, and the way they look, and I was glad that Ernest Cline threw these things into the book, even if they weren't really relevant.

Another thing that I liked was the fact the Wade had to deal with IOI inside the OASIS and outside. His life was threatened inside and outside the game. They we just such an nasty bunch of people. Although, I think a company would be willing to kill people of billions of dollars, especially if they had a lot of power and could cover it up.

The ending was one of my favourite parts. Wade got to meet Aech, Art3mis and Shoto in the real world. And there was huge battle and then the race to the finish. Lots of action. I thought the story wrapped up pretty nicely and I wasn't left with too many questions. I think it's best as a standalone.