Disclaimer: Spoilers Ahead.

Let's begin by sidetracking with a blurb:



It will be a lie to say I picked up Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, because Patrick Rothfuss called it "completely fricking awesome". I didn't even notice that blurb until after I finished the story and started reading the miscellaneous stuff and fine prints.

Nevertheless, Patrick Rothfuss was right. Consider this: Patrick writes fantasy, and is an advocate of doing things right regardless of how long it takes. His first book was published in 2007 and the second in 2011, and both were gigantic compared to most in the genre. Here we have Ready Player One, a science fiction half the length of The Name Of The Wind, and he found it awesome. So Ernest Cline must have done something right.



The experience of reading this book and playing a RPG game is similar. The game begins with somewhat lengthy storytelling, to set the stage and goals. Then, you will need to learn about your characters, how they look like and how they function. If you are looking for an instant run and gun action packed shooter, you will be disappointed. But don't fret, remain seated and you will be served the main course, eventually.

The story draws heavily from our world. While not a major theme of the story, it examined the energy crisis we might be facing soon, as well as our existence on this world. It also addressed the issue of escapism, made easier with technological advances. But the highlight, as promised by the title, will be about gaming. MMORPG, to be exact.

If you were born in the early 80s, you might have had the luxury of experiencing MMORPG from its infancy to young-adult stage as you attend college and university. Generations before you will have difficulties to kick start online gaming due to offline commitments (and lack of knowledge in PC), and generations after you won't grow up in time to live and breath the days of MMORPG's making.

Which is to say, you will most likely enjoy this book, if at some point of your life you chose leveling up your character over meals and schools. The same can be said for those who were already a teenager during the 80s - this book is a tribute to that period of lifestyle.

There's a parody of Jobs-Wozniak partnership in the story. Parody, because I believe the roles were reversed, as in, which one died of cancer and which one was the computing nerd responsible for their creation. It's not meant to be funny, but I can't help but smile as I read through them.

Think of it as a window, for you to take a peek at what a real gamer really is. It's okay if you are not a computer nerd or gaming freak. Like Patrick's The Kingkiller Chronicle, this is a memoir. The passion in the book, if translated into energy, will set you on spontaneous combustion. A recommended read for anyone who obsessed over their hobbies.

I read it last year and it reads like a glorified Japanese light novel or a US fanfiction. I enjoyed reading it but it's not something I'll remember too much about or read it again.

Maybe because I was exposed to something similar full of geeky references, pop culture, music, games and films back in the days when the internet was mere HTML text and you could only get subbed anime in VHS tapes. It was the very first "I write myself as the hero in my favorite show" Mary-Sue type stories/fiction that I was truly impressed with.

http://www.eyrie.net/UF/

If you browse through the links you'll see the sheer enormous volumes of works the series have grown into spanning what, nearly 20 years now.

Perhaps I liked it better because of my gaming experience In a way, it's a path that I once took but the stakes weren't the same - not even close.