April 2016
Ernest Cline is the author of two science fiction novels: Ready Player One and Armada.
Ready Player One was both his debut novel and is my favorite of the two. It takes place in a dystopian future, and most of humanity escapes into the virtual world called the OASIS, where anything is as you want it to be on any number of planets. The creator of the OASIS, James Halliday, has passed, and deemed that whoever solves the various puzzles hidden within the game and finds the…golden ticket if you will…will inherit his massive fortune. Competition ensues and of course there is much at stake, including life and death. And, on top of it all, solving the puzzles requires an extensive knowledge of all things pop culture from Halliday’s favorite era: the 80s. It’s a nice little reminiscent walk down memory lane.
Rather than people & events popping into a virtual world as in the first book, Armada is where the game pops into the real world: out of nowhere, aliens invade Earth–and they are the very same aliens from a popular alien invasion simulator war game called Armada. It’s a coming-of-age story featuring a long-lost father…and if you’re familiar with Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Dune, and other classic science fiction stories, then this one is a fun read.
So as I was on one of my many visits to Barnes & Noble, I noticed the banner:
Ready Player One is one of my all-time favorite science fiction novels, so of course I marked my calendar and could not wait to meet Ernest Cline and have him sign my copies!!
He gave an excellent talk describing his author’s story, from his screenwriting days for Fanboys, to how he took 6-7 years to write Ready Player One just for fun with no intention on publishing it, to having to write Armada within just a couple of years (people actually expecting a book from you changes timelines) amidst landing a movie deal for Ready Player One which will be directed by Steve Spielberg.
And then finally, of course, he signed my books and I shook his hand!! I was giddy. Squeeeeeee…!!!
MTFBWYA!