This book is one of my finds in last year's Manila International Book Fair. Before that, I went there also in 2017 and I am ashamed to admit that after 3 years, I still have not finished reading all the books I purchased back then. Well at least I did finish this one that I got last year. I guess what interests you most will be your priority, right? Well I super loved Ready Player One (by the way the movie adaptation has just been released on Netflix!) and so when I saw that this book was from the same author, I had the urge to buy it, which of course I wasn't able to resist!

It's now obvious to me that Ernest Cline is such a geek, and this side of him found its way through this novel. If Ready Player One is all about the cultural references of the 80s, this one is all about the gaming world. This book's pages are just adorned with gaming jargon and concepts that hard-core players would truly appreciate. I guess that's one reason why I really didn't connect with this book? 😅

It was a slow read for me. The premise of the story was just so-so and it was not until the middle of the book that things got interesting for me (hint: 🌙). Also, the resolution was just meh. After all the build up, that's what happens in the "final battle"? I don't know, maybe I just had high expectations with this one because of how I loved his previous book. I guess this one is just not for me. If you are a hard-core gamer, you will be more hooked and invested with the book, I think.

Well it was still a nice read. I'll always go back to this book if someone would mention government propaganda, gaming, and aliens in one sentence to me. If you are into those three topics, I bet you would love to delve into this book. 🤓📙