Ready Player One

Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel set in a dystopian 2045 where most of humanity escapes into the OASIS, a massive virtual reality universe. The protagonist, Wade Watts, joins millions of others in searching for an Easter egg hidden by the OASIS's deceased creator James Halliday, which promises an enormous fortune and control of the OASIS itself to whoever finds it. The novel is structured as a quest narrative, with Wade decoding clues rooted in 1980s pop culture, video games, and science fiction references.

The work became a cultural phenomenon upon publication, praised for its immersive world-building and nostalgic references, though also critiqued for its treatment of female characters and its celebration of geek culture. It explores themes of escapism, identity, corporate power, and the blurred boundaries between virtual and physical reality. The novel's success led to a 2018 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg and spawned a sequel, Ready Player Two, published in 2020.