"Ready Player One", Ernest Cline

Author: ERNEST CLINE
Editorial: Arrow Books
Year of Edition: 2012

Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopian 2044, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a virtual reality game, the discovery of which will lead him to inherit a fortune in a world wrecked by an energy crisis.

This novel achieves a perfect mix of action, history and values in a very original way. The protagonist, Wade in real life or Parzival in the virtual world OASIS, presents the energy crisis in which the planet is sunk, in an apocalyptic future and, at the same time, quite probable according to the current capitalist model. 

Our global civilization came at a huge cost [...] And we are still fighting wars with each other, mostly over the few resources we have left.

According to this, the story can also be described as futuristic, in the same way as many of the stories from the 80s that are referenced throughout the text, such as the trilogy "Back to the Future" .

However, despite being developed in the year 2044, its setting within OASIS is very close to the 80s, with continuous allusions to both video games, as well as music groups, series or films.

Reality  (upper part) versus Virtual (lower part)

In this world with marked differences between rich, low in number, and poor, which make up the majority of the population, there are also "suburbs" that surround the big cities, in the same way that it happens today, for example with " the Fabelas "of Brazil, but in this case represented as stacks or dozens of trailers stacked on top one another ascending to the skies recklessly.



I would like to emphasize the value of friendship, detached from the physical aspect and even physical contact, as something true, expressed in the following quote.

We connected on a purely mental level

It is, therefore, a kind of dystopia developed in two parallel worlds, with a strong environmental and moral background problems, in the same way as can be found in other current science fiction plots such as "Avatar". That's why it is not hard to imagine his upcoming premiere American live-action/animated science fiction action film  directed by Steven Spielverg.

The richness of data leading to a pop culture sensation, in combination with continuous action and the interpersonal relationships that are built, provide all the elements necessary for this book to generate that feeling of emptiness, for which you want to continue reading forever. 

I am totally geeking out with Ready Player One!