Ready Player One

Content Ratings

Moderate Romance

Wade and Art3mis develop a romantic relationship across both virtual and real-world contexts; their connection involves emotional intimacy and a kiss in the physical world; the romance is a significant motivator for the protagonist.

Mild Themes

The novel explores escapism as a response to poverty and environmental despair, corporate monopolization of virtual space, and the difference between virtual and authentic human connection.

Moderate Violence

Virtual combat sequences involve battles, character deaths within the game, and real-world attacks on players by the corporate villain including an explosion that kills people in Wade's trailer park.

Synopsis

In a near-future of poverty and environmental collapse, teenager Wade Watts escapes into the OASIS, a vast virtual reality universe, and becomes embroiled in a high-stakes hunt for an Easter egg left by the OASIS's late creator that will grant its finder control of the entire platform. Saturated with 1980s pop culture references and driven by an irresistible quest structure, the novel is the ultimate adventure for anyone who grew up gaming. Fast, fun, and practically impossible to put down.