Ready Player One

A novel-quest, a romance novel, a virtual space opera taking place in a universe where wizards fight giant Japanese robots, whole planets are modeled after “Blade Runner,” and “DeLoreans” fly at the speed of light.

In 2044, reality is grim. Like almost all of humanity, Wade Watts escapes the dreadful everyday life into the expanding virtual utopia of OASIS, where you can be anyone and live, play, and love on any of the tens of thousands of planets. Like the rest of humanity, Wade dreams of finding the best lottery ticket in the world: somewhere in OASIS its creator, James Halliday, hid several devilishly complicated puzzles, and whoever solves them will gain a fortune—and power over the virtual world as well. For years, millions have been trying in vain to find Halliday’s puzzles, of which it is only known that they are based on his favorite pop culture of the late 20th century. Millions obsessively study this culture, and Wade is no exception: he passionately discusses the film masterpieces of John Hughes with his friends, plays Pac-Man, and quotes songs by the band Devo.

One fine day, Wade stumbles upon a puzzle. His name becomes known all over the world, and thousands of competitors drop everything to battle the hero for the solution and deprive him of the prize—even at the cost of real murder. To win, Wade has to leave his comfortable virtual existence and step into the real world, where real life and real love are waiting for him.