Ready Player One

Ready Player One is exactly the kind of book I didn't know I needed. I grabbed it within the first week of release and read it in a couple of sittings — it's that kind of book.

The premise is pure fun: a massive virtual world called the OASIS has become the dominant reality for most of humanity, and its creator has hidden an Easter egg inside it worth his entire fortune. What follows is essentially a pop culture treasure hunt wrapped in a dystopian sci-fi story, and Cline executes it with a kind of gleeful energy that's hard to resist. If you grew up with 80s movies, games, and music, the references hit like a highlight reel of your childhood.

Wade Watts is a likeable underdog and the world-building around the OASIS is genuinely impressive. Cline thought through the implications of a society that's half-checked out into a virtual world, and there's real texture to both the digital and physical sides of the story.

It's not a book that's trying to be literary — it's trying to be a blast. And it is. One of the most purely enjoyable reads I've had in years.