READY PLAYER ONE
by Ernest Cline
Living in the crowded vertical trailer “stacks” of Oklahoma City with his Aunt is not the ideal life Wade Watts prefers.
Set in a bleak 2044, the world has become significantly bigger with the Oasis, a virtual reality multiverse that allows people to travel to fictional worlds, attend school, as well as find jobs. When the creator, James Halliday the richest man in the world, passes away, he leaves behind one last game that will change the Oasis and the world. Halliday left behind an easter egg hidden in the Oasis. Whoever finds all three keys needed to access the egg will win his fortune, as well as control of the Oasis. To win, you better know your '80s pop culture, because Halliday grew up in the 1980s, and the clues left behind are riddled with '80s references. Although a slow start, the finding of the first key begins a series of events that will change the Oasis, and Wade Watts below-average life forever, as dark forces seek to undermine the hunt for their own gain.
One cannot help but notice the disservice to women and girl gamers with a lack of presence and individuality. The major female character of the novel, a celebrity within the Oasis, becomes the crush of our male hero who focuses too much on her looks. A typical love story.
The unending '80s pop culture references will certainly delight those who lived during the '80s, and the potential of a virtual reality multiverse will have gamers immersed.
Pub Date: Aug. 16th, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-307-88743-6
Page count: 384pp
Publisher: Crown
Publisher: Crown
Awesome review! I found it interesting you chose to break the Kirkus convention of the line-paragraph-line format to add in your thoughts on the treatment of females in the novel. I want to offer a counter-point to your assessment though, while I agree the love story component is trite, the woman in the love story has a strong personality and resolve to "beat the game" alone in the manner she thinks is best. There is also the best-friend character with a male avatar who is actually a gay female constantly on the run. I found the book to be fairly inclusive, though I agree with your comment that it is stereotypical! I also wanted to comment that I liked the format of adding the isbn info, which is something I neglected to do. Great job on your Kirkus review! I think it is awesome that your review offers so much that it made me want to have a discussion about some of the things you pointed out!
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point! As someone who has listened to the book I can see both sides of this. I wonder how they will address it in the movie adaptation!
DeleteI totally agree and understand your point! However, women are so prominent in gaming that I do not understand how there were not more mentioned in the novel. I am glad she had a strong personality and attitude, but I still wasn't satisfied overall. I do love her character though. I am interested to see how the movie portrays her.
DeleteCarter, I was just thinking about this book and whether or not I should read it! This review definitely has made me more inclined to pick this book up. I wasn't thrilled about the movie trailer, honestly, so this book hasn't been on my TBR list, but now I want to give it a shot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, also, for your honesty about the anti-female aspect of this book. While I don't normally make treatment of women a factor in what I read, knowing that this is the state of things will make it less unpleasant for me when I hit that part. And as a readers' advisory, it's also a great point to make for patrons who may be more discerning about those aspects.
Fantastic Kirkus Review! Your opening and closing lines are solid and succinct, and your summary in the middle is eloquent and full of description. Full points!
ReplyDelete