Ready Player One

One of the most enjoyable books I have read in ages. People often use the term “geek culture” in connection with this book, however, if you grew up in the Eighties and played any computer games, this is basically just childhood. There is a strong US-centric skew to the culture of the book, not too surprisingly, so those of us who were on the other side of the Atlantic might miss some of the references, but the shear volume of detail means it manages to touch on games, movies and music that are universal.

The book is quickly paced, fun and manages to encompass a wealth of detail without hanging around to dwell on anything for too long. There a couple of plot points that could maybe have done with some polish (an event in the first act should really have been more traumatic for the protagonist, and the discovery of a crucial artifact is perhaps just a bit too coincidental), however these do not detract from the overall story.

In any event, regardless of the above, it prompted me to write my first Goodreads review, so it is obviously doing something right.