Young Wade Watts comes from a poor family, has no friends, and spends his time alone. He is always logged into the OASIS, a virtual world that combines elements of the real world and video games. Wade even attends school in the OASIS. He’s never physically met any of his classmates or teachers, but he prefers the anonymity.
It is the year 2044 and more and more people around the world are spending time in virtual utopias on OASIS rather than interacting with people in the real world. Many jobs and schools have switched to solely functioning in the OASIS so a person never has to leave home. When one of the founders of the OASIS, James Halliday, dies, he leaves a prerecorded message in the OASIS explaining he has created one final video game challenge. The first person to find three keys (copper, jade and crystal), unlock three gates, and find the final Easter egg hidden by Halliday will win complete ownership of the OASIS as well as a pretty sizable fortune.
Halliday leaves behind very few clues. The major clue is that he was a teenager in the 1980’s and has always been infatuated with 80’s music, movies and video games. Suddenly, everyone (including Wade) begins brushing up on 80’s trivia, wearing 80’s fashion and using outdated 80’s slang.
It is years before anyone finds the first key, but as soon as it is discovered, the competition becomes intense. Wade is one of the thousands of people struggling to be the first to win the competition. One of the major competitors, IOI, is an internet corporation that wants to take over the OASIS and start charging outrageous fees. Wade, and many other individuals like him, is competing not only to win, but to help any individual win so the IOI doesn’t get their hands on the OASIS.
Wade discovers his true friends are people he’s never met. He’s aware his crush could really be a 300lb man named Chuck and not the young girl she claims to be.
This debut novel from Ernest Cline is full of flashbacks to 1980’s movies, songs and pop icons, while also containing an interesting look at a future filled with online interaction. Even though some of the video game references flew right past me, I still enjoyed the nostalgic trivia and the perils of the competition in the OASIS by Wade and his friends.
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