Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Imagine a world where people no longer had to interact with one another in person.  How would yo feel if going to work was a matter plugging in your laptop and putting on a visor that completely immerses you into a computer world?  What if your World of Warcraft avatar became your representative to the world, because he/she was the one who went to school or work in this virtual reality world? 

Welcome to the world of 2044, where gaming software OASIS has become the standard for living around the world everything from ordering food to attending school can be done through OASIS and the strongest currency is gaming credits.

Now imagine that when OASIS designer James Halliday passes away that he reveals that his fortune is hidden within his virtual creation and the person who finds it will inherit everything.  The game is on.

My God this book was incredible, but what drove it was the world Ernest Cline created.  Let's face it - virtual reality existence is not that far fetched.  We can already got to college, attend business meetings and have every service delivered to us by just sitting at the computer.  Placing on some glasses and gloves that allow to engage in an online reality was not that crazy.  In fact, I wondered what it would be like and I'm not a gamer. 

The other thing that turned me on were the 80s references.  James Halliday was obsessed the topic, because that's when he was a teenager.  Now I admit, I was born early in the decade, so I didn't experience it the same way he would have, but being in on a lot of the references made me feel very special.

Highly recommended!!!