The novel takes place almost entirely in a virtual world, and Wade sees the events mostly through the eyes of his avatar. I myself am not a gamer, and especially at the beginning of the reading that was a bigger problem. About Virtual Worlds I know little, I do not know most technical terms, have no idea what is technically already possible. Therefore, the introduction to the story struck me pretty hard; there were several passages in which I understand only station. The first quarter was therefore to read really tough, and I was several times tempted to cancel reading. But since it is my fared similarly with the 'Otherland' saga by Tad Williams a few years ago and I found at the end of the books really great, I persevered bravely. And lo and behold, one day I had settled down in the for me so unfamiliar and strange online world of actually unlimited possibilities, and from then on was reading a real pleasure.
Wade's narrative style is youthful and relaxed and enjoyable to read. Of course, he is a super-geek who would endure in real life hardly, but for Hallidays treasure hunt, he is perfect. And in Clines joyless world anno 2044, it differs in its obsession not by others of his generation Internet users. The whole plot is focused on Wade's person; the numerous secondary characters remain relatively colorless, especially known by most only the respective avatars and hardly or only towards the end learns about the people who stand behind it, something. However, the voltage does not diminish because Wades adventure in OASIS are exciting enough.
The story is very action-heavy (often things overturn literally), and thoughts, feelings and dialogs come here a bit too short. Nevertheless fever as a reader in the treasure hunt with properly. The virtual areas in which it verschlägt Wade in his quest are described very imaginative and detailed. One wishes correctly to be able to experience something like that themselves. As Halliday was a big fan of the 1980s, movies, music, fashion and games of the decade play an important role in the story. I have experienced the time as a teenager very conscious and was very amused by the many allusions to well-known things. The various Atari games that are mentioned, however, were completely unknown to me. One must probably be a nerd like Wade to know.
Overall, the book offers exciting and original reading entertainment. For the very great enthusiasm I lack the background knowledge of gamers, but I really had fun reading.
