Most of us have had that thought, at one point or the other, and usually the solution is to simply get off your butt and take a walk outside. If you’re really hardcore, you’ll do it without once touching your phone.
Now think about this: What if there was nothing to go outside to? What if the real world was such an ugly, dilapidated place, that the illusion of a manufactured reality seemed like a much more desirable alternative?
For Wade Watts, the protagonist of Ernest Cline’s debut novel, Ready Player One, this isn’t just an idle thought. In the year 2044, humanity has reached a sort of self-imposed second dark age, and found itself willingly enveloped by a virtual world in which anything is possible, and yet very few are actually content.
Told through a sea of 1980’s games, music and film references, Ready Player One is the story of Wade Watts’ journey to unlocking the greatest puzzle of all. The secret to untold riches and power. The ultimate Easter Egg.
The most interesting thing about this novel is that it is almost as addictive as the virtual world that is its playground. For three whole days, reading my way through this frenetically geeky adventure was my guiltiest pleasure; where the constant waves of nostalgia became something I craved almost as much as wanting to know where the story was headed.
In short, Ernie Cline destroyed my productivity for a few days, and it was done in the most interesting, meticulous, nerdy way possible. I was transported to a world fueled by childhood nostalgia, and by the end, I truly did not want to leave.
So, do you feel too productive (punk)? Not to worry. Ready Player One is the productive nerd’s solution to that. Try it out here if you’re the paper reading kind. I personally don’t know what that is, so I had to do a bit of research in order to find that link for you.
You’re welcome.