Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One" is a ton of fun, plain and simple. Of all the the cyberpunk I've read, this is easily the most jubilantly delightful, which is something I did not realize I needed. If you want to read a novel about a video game to find Easter eggs that is chock-full of actual Easter eggs of the best 80's nostalgia has to offer, then please do yourself a favor and read this book.

In addition to the fast-paced narrative, Cline offers some interesting explorations/dissections of the ego of a nerd. As the novel's premise hinges on players winning a game created by the brilliant programmer Halliday, the game reflects the inner workings of his own mind and tastes. In his life, Halliday was a recluse who struggled with most every form of IRL communication. By launching the game at his death, he kicks off a worldwide incentive for others to finally understand him. For those who anxiously struggle to connect with others, to be understood is everything.

So finally, knowledge of D&D, Monty Python, science fiction, vintage video games, and Rush are all superbly important. Being a nerd means, at least to me, that you have probably spent significant chunks of your life learning the most ridiculously specific details of (cooler) imagined worlds, to the point where you sometimes struggle with social interactions in the (lamer) real world. While Halliday was alone in life, in death he creates a world that validates and rewards like-minded, awkward souls, and this is kind of beautiful.

That all said, 80's pop culture is more than my favorite bar trivia category, so it was really fun playing along with protagonist Wade/Parzival. Furthermore, as much of modern-day 80's nostalgia is a bizarre longing of past imagined futures (i.e., Blade Runner, Neuromancer, etc.), it was fascinating to read of a dystonian future's stakes hinging on nostalgia of imagined dystopian futures. Talk about meta.

The only criticism I have is that while Wade is an underdog in many ways, he is also undeniably a Mary Sue. He is too inexplicably good at too many skills, and while it moves the plot in exciting and unexpected directions, it is a factor that leaves his character underdeveloped. Of the High Five, Aech was the most fascinating character, whose final reveal left me cheering and shooketh, as the kids say.

Overall, I would still definitely recommend "Ready Player One." It is an immersive page turner that will make you forget to do things like eat and go outside, not unlike a good video game.