"Ready Player One" is an intensely nerdy, dystopian, cyberpunk-ish novel full of references to popular culture, particularly from the 80s. So it's a ton of fun if you fit the demographic. I am definitely near the centre of that demographic and so, unsurprisingly, I stayed up rather late one night this week to read the whole book in one sitting.

I'm not sure if the book is "good" in the literary sense but I loved it, and the premise is to some degree plausible. The world in the book is almost completely broken, but there is a fully immersive MMORPG called the OASIS which much of the world plays (free-to-play, monetized with in-game purchases). The game is accessed with a virtual reality headset and haptic gloves. Such technology already exists and many companies (including my own) are rushing to be the first to create a successful product around these next generation interfaces. People in the book use the game for education, business and communication, not just entertainment. This already happens on a smaller scale in traditional MMORPGs like World of Warcraft. It is easy to imagine something like the OASIS coming into existence in my lifetime.

The book reads like a movie, so it's no surprise that Warner Brothers snapped up the film rights immediately. In March 2015 it was announced that Stephen Spielberg has been tapped to direct. It should be a good show!