Is there a book more geekily joyous, more unashamedly reverential and more lovingly nostalgic of the ‘80s than Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One? If there is, we certainly can’t think of one as Cline’s darkly-tinged love-letter to the decade will tug at the memories of anyone who grew up or lived through the period, plummeting the reader back through a Duran Duran-soundtracked era of exuberant promise.
With a central premise built around the quest for an ‘Easter egg’, a prize left hidden deep in an online world known as the OASIS by its creator, Ready Player One reflects the games, music, comics and films it so purposefully references. Wargames, Pac-Man and even the much-maligned rom-com Say Anything are integrated into both key plot points and off-hand comment. Iron Giants, DeLoreans and X-wing fighters provide the transport. Rush, Pat Benatar and Monty Python provide the musical accompaniment. There are many others too numerous to mention, but you get the idea.
What’s most interesting is that Cline structures an immersive story within the immersive world he, and his dungeonmaster-esque avatar James Halliday, have created. Narrated by Wade Watts, a teenager with an obsession for all things ‘80s and Halliday related, Ready Player One is a puzzle-laden adventure that, while ticking all the necessary twist and turn boxes you would expect, is never less than enthrallingly good fun. With the added ingredients of teen romance and heroic endeavour, this is a story aptly influenced by ‘80s stalwarts Steven Spielberg and John Hughes, and one worthy of mentioning in the same breath.
Simply put, if you were there, Ready Player One will transport you back and leave you rushing to add all those bands you used to listen to back on to your music device of choice and to rummage around in the loft for that ageing games console. If you weren’t, well, the story will engage you enough but be prepared to miss one or two of the more obscure references.
READY PLAYER ONE / AUTHOR: ERNEST CLINE / PUBLISHER: MICHEL LAFON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
