In the year 2044, everyone is given the chance to escape reality through a programmed video game utopia called the "OASIS", where one can be whoever they want to be and go on adventures with new people from around the world just by putting on a visor (which kind of looks like Google Cardboard according to screenshots from the movie adaptation). When the game's main programmer, James D. Halliday, passes away, he has no friends or family to leave his will to, therefore leaving it out to the public. The will says that Halliday hid a specific kind of Easter Egg hidden within the OASIS, and whoever finds it first (not without finding special keys and opening gates to it) would receive his billion-dollar inheritance.
One of Halliday's nerdiest fanboys, Wade Watts ("Parzival" in the OASIS), goes on and finds the first key, which causes an uproar among the public, including the Sixers-- the equivalent to "anti-fun"police-- who would do anything to achieve the Easter Egg, even if they must kill Wade/Parzival in real life. As a result, Wade/Parzival and his friends Art3mis, Aech, Daito, and Shoto risk their lives searching and fighting for the Easter Egg.
At first, I felt like the story was taking forever with the backstory details of the setting and even some of the characters, but looking back, it really did help create a plot rich in detail (it's also a very good example of the eighth rules of Vonnegut's 8 Rules of Writing). I've noticed recurring themes on escaping reality vs. facing it and judgement on someone's identity (ex. SPOILER: Wade is leery of meeting the beautiful Art3mis in real life in fear of meeting an obese, middle-aged man named "Chuck" instead, but he never thinks twice that his best friend Aech--who's like the cool big brother to him-- is in real life a shy girl named "Helen").
Overall, this was an enjoyable story, and I'd especially recommend it to anyone who's into geeky, nostalgic 1980s culture.
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