#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.
“Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly
A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.
When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself.
Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Village Voice • Chicago Sun-Times • iO9 • The AV Club
“Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”—HuffPost
“An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN
“A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”—Boston Globe
“Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR
“[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”—iO9
Full review on my blog!
I didn't really know what to expect when I plunged into this 80's themed hell of a ride. Ernest Cline managed to come up with a book that's both refreshingly unique and full of nostalgia.
His vision of the OASIS is fascinating but also a little disconcerting as it seems really plausible.
While I am too young to have experienced the 80's I have a fondness for films like E.T. or Back to the Future. Shows like Stranger Things that bring back that vibe are right down my alley, so this book hit the perfect spot for me.
The Easter Eggs/riddles Cline came up with are smart and interesting. I learned a great deal about 80's pop culture while reading this book! The hunt was fascinating and was rooting for our hero so hard. I couldn't put the book because I wanted to know badly whether he would win or not.
Being a bit of a geek myself, you can tell how much fondness Cline has for this area and how much fun he had creating his nerd-utopia. Maybe that's why I enjoyed his novel so much!
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
21 March, 2019:
Finished reading
-
21 March, 2019:
Reviewed