Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I learned of this through the Geek Girls Book Club on Twitter (and the founder's blog) and Facebook. I joined in December, this is the book for January. Be forewarned, if you are not a nerd or geek, or a child of the 80's, much of this book's charms will likely be lost on you. I enjoyed it immensely, but some of the inside jokes about video games were lost on me. I actually learned a few things about computer and video game history while reading it.

Ready Player One takes places in 2044, it is a world that might actually come to pass if the economy and environmental issues that we face today aren't dealt with. We have depleted the fossil fuels and most of the world's population is living in refugee camps in major cities. There are no jobs to be had, so most live off government rations. The only escape from the harsh reality of life is OASIS, a free immersive online experience. Kids can attend school for free within the virtual universe. OASIS has replaced what we know as the internet today, Second Life is similar in concept, though not in scope. The creators of this world are James Halliday and Ogden Morrow. Halliday dies and has a very unique and interesting will. He will leave control of OASIS, his company, and his entire fortune to the OASIS player that can find an Easter egg he has hidden in the game. (For those that don't play video games, an Easter egg is an item or scene that is hidden in the programming for a player to find as a bonus.) It is like a giant internet scavenger hunt, geo-caching on an infinite scale. The player must solve a series of riddles to access three keys and gain access to the egg. At the opening of the tale, it has been five years since Halliday's death and there has been one progress.

The story is told from the perspective of Wade (aka Parzival), the main character, and the eventual winner of the prize. No spoiler here, we are told this in the first few pages. Even knowing the eventual outcome, I got wrapped up in the tale and the character's adventures. I admit that hearing many of my favorite shows, movies, and video games mentioned didn't hurt my enjoyment. There were some games that I never played as a kid, that I now want to find a copy so that I may enjoy them now.

The people that are hunting the Easter egg become known as gunters. In addition to individuals, you have clans of gunters that pool their resources and information. The biggest antagonist is the mega-corporation IOI, there entire mission is to win the egg and take control of OASIS. They plan on charging a monthly fee and adding all sorts of building restrictions. Needless to say, the majority of OASIS users are against this. Many of them basically grew up in this virtual world, this is where they hang out with friends, attend school, even have jobs. IOI gaining control would mean OASIS becoming a place only the wealthy could afford.

Mostly this book is a straight-forward science fiction adventure, though Cline briefly touches on the issues of the economy and environment. Another issue that comes up is the pervasive presence of technology in our lives, how much is too much? Social networks and smart phones have already altered the way people interact, and many are concerned about the changes. Cline mentions both sides of the argument in passing when it's relevant to the story, but draws no conclusion.

I confess that much of my enjoyment of this book came from the feelings of nostalgia it brought forth. At one point, laserdisc players are mentioned, this excited me because my husband and I were the only people I ever knew that actually owned one. Cline's descriptions of the various virtual worlds and actual video games were quite detailed. I'm sure that if I opened up one of the old games described, it would look just like he detailed it in the book. The characters do not feel flat and you can care about them by the end. I actually look forward to the day when the internet is an immersive experience and we have moved past the flat web pages of the present.

Happy nerdy reading all!

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

Baum continues following the wacky exploits of Dorothy and her friends through various faery worlds in the fourth installment of the Oz books. We begin with Dorothy arriving to California on a train, which is inconsiderately five hours late to the train station. A young man named Zeb has been awaiting her arrival, she must wake him so that they can be on their way to the ranch where Uncle Henry is awaiting her.

In this volume, Dorothy's adventures begin when the horse and buggy in which she is riding is swallowed by a crevice created by an earthquake. She, Zeb, the horse (Jim), and her kitten (Eureka) fall for hours on end. They slow to the speed of floating as they approach the "center" of the Earth. There have reached a new magical world, it is filled with glass buildings that grew and plant people with no emotions and very short lives. These people are called the Mangaboos. The Mangaboos blame Dorothy and friends for the falling rocks that destroyed parts of the houses.

Shortly after Dorothy and Zeb arrive, something else falls from the sky. Upon closer inspection Dorothy and Zeb discover that it is a balloon. Inside the balloon is Dorothy's old friend, The Wizard of Oz. The current leader of the Mangaboos gives them a tour of the gardens, and shows them his replacement, whom he is avoiding picking in order to extend his own life. The Wizard and Dorothy do not think this is right, so they pick her. Despite Dorothy and the Wizard saving the rightful leader, the Mangaboos sentence the party to death. The entire group must flee.

The group heads upwards in an attempt to reach home, they travel up a winding spiral staircase inside of the mountain. When they exit the other side, they are in a beautiful valley that has a beautiful village in it. However, they can see no people or animals. They hear birds, but don't see them.

This book is as full of fun and weirdness as the others, but also shares in their formulaic nature. I am still quite enjoying them and the subtle humor and word choice. I did find this one oddly titled as they barely spend any time in Oz during the story. I am going to finish the whole series, but I don't think I'll continue to write a review for each volume as I have had much the same to say about all the volumes so far.

Happy reading!

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Welcome back, I finished Ozma of Oz last night, but I was unable to due a review due to the fact that I had to do some school work at home. Kids, just remember when you are an adult it's your job (not your school work or chores) that get in the way of fun and hobbies. I writing my review before work, so we'll see how well it goes with a caffeine deprived brain.

Our tale opens with Dorothy and her Uncle Henry on a different kind of adventure, one that I am jealous of. They are traveling to visit Australia, Uncle Henry has been ordered by the doctor to get some rest as he is ill from over-working. Sadly, the voyage isn't uneventful and they must sail through a severe storm. Dorothy loses track of her uncle and instead of searching for him in their berth she heads up on deck. She is washed overboard with a hen, who we later learn is named Bill, and a wooden chicken coop.

After being adrift for awhile, she notices the hen, who oddly enough begins to talk. This makes Dorothy aware that they have come to a fairyland, as chickens can't talk back home. Dorothy and Bill (or Billina as Dorothy renames her) soon come to a beach with a strange phrase written in the sand, "Beware the Wheelers". She finds a tree with lunch and dinner pails growing on it and picks one as she is very hungry. The Wheelers chase her into some rocks where she finds Tik Tok, a wind-up mechanical man.

Dorothy's adventure in Eve (yes Eve, not Oz) truly begins after rescuing Tik Tok. She finds the last royal family member and becomes her captive. Princess Langwidere has a collection of heads, and she wants Dorothy's. Ozma, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion come from Oz to rescue the Queen of Eve and her 10 children from the Gnome King and manage to rescue Dorothy in the meantime.

As with the other Oz books, fantastical and absurd events abound. This book was just as enjoyable as the first two.

The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum

This is the second book in the Oz series. The Scarecrow and Tin Woodsman from the first installment return to share further adventures with the reader. We are introduced to a new young man named Tip who is indentured to Mombie, an evil witch.

The Scarecrow is the king of the Emerald City, and the Tin Woodsman, aka Nick Chopper, is the emperor of Winkies. The action truly begins when Tip tries to scar Mombi by building a man out of wood and a pumpkin. She is not scared and brings him to life with a magic powder. Tip decides to run away when the consequence for this prank is being turned to stone. He take the fake man, Jack Pumpkinhead, with him when he runs away.

In the Emerald City, the Scarecrow faces a revolt lead by General Jinjur.  The army is made up entirely out of girls, their only weapons being their femaleness and knitting needles. They take over the city easily, making it necessary for the Scarecrow to flee to the Tin Woodsman's kingdom.

This novel is as full of obscurities as the first one. I am still trying to determine how much is satire of that attitudes of the time. Oddly enough, there is a huge plot twist in this book, something I found very strange for the time in which it was written. I have already begun  Ozma of Oz, I'm looking forward to see if Baum can surprise me again.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

I cannot count the number of times that I have seen the movie "The Wizard of Oz," I can say that it's been so many times I don't really need to watch it anymore. I remember when I was a kid it came on tv every Christmas and we watched it a lot. Between my love of the movie and fantasy novels, it is quite strange that it has taken me until now to read the original work by L. Frank Baum.

As so often lately, I listened to the book while driving to work. It is a very short book compared to many that I read and I finished it in just two days of driving, about 4 hours.

For those readers that might not be familiar with either the book or the movie, let me tell you what happened. No, that's too much, let me sum up.

The story begins with a young farm girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto on a farm in the middle of a Kansas plain. (If you've ever been to Kansas you are aware that it is actually one giant plain, but all places have their conceits.) She lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, on account of her parents passing. It is a rather dull and joyless place, except for her time with Toto. One day, while they are all hard at work, a tornado approaches. Dorothy does not make it to the storm cellar with her Aunt and Uncle because Toto (rather foolishly) runs and hides under Dorothy's bed. Dorothy chases him in an attempt to save her closest friend.

This turns out to be a mistake in judgement as the tornado lifts the entire house off its foundation with Dorothy and Toto still inside. This is a regular occurrence in Kansas, don't you know? When the house lands, she is in Oz. It is a vibrant and colorful place. Dorothy's adventures begin immediately when she encounters strange people, the Munchkins. Unbeknownst to Dorothy, her house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. She is much praised for this accidental homicide, which actually befuddles her but she accepts the compliments as graciously as possible for she is a polite girl.

Despite the wonders of Oz, the only thing that Dorothy wants is to return home to her family. She sets off on a journey to the Emerald City, the capital of Oz. Along the way, she meets three companions: the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion. They face many dangers on the way to the Emerald City, but safely reach their destination. Some of my favorite trials are ones that they left out of the more familiar film version.

As a child, I may have been on the edge of my seat at some of the misadventures and predicaments that the heroes get into, but as an adult I often found the situations amusing. I do not know if this is due to my knowledge of the outcome from repeated exposures to the movie, or my knowledge of the genre as a whole. Baum caused me to laugh out loud several times in amusement. The ending of the book takes Dorothy on many more adventures than the neat movie ending. I quite prefer the more complex ending from the book to the movie's conclusion.

Happy reading!