Discover Top Posts Tagged with #planet 80s

I'm back, with a vengeance. Or just the regular kind of back, I haven't posted in a hot minute because my past couple weeks have been so loaded down with awesome I couldn't reach my computer. Got to see an absolutely amazing performance by my favorite band in the process, seriously hope Last Summer On Earth becomes a full on yearly thing. But you aren't here for my opinions... or are you? Because if you are this week I will be giving you my opinions on:

It is the near future, the planet is slowly going to complete waste due to the negligence of those that have been living on it. Power is running low, food and living space is stretched by overpopulation, and people are so jaded with hopelessness that they simply need an escape. That escape was the Oasis, a simulated world with infinite possibilities a place a person could go and be anything they wanted as long as it wasn't themselves. This world was created by James Halliday, an eternal loner with an obsession for the pop culture of his youth and a knack for programming and it made him rich beyond all imagination. But, you can't take it with you and on his death bed he brought to light the greatest treasure hunt in the history of man, whoever could find Halliday's Easter Egg would be heir to the fortune. This is the world created for the reader by Cline, and it is truly a lovely one to delve into.

I think what I enjoyed about this book most is just how much it challenges your imagination. You are dragged from the dystopia of the real world into a world where the possibilities are endless and much of what the different planes of Oasis look and feel like are truly left up to the reader. The only real anchors you get throughout the book are references to the culture of the 80s and 90s that are scattered throughout the book. Other then that you are left to just imagine for yourself what it would really feel to be in your favorite movie, TV show, game, book, or what have you. I don't know if it's true, but I feel safe guessing that you get a giddy feeling after watching a movie and wondering what it would be like to be truly immersed in that world. To walk out of the Avengers and look to the sky, wanting to know what it is really like for people to be 'super.' Or to read Harry Potter and imagine the magic that circles just below the veil of what is real. Cline does an excellent job of grabbing onto that feeling and feeding it to you throughout the book.

Another thing I love is the themes of the story don't really linger about the references that are continually dropped within the book. It actually revolves about the ideas of what is real and if it is what is outside the game is that truly so important? This is reinforced by the love story that I actually found quite touching because both the protagonist and his love interest are very likable and due to the circumstances it is very easy to get into their shoes. The character of Aech was very refreshing too, and teaches the valuable lesson of expect nothing when it comes to a world where the possibilities are endless. It's good that the focus of the story was well done too, because the antagonist at least in the form of Sorrento really was lackluster. Mostly because his motivations were quite unclear as far as... anything really. The Sixers as an implacable foe were great, and I think it would have hit harder had the army actually been made up entirely interred workers, fighting without choice for a cause they want to lose. Using Sorrento as a face really lost it for me, I guess perhaps the author was going for the 'troll', a power saturated douche who causes problems because it gives him an e-boner. But, I feel that just didn't fit the role of a primary foe. He really wasn't all that threatening.

Speaking of not very threatening I really did have a problem with the pace of the story, especially at the end. I'm going to try and avoid major spoilers, but suffice it to say that there wasn't much tension to it all. The big fight seemed like a foregone conclusion because you didn't really have enough time to forget about the trump card the protagonist was carrying from earlier (another problem with squishing the story together, something should be said for Chekhov's Gun but you don't need to fire it the second it appears either). Also there isn't much tension to a race when during the middle portion of it there isn't much chance for the trailing runner to catch up. If you are confused then sorry, but like I said no major spoilers. I even am going to refrain for mentioning what I thought the ending was going to be because I wasn't entirely wrong. I do this because I am indeed going to recommend this book, my gripes about it are outweighed a good deal by what I truly enjoyed.

I give Ready Player One seven Easter eggs.... out of ten.

#ready player one #ernest cline #easter egg #planet 80s