Saturday, February 01, 2014

New favorite book: Ready Player One

CM recommended a book to me: "Ready Player One".  After I got halfway through, I told him that it may as well be renamed "Book for Niniane".

This is now the best book I've read.


It is about a post-apocalyptic world where people live in stacks of trailers.  All fossil fuels have been exhausted.  People live in poverty, and spend all their time plugged into a virtual world.  They use visors and haptic gloves to interface with this world.

It has everything I would want in a book.  A virtual world with avatars.  Character development and self-actualization along Maslow's hierarchy.  Having admin abilities in a massive game / simulation used by billions of people.  Playing a perfect game of Ms Pac Man.  Educational games that teach math in an entertaining fashion to schoolchildren.  Fighting off an enemy until the fight makes you re-evaluate your goals and take bold risks which sacrifice your own self-interest.

I talked to CM about the book for an hour.  Other friends kept coming by and saying, "What are you guys talking about so intently?  STILL the same book?"

4 comments:

elliottback said...

It's a fantastic novel! You might like Snow Crash as well.

Unknown said...

Did you find the easter egg? There was a whole real contest paralleling the one in the book. I won't spoil the ending but you should read about it after you've checked out the contest yourself.

Julian M said...

I read it based on your post, and I was hooked - it's really good - thanks for the suggestion.

Phei Ku said...

Spielberg is bringing this book to the big screen now.