Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is definitely a novel for sci-fi lovers. As a person who tolerates sci-fi, it was really hard to tear through the pages like I had originally planned to. In the prologue, us readers got a background of what is going on in the book. I am eternally grateful for the information because without it, I would be so lost.
While reading I couldn't help but think about the saying, "Art mimics reality." This book is an exaggerated example of what the real world is coming to. Cline created a story that showed how people used virtual reality to escape their real world problems. "The ongoing energy crisis. Catastrophic climate change. Widespread famine, poverty, and disease. Half a dozen wars." (p.1, paragraph 2) In real life we use our smartphones to do everything. I can't recall how many times I've heard the phrase, "I hate talking to people in person, I'd rather text." It has gotten so bad that people, including myself, will use smartphones as a way to avoid conversations. Phones were invented to have communication, not avoid it. Cline did a great job using a seemingly off-topic concept to explain something bigger.
I had an easier time getting into the book. I feel like it would have been a lot harder if they didn’t set up the background, but the story about Halliday was interesting and I am curious to learn how he finds the “Easter egg”. I didn't even think about our phones when reading the book, but that is a great point. Our phones and social media are our Oasis. Most people, myself included, spend a lot of time on social media. One study showed teenagers spent 30% of their time on social media. I get this eerie feeling when reading this novel that it could be a good depiction of what the future of humanity holds. All the things you mention are already happening.
ReplyDeleteKate
I had the same issue as you, referring to getting into the book. I am not a big Si-Fi fan either and it took me a good few days to read the 99 pages. As I read further into the book I get more hooked as I was before. The way Cline writes just makes me want to play and be with in OASIS. As for the text itself, it really does represent the world today and I can picture this as our future. With social media playing such a large role in today's society something bigger has to be on its way to take over, like OASIS does in the book.
ReplyDelete