I finished this book this past weekend, and I felt it was enough of a fun romp to start a thread. If you're the kind of reader that likes some recognizable geek elements to enjoy in a novel, this one is a clever mash-up of future sci-fi and pop culture nostalgia.

Here's my post about it from another thread:




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For some reason, I felt like Wayne O would enjoy this book.

It got a fairly good reception from critics and fans -- which is kind of satisfying, because it's almost a love-letter to 80's culture when it comes to video game history, movies, shows, etc.

Top Ten Best books in Science Fiction on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000745161&tag=imwan-20

Don't know if that's supposed be a #1 placement or not.

Paperback comes out in June, here's the cover:



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Already read it and enjoyed it greatly.

I knew it! I was feeling mentally connected to you while reading -- a lot of this stuff was from our era.

Still a good read for anybody with a geek culture sensibility.

Sorry about any impure thoughts that crossed over while we were connected.

The untold dark side of the Vulcan Mindmeld.

Yeah, I know, what was that one about Samantha Fox and Tawny Kitaen in Tron bikinis? Keep it to yourself.

But on the plus side, you did help me help TO write a great closing argument for her mock trial competition. Her team won.

The Mrs just picked this up from the library for me. I look forward to reading it!

I hope you enjoy it, Hugh. As I said, it's not trying to be great literature. Just a fast-paced romp through videogame and 1980's culture. There were a couple of cool parts that I thought of you while reading.

I'd like to thank Jay for pointing out this thread for me, and needlessly starting a new thread. What's really sad is that when I was actually a teenager in the 80's, I don't think I was as steeped in the popular culture at the time as author Ernest Cline and his alter ego James Halliday. But this is a fun book! I wonder how much of an obstacle it would be get the rights to all the stuff mentioned in this book? (And I'm only a quarter of the way through.) I'll let you know how I go as I get through this book. It's awfully hard to put down, but unfortunately I have to. Aside from shovelling snow, I'm working on translating this into English.

When Wade finally meets Acererak, and the dead king asks him what he wants, I half-expected to see this:

Getting all the rights to everything to put a movie of this together would be an absolute nightmare. But Dear God I'd love to see it done!
(That's if TPTB even try to stick close to the book.)

In the book's prologue, reference is made to the fanfare of horns that introduces the song "Dead Man's Party," from the 1985 Oingo Boingo album of the same name.

Except that song opens with a guitar line, not horns. The version with the horn intro was the re-recorded version that featured on the 1988 double-album "Boingo Alive."

Long story short, this book sucks.

If characters in a movie just TALK about fictional characters, does the producer still need to pay a copyright fee, or only if they use images? Did Kevin Smith had to pay George Lucas for this scene in Clerks?

No, they can talk about it and ask questions about it. But if he'd need some recordings of songs, shows, video games, etc., that would be where he gets into some serious money. But they might take some account of the type of project it is.

I think maybe they're getting a little more reasonable, realizing that to have infinite life you need to let your properties get used and re-used. They are finally coming out with the Wonder Years TV show, with all the music intact. It will be a pricey set, but I guess they finally got down to negotiating a deal that could work.

One of my all time favorite reads. In the same vein as this ( science fiction and computer tech, nots 80s culture) is 'Daemon' and 'Freedom' by Daniel Suarez. Not as much whimsical fun, and a bit more drama and action, but Highly recommended.

I read through it quickly last night (didn't get much sleep) and finished it. Now I have to go back to my original bookmark and REALLY read the book. If they do make a movie, the ending is going to have to be shortened a bit. To use a Star Wars analogy, in A New Hope, you knew the Rebels won just after Luke got his torpedo into the exhaust vent. In this book, it seems as if Luke had to do two or three different things after firing that shot for his win to be "official."

Also, it's going to be hard to imagine anyone other than Hugo Weaving as Nolan Sorrento.

I liked the story of friendship and love that developed between the five gunters that develop throughout the story. I also like the fact that the greed that at first threatens to tear themselves apart eventually gives way to a teamwork to make sure that the Sixers don't win and that the Oasis remains an oasis for everybody. I also like that the very last puzzle

I read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I agree with the criticism though, that the author does a lot of telling versus showing. I also think think the plot and characterization was thin. But, the 80's nostalgia for geek culture made it so much fun. I can't imagine this book being nearly as appealing for people who did not grow up in the 80's and I doubt a movie would be as fun without all the references.

Hugh . . . could you recreate the final battle with the robots at the castle? I enjoyed when you used to post your pictures with all of your action figures. Here is what Ernst Kline posted.