Adjust your joysticks, fanboys: Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

Crown Publishers: New York, 2011

ISBN: 9780307887436

Fanboys of the world, I’d say this one is for you, but chances are you’re rolling your eyes at that belated statement, given that the United States movie rights for this one were obtained for the low price of 7 million dollars and it’s got some newb of a director called Spielberg attached.  That’s right - JUST the rights for the US.  For the rest of us less...say, fervent nerds, behold a book we can read and enjoy instead of fighting crowds at Comicon (#neverwilliever), or reading a Bill Gates/Steve Jobs romance fan fiction (if this exists and you find it for me, I will buy you a pizza.  Seriously.  That will be your Easter Egg).  That is also to say, I, an avowed video game h8r enjoyed it, and suspect many of you nerds/geeks on all ends of the spectrum (like to fervent to obsessive) who enjoy fun adventure books will too (but I didn’t think there were enough BSG or Goonies references, so WHAT UP, Mr. Cline?  Sloth love Chunk.).  

It is 2044, and the world is a dystopia meets technerd utopia. The climate and world, physically and politically, are a big ole mess; people live in urban squalor, and more or less everyone spends all day plugged into a virtual world called the Oasis in some capacity: schools, business, government, entertainment, banking and commerce (I’m assuming Bitcoins finally took off), etc. - it all happens 24/7 in the Oasis,  an immersive virtual reality accessed via some recognizable yet futuristic technology: visors, consoles, gaming systems, sensor suits, etc.  When Oasis cofounder and owner, the eccentric 80’s enthusiast, recluse, and billionaire James Halliday dies, he leaves behind a will in video form stipulating that he has created a treasure hunt and hidden virtual three keys inside the Oasis that unlock an Easter Egg: ownership of his entire fortune and his owning stake in the Oasis. Wade Watts, a (virtual) high school senior, and millions of others around the virtual and physical world become obsessed with finding it.  Wade, or Parzival, as his avatar is known online, however, is the first person to find a key.  The virtual world begins to bleed even more into the physical world, and danger becomes more than a virtual reality. Wade soon finds himself in deeper than he ever could have imagined.  

There are too many ways to count the 80’s pop culture references, and there is enough adventure, fun, nerd romance, nostalgia, and moments of distorted looking glass recognition in this bizzarely plausible future; it’s much more Wall-E than Gattica, if you will.  It’s super fun, period, but I admit to suspecting you’ll find it more fun if you’re over 28ish and have a functional memory of the 80’s.  It’s enjoyable too if you like dystopias, techy sci-fi, Xbox, World of Warcraft (give these little Minecrafters 10 years and they’ll be on board, Mr. Cline), want an Ender’s Game readalike but aren’t a homophobe, and are roughly 13 and up (there’s some naughty words, I think, if you care about that).  

Tidbits: It's Froiday, Phiday, Ender gets down with Emma T...whattt?

• It's Froiday, Froiday, gotta get down on Froiday!  Everyone on this continent (except you, Mexico, sorry) pick up your copy of the newest awesome Melina Marchetta book, Froi of the Exiles today!  
• To celebrate, you can join me in oohing and ahhhing over the Australian cover of Quintana, in which the titular Quintata imperiously mocks our Froi cliffhanger dismay.  I'd say it's a solid despite her hair not being nearly scraggly enough, but I still prefer humanless covers:
  
  

  

  Australia gets everything first, even tomorrow!

