Spoiler free..
This book does not only have an amazing cover but also a genius context. It revolves around a boy (I forgot his name D:) and he lives in this twisted future where due to global warming the worlds in a crappy situation. Everyone is now living most their lives in an online mmo styled game. This game named Oasis appropriately takes control of everything, kids go to school in it, people care more about their Oasis appearence than real life, people just literally live in the Oasis. Now the creator of the Oasis, upon his death sets all his wealth of billion millions on the line as he leaves a message, setting a treasure hunt for clues across the land. The first person to obtain 3 keys by solving clues and beating the many challenges will recieve the treasure. Now the persona in this book tries to finally set a good life for him by taking part in the hunt for the treasure but on his way has the journey of a life time. Now whilst thats interesting enough, don't forget the persona also has his real life and the events that happen in that parallel to the Oasis hunt, are just breath taking.
Being a fan of retro video games and adventure stories, this book really gave me a surprise. Its the alternative reality which is really interesting, I was amazed at every step where I got to learn about the world through small bits in between the narrative. Also the geeky video game side of me was damn pleased, I was nailing video game references at each step and it was just a fun time. If your like me when you see this cover, hear its about an adventure and inspired from an Atari 5200 game where the winner of a treasure hunt gets a real prize, if your like me, you will immediately say "Waterworld, fireworld, earthworld". Remember those games? This book could not be less inspired by them.
"Its as if Indiana Jones had a movie in World of Warcraft with a more interesting story"
One more thing I want to mention is the massive amount of 90's and 80's references. The game uses its premise to seriously set a foundation of references from those old decades. It does this by making the creator of the Oasis a big 80-90's fan and so the treasure hunt can many-a-times use the creators love of the old decades into the treasure hunt. This premise is so well done and was a great idea, I was born in the 90's and even then I adored all the references. Whilst I didn't get all of the movie and TV ones from the older ages, I still liked them and ended up googling some to see how true the book actually was to them. Yes, the book goes a bit beyond references and I will not spoil it so read for yourself :).
The books really intriguing to read as a technology fan because it has things which make us ponder about future technology, example there are gloves and suits you can buy which you use to control your Oasis avatar with. The way the gloves work, the way the suit works and how the technology is so advanced in the world, that a laptop found in a dumpster is strong enough to run Oasis interests me. Being a technology geek I laughed really hard at some moments where over 10Ghz of CPU was looked upon as 'weak'. Further on the technology side and what we can do with greater technology in terms of video games is really shown in some creative ideas which I will not spoil as they are big plot points. I am sure you will be waiting for some of the things in this book to be made in real life.
In conclusion, this is one of my favourite books ever. Right up there with the Harry Potters, Stephen Kings, Darren Shans and whatnot. Its a brilliant little gem which I hope many people read, if your a gamer, retro fan, big tv guy, technology buff, even a simple adventure fan. Do not miss out, this is one adventure you should log into.
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