Let the hunt begin Hallidays Easter Egg!

The United States in the year 2044. Humanity has paid a heavy price for globalization. Fossil fuels are running low, mankind had to be restricted significantly. The whole thing is called "Global Energy Crisis". The excessive energy consumption had increased by the way the unpleasant side effect of global warming, the polar ice caps have melted, the sea and the weather is more and more crazy. OASIS, a virtual simulation is the last refuge of humanity, whose reality is simply too bleak to want to deal with it, because the OASIS is free. Here you can go to the amusement park, here you can relax, here you can enjoy his life while on around the world goes down the drain.
As Halliday, the inventor of Oasis, published his testament, he changed with it the culture of his time. The Possession of the 1980s billionaire has thought of something very special. In classic Adventure tradition it has in its huge simulation OASIS hiding an Easter egg (Easter Egg, secret code). To view this video he gives in his Testament the first hint in rhyme form. Whoever finds the Easter Egg, Hallidays inherits billion fortune.
This competition will quickly become a part of the global culture and replaced the dream of winning the lottery, and everyone can participate in this game. A new subculture of millions of people is created that uses all their free time to seek to Hallidays Easter. When after 5 years no one has still found the first key, Hallidays Easter Egg is an urban legend and the number of hunters dwindles from year to year. Who is still looking for the egg, making a fool of himself and is considered a nerd. 101, the largest telecommunications group, however, believes in this myth and sends his numbered with a six-digit numerical code employees, the so-called six, the race to the Easter Egg. 101 wants Hallidays creation make money, introduce a monthly fee for OASIS and massively advertise. They want to put an end user anonymity and freedom of speech in the virtual open source utopia OASIS simulation. A disaster for the real hunters who for the most part no world without OASIS know, and for this simulation has become a part of everyday life.
The seventeen year old Wade Owen Wats is poor. He grew up in the OASIS and also goes to school there. For 5 years, he searches for the Easter Egg and when he finds the first key, he must realize that this hunt takes place in real life, because 101 does not shy away its competitors really and not just virtually out of the way. Soon he is a refugee who is under wrong name before the group on the run.

The book has a big problem: you have to through the first 100 pages, until it packs a, and that is quite a dry spell. In the first 100 pages is full of allusions to obscure music, films and directors from the 1980s. I've seen this time and I could nevertheless not do anything with the many allusions, partly perhaps because they referred to the American pop culture of the 1980s, which was with new German wave differently pronounced in Germany. I do not think the Oingo Biongo, Dead Man's Party, MCA Records in 1985 was in Germany on the radio, by John Hughes (Director) or films like Heathers I have never heard, not to mention the many, many (Arcade) Computer games and Text Adventures, their bugs, programming and competitors. You can argue that this creates atmosphere and authenticity, