Now That Was Good Read

For February Loot Crate had the theme of Play. A lot of fun stuff in the box. My family really enjoyed the game Super Fight. It is a card game based around all manner of match ups between assorted characters with some truly bizarre weaponry.

This was the first Loot Crate we had received that came with an actual novel. The book was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I read the back cover and it sounded interesting so it got moved up in my reading list.

I was not disappointed. Over the last few days I found it real hard to stop reading as I got closer to the conclusion.

The book itself is filled with many great pop culture references. Most are from the 80s, but there are some from the 70s and 90s. There were tons geeky trivia at every turn here. I actually learned some interesting new odd ball facts about Pac Man, Cap'n Crunch and more.

The story takes place in a future where just about everyone is active in a virtual universe called OASIS. OASIS is filled with fan made worlds based on all manner of pop culture. The creator of OASIS dies with no heirs. He leaves a video will explaining that whoever it is that finds his special Easter Egg that he has hidden in OASIS will get everything. There is a series of geek based challenges that one needs to overcome to find the Egg.

After six years of no one getting anywhere with the challenge the first key is found and things start to get intense.

Some of the story had a political feel as the main conflict is the average person vs big corporation to keep OASIS a free system. I saw some reflection of this in the recent net-neutrality debate.

I loved the huge final battle scene that just felt so right in so many ways.

So Ready Player One was an enjoyable read with a lot of great nods to the stuff I remember growing up with. I do think it will appeal more to us kids of the 80s, I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a fun book.

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