  
  
  At least there is no sword?  I am DYING to read this!
• It's also almost Phi Day, Phi Day, gotta get down on Phi Day (it pretty much already is in Australia)!  My favorite pie purveyor, Petsi Pies, is having the nerdiest yet tastiest competition to celebrate.  Tragically, I will be in Miami! I'm actually upset about this - I memorized 100 digits of phi in middle school!  As my poptart learned the hard way when he had to buy me a dog upon challenging me to go a year without tv to get a dog (in his mind, to shut me up about it) I will destroy your inane challenges!  I would totally do 300 for pie and grits! SIGH.
• The Ender's Game movie is ON! Ender Wiggin HAS A FACE (as does the rest of the cast, but whatevs.).  Was Ender the invention of Hugo Cabret? I don't care how terrible that line was because: It's HAPPENING!  Also, when did Abigail Breslin grow up? 
• Beautiful Creatures is a book I read and enjoyed immensely, but never reviewed.  But like every other YA book, it got optioned...and will be a movie.  With such unknown actors rumored to be in in it, like EMMA THOMPSON.  WHAT?!?  Oh, I was there already, but now that Nanny McPhee is making an appearance, ima bring my frey-ends!  Personally, I'm hoping she plays Mrs. Lincoln.  
• Is anyone else having trouble rectifying the news that the Hunger Games release is like...days away?  Remember when it was just a wink in Hollywood's eye? AHHH!  It premieres tonight! Is it just me or does Jennifer Lawrence look a bit like young early 80's Goldie Hawn minus a hair spray overdose/electrocution?
  
  

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card: Deep Space Nine Year Old

Ender's Game. 
Orson Scott Card (2002).
NY: TOR Books. ISBN: 978-0765342294


I am not a huge fan of sci-fi (except for Battlestar Galactica, secret geek love of my heart). I picked this book up thinking to myself "Ugh, I should probably read a sci-fi book, just so I'll know more about it and be able to recommend it, and this one is as popular as a jock in high school, so why not." Imagine my surprise when I found myself TOTALLY digging Ender's Game. I think what I love about BSG is what I found myself loving about Ender's Game: the psychological drama and mind games, and a story that doesn't revel in weird, heavy science fiction fantasy things. This, along with seeing the world through Ender's too-young-to-be-this-old eyes, marveling at his preternatural military genius, and trying to figure out who is really playing whom, is what really hooked me.

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is six years old when he is taken from his family to go into intensive military training at Battleschool, a deep space training school for future military leaders. We learn from dialogue between high ranking military officials what Ender himself will learn soon enough: that he is the only hope for survival in the war between humanity and the buggers, an alien race which is seemingly hell-bent upon destroying humanity and colonizing earth. Ender leaves behind his beloved sister Valentine, and his maniacal and vicious older brother Peter, both geniuses in their own right. Ender advances rapidly through his training, pushed on by his own desire to win and his empathy, which allows him to understand others before using this to destroy them, should they prove to be an enemy. By the time he is 9, he has advanced to become the youngest army leader in the school, and shortly thereafter is promoted to Commander school - about 6 years ahead of schedule. He has revolutionized the way simulated battle games, the pinnacle of Battleschool education, are played. The teachers are unabashedly brutal with him, constantly pushing him to almost the breaking point, all in the hopes of turning him into the heroic commander they so desperately need to win. Before long, the lines between the game and reality are blurred. The ending to this part of the story is a nice twist, and while the real ending to the story is pretty good, it feels somewhat rushed compared to the rest of the story.

Best for: Because this book is somewhat complex, psychologically and politically, I'd hold off on recommending it to anyone under 13 that I didn't know well, simply because (and this may be a generalization) I'm not sure how many younger kids would fully understand the manipulations and games throughout. That being said, I'd probably still recommend it to eager younger readers who enjoy sci-fi because it is a rare sure thing. I think this is a fantastic book, and I feel confident about YA boys digging this (gender stereotypes, damn you!), along with girls.

Book talk hook: This is a book that I'd definitely need to gauge the crowd for. For example, I could see this as a military book (more of a sell for a crowd of younger, more reluctant reader boys), a psychological thriller ala the short story the Game (an older audience, both girls and boys), or as a straight sci-fi adventure (for sci-fi fans of all ages). I'd skew my summary of the plot towards the intended audience, and maybe to some Q&A type of things ("How many of you here think you can save the world? How many of you could outsmart a grown up at six?" etc.)