Ready Player One: A Novel

At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. 

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. 

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.   

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape. 
 
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?



Just started this on audiobook.  It's a good one as far as dystopian stories go.  I like the way the kid protects himself from the rest of the world. I recommend it as strongly as my coworker did to me.

On a lighter note:

Naughty fish!

I didn't take many pics today.  Didn't take my walk to start the day.  I watched Fauwlty Towers and read underground comics. I'll use one for  an introduction soon.

I use to think R. Crumb was the only underground cartoonist. Wrong.

I need to go back and finish the Thanksgiving trip to San Antonio.  You may remember I mentioned we went to see H's sister after having turkey with my folks.

Believe it or not, the youngest is the most photogenic of the group in the morning.

 This is my brother-in-laws backyard. The horseshoe pot on the far right. The bon fire in the middle, the gazabo and fountain (or is it a Catholic shrine) on the right.

My bro in law thinks he's Caesar Malon, the dog whisper.  He's more of The Mutt Whisperer.

Allow me to introduce the entertainment: Pinto and his sister, Cindy. H's parents have Cindy.

Honest to gawd, we had been to a gun show that afternoon.  My first and last, I swear. The gun was to try out the no-load bullets. They don't have any gunpowder.  They shoot squirrels in their backyard.

When I get time to myself, I like to draw, aka Doodle.  I have a box full of pens and pencils.  I use the magazine to have models to draw.  I also cut and paste things out of the magazine into my sketch book. 

Did you know I can sing?

So, how am I?

Head usually has a laptop or an android phone in her hand.  She is a big social net worker.

Who pissed in his Post Toasties?

Head's parents came over for dinner.  We make home-made Mexican.

I made this, steak in rancher o sauce.  MMMMMM!

We bought them doggy stairs so Cindy can get on and off their bed, they are too old to pick them up.

Eddie loves his Yorkie.  She was abused and is crazy.  He is the only one she likes.

If we say we love them, why do we do this to them?

The fuzzy dog is their mom, Bella.

Our niece did H's nails. A Christmas theme.  Little presents.

 

 We played a board game. No one was board, I'll tell you that.

Bottom line, we have fun. No doubt about it.

Okay, that's a lot to take in.  Let's get to the chase.  H shared your text tonight, the one about visiting your Aunt.  Bummer. I'm depressed and I wasn't even there. But I'm all about he positive, the up-side of life. When ever you doubt your sanity, I hope you are at a place where you can watch the following video. Keep in mind, I didn't make it for you. It's not staged. It's the real me. So watch it and ask yourself 'who's crazy?'

Be good to yourself and...Fuck P Diddy!  "She's nastied up!"