REVIEW: 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Celine

As a dystopian  novel set up with a clear focus on how video game obsession is going to lead to the end of the world, the portion of us who prefer a little less violence in our time off could be forgiven for not being immediately sold. I would, however, request that you gave it at least a second look. For me, this second look was given too me in the form of apparently everyone having read it other than myself, and I am very glad that I did.

Advertised to the teenage target market, the novel is fast paced, with tireless plot turns and multiple 'game-over' moments. We follow a classic underdog protagonist - in the form of Wade - navigating both adolescence and world politics with passion and intrigue perhaps somewhat lost in our own social-media focused age. Cline has brilliantly created a tale with significantly more depth than the modern teen 'escape' novels that we are used to making up the genre, however. 

An orphan living with a cruel aunt and step uncle may be the source of scowls from readers looking for something different in their newest read, but Cline is tireless in his pursuit of relevancy throughout the unashamedly nostalgic novel. The description of Wade's living conditions draw an acute literary likeness to the modern day 'slums' constructed around the outskirts of many technologically advanced cities today (the situation in Mumbai and this particular article comes to mind - especially noting the supporting foundation of the article) forces the reader to switch on to their own reality. In a refreshingly accessible use of multiple realities, the world of the reader, fictional realistic world of Wade and sci-fi fantasy reside alongside and influence one another. The effectiveness of this conversation, and the planting of both obvious and more subtle links to the reader's present, encourages further discussions to take place outside of the world of the novel. It is no wonder that this balancing act of simplistic story line and big political message has attracted the likes of Steven Speilberg for a movie adaptation.

The novel also acts as a solid introduction to the insecurity of making friends online, a whole spectrum of 90s nostalgia (I was particularly excited when understanding a reference to Cowboy Bebop), dictatorship governments and monopoly ownership. The 'good guy' being an unmistakable Bill Gates figure, opposing military ruling powers in the fictional 'IOI'.

Hardback / Audio