Ready Player One, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of our Online Book Club discussion of Ready Player One!

Did you absolutely love this section? I was totally sucked into the action and adventure from the very first chapter. How about you? I didn't think that I was going to enjoy the book so much from the very beginning. 

Some of the most striking things to me about Wade's world were the Stacks. I couldn't imagine what that would actually look like. It seemed incredibly dangerous and precarious. I can understand them as a space-saving measure, but not for anything else. What did you think of the Stacks? Would you be brave enough to climb to the top of one? 

I also found it hard to get my head around the fact that Wade didn't interact with the outside world really at all. It took me a little while to really understand that he stayed in his hideout and didn't go outside or interact with people outside of OASIS. I know that OASIS is realistic, but still, I can't imagine not getting fresh air or moving around. Don't you think people would get headaches or feel sick in some way after spending so much time in a virtual world? 

How shocked were you that Wade was the first to figure out the first clue? Were you surprised by the challenge he had to undertake to get the Copper Key? I thought his challenge of playing Joust with that creature, Acererak, was really interesting, but his challenge to defeat the first gate was really, really cool. The recreation of Halliday's childhood bedroom was awesome, and the fact that Wade had to reenact WarGames was so unexpected. Having the challengers reenact a movie ensured that they had incredible knowledge of the things Halliday loved. If you want to get up to speed with Wade, make sure to check out a copy of WarGames from the library, and check out the above movie trailer to get a better idea of the challenge that Wade undertook. 

What do you think of Art3mis? Do you think she and Wade will have to work together? How do you think Aech will figure into the whole challenge? What do you think Art3mis and Aech are like in real life? 

This section ends with the Sixers threatening Wade and blowing up his house. Then, Wade moves to Columbus and vows to find the egg. What do you think is going to happen next? How will he outsmart the Sixers? How will Wade change now that he has money and notoriety? 

If you were confused by all the pop culture and gaming references in the book, you might want follow Wade and Aech and start reading back issues of Starlog magazine. You should probably try some Dungeons & Dragons, too. 

I hope you enjoyed this section. So many things happened that I couldn't discuss them all. What was a part that you enjoyed that I didn't mention? Make sure to let me know in the comments section. And, make sure to read Level 2, chapters 17–28, before joining us next week. 

I can't wait to hear from you!