Ready Player One - Summarized for Busy People: Based on the Book by Ernest Cline

By Goldmine Reads

This book summary and analysis is created for individuals who want to extract the essential contents and are too busy to go through the full version. This book is not intended to replace the original book. Instead, we highly encourage you to buy the full version.

The year is 2044, and humankind has retreated into the virtual world.

Wade Watts escapes the ugliness of the real world by spending most of the day inside OASIS—the virtual dreamland where you can turn your imagination to reality, the adventure playground where you can visit any of the thousands of existing worlds.

Like all other OASIS users, Wade dreams of finding the Easter egg left by creator James Halliday. Whoever solves Halliday's fiendish riddles and reaches the egg will be granted immense fortune and supreme power in OASIS.

Years pass and millions fail. Over time, players all over the world become erudite of the things Halliday had loved: the 80s pop culture. Among these players is Wade, who is more than happy to simply recite Devo lyrics and play Pac-Man with fellow enthusiasts.

But one day, he comes upon the first Key. Suddenly, the world, which has long been quiet about the Hunt, begins to watch. Thousands of competitors scramble, including a powerful organization that will do anything in order to get to the prize.

For Wade, to survive means to win, but to do so, he will have to stand up and go out into the real world—a place he has long been trying to escape.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Goldmine Reads
• Release date: Jun 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386036753

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Wade Watts was born into a world of war, famine, and climate change. The downfall of the civilization of the bygone era is near, and for salvation, humankind has turned to OASIS—a computer program built for all in which imagination is transformed into virtual reality.

When the creator of OASIS passes away, his great fortune is left behind. With no successor, he has willed everything to the person who can discover the Easter egg he placed in OASIS. The players all around the world then scramble to solve his riddle—high schooler Wade Watts among them. When he finds a key mentioned in the riddle, he learns that great fortune and fame bring great peril, for the powerful are willing to go lengths in order to win the prize.

SETTINGS

Ready Player One alternates between the physical world and OASIS' virtual one.

The physical world has become a bleak place. The oil and energy crises have unemployed and stranded billions of people. The crises have also led to numerous wars for resources. Majority of the remaining population lives in starvation and destitution. The announcement of the Easter egg has reached the people's newsfeeds which were once filled with news of a new epidemic or another nuclear attack. It is very obvious why people have run away from the real world and retreated to OASIS' dreamland.

The virtual world of OASIS is unlike the rigid physical reality. World hopping is quite expensive, but essential services like virtual school systems are provided without cost. OASIS is a land that promises endless possibilities for people who can afford to leave the starter planet: worlds where the laws of physics are malleable and worlds that can only exist in science fiction—anything that can be coded into the computer is possible.

Throughout the novel, the virtual world of OASIS is always painted to be more preferable over the real world. The physical reality is restrictive and destitute, and it could never compare to OASIS. However, it is evident that events in virtual reality also bring consequences in real life. One can only run away from these consequences for so long—one cannot truly escape from them.

PLOT ANALYSIS

At its core, the novel is a classic tale of one hero's quest. Protagonist Wade Watts is portrayed as an archetypal citizen of 2044 Earth. He is an overweight geek with only a small circle of friends. He lives in a shabby trailer park in the outskirts of Oklahoma City. He is poor, and he has insufficient credits for quests required to level up or for the latest avatar skins. Despite being a typical protagonist rising from poverty to fame and fortune, Wade Watts' character exceeds the limitations of his environment. He discovers a key mentioned in the first riddle, and he instantly becomes famous. The wealth he acquires allows him to leave the starter world and explore other planets within OASIS. He collects relics which prove to be helpful in his journey, and he meets secondary characters that aid him in obstacles impossible to overcome on his own.

The novel receives distinction neither because of its plot nor because of its themes shown through the 80s culture in dreamy virtual worlds existing within a dystopian reality; Ready Player One is considered exceptional because of Ernest Cline's masterful manner of exploring them.

ABOUT THIS BOOK SUMMARY

This book summary serves as a guide to Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. No text of the actual book is included, so if you prefer, you may purchase a copy before you proceed.

This guide can be separated into two primary categories: a section that you can refer to as you read the actual book and another that you can delve into after. The guides to the novel's settings and its characters will both prove to be useful as you read the book. A summary of each chapter will also offer a brief review of events and some degree of insight regarding them. On the other hand, the sections discussing the novel's themes, its symbolism, as well as its analysis should all be read only after finishing the book. They contain spoilers and some commentary on several sections of the book you will want to have read before.

SUMMARY OF CHARACTERS

Wade Owen Watts/Parzival – the gunter who finds the first clue in Halliday’s Easter egg hunt

James Halliday/Anorak – the multibillionaire who created OASIS

Alive – aunt of Wade Watts

Mrs. Gilmore – a kind woman much older than Wade and who also lives in his stack

Aech – initially Wade’s only friend and later on becomes his best

I-rok – an aspiring gunter who hangs around the Basement

Ogden Morrow/Great and Powerful Og – business partner and best friend of Halliday

Acererak, the Lich King – boss at the final stage of The Tomb of Horrors

Art3mis –blogger and gamer girl, the gunter Wade has a crush on

Daito – a Japanese gunter among the High Five

Shoto – younger brother of Daito who also made the High Five

Kira Underwood/Leucosia – quintessential geek girl and wife of Morrow

Nolan Sorrento – Head of Operations for the Innovative Online Industries