Wade Watts, known as Parzival in Oasis, lives in the "stacks" (funny to librarians), where trailers and other mobile homes are piled on top of each other by a crane, held together by a grid. (A bit like the favela slums in Brazil.) His parents have died, so he lives with an aunt that is unable to care for him, so he has all his valuables stored in an uncrushed van in a pile of junk cars (fossil fuels just about used up, so cars are unaffordable). He has made the little money he has from fixing computers and of course he loves to play games in the Oasis.
James Halliday, the man who created the Oasis dies and leaves his fortune and the Oasis to the one who can find Halliday's Easter egg, a hidden treasure within the Oasis. He leaves a video for the first clue to three keys that people spend years trying to decipher. Halliday (and the author) grew up in the 1980's, he loves the decade, so everyone is learning about the 80's reading the books, watching the films, playing the games. This is the fun part for anyone who lived through the 80's. I went through college before Dungeons and Dragons came out. I would have been caught up in it, but by the time I was in the work world, I didn't have time for that kind of thing. I did play a bit of the early games - Galaxy, Asteroids, Pac Man, and some very primitive computer games, so I understood the vector graphic references. I watched my son get into games with Game Boy, and things like Donkey Kong and Zelda, so I learned a bit about games. But it is not just games that get referenced, it is food, clothing styles, people, etc. of the decade. So it is a fun period piece.
Our main character Parzival is the first to find the first key and gate, and the clue he needs pops up in his head in Latin class. He has a virtual friend - H - who he "hangs out with" in Oasis, playing games together, etc. He has been following the blog of Art3mis, a witty Gunter. Gunters are those that have devoted themselves to egg hunting. Though he doesn't tell these two how to find the key, these two find it soon after him, then followed by Shoto and Daito, two brothers from Japan. But after that it is the Sixers who find the key next and fill up the scoreboard. Sixers work for the nasty IOI corporation, which of course wants control of the Oasis, so has created an army to find the clues and play through the games each key and gate require.
As usual, after writing down my own thoughts, I go check and see what else I should know about the book or author. Ernest Cline was born in 1972 and this is his first novel, which includes an Easter egg of it's own with a DeLorean as the prize. Wikipedia doesn't say if anyone has gotten it. There is a new book coming out later this year, so I will have to check it out.
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