Ready Player One by Ernest Cline takes place in a futuristic world with a dystopian vibe and is set in the 2040s. Most of the resources have been depleted and the poor (a group that makes up big part of the population) live in “stacks”, which are mobile homes that have literally been stacked on top of each other. Some of the luckier kids do, however, get to go to school online.

Wade Watts is an avid gamer and one of the many followers of OASIS creator James Halliday. The day Halliday dies, there is a mass email sent out to every OASIS user that contains the video version of Halliday’s last will and testament.

The video shows Halliday at several stages throughout his life copied and pasted onto backgrounds from John Hughes films with music and culture from the 1980s evident throughout the video. However, it is when Halliday announces that, since he has no heir, a contest will be held and the winner will inherit the entirety of his fortune that things get really interesting.

Even in the first few pages, the book is interesting and provides enough action to keep the reader engaged. Cline adds in specific details that make the reader do a double-take and also provide character traits that you wouldn’t expect.

Overall, Ready Player One is a great read. I believe that it has the potential to keep drawing newer generations of readers in with its charm, interesting characters, and sci-fi vibes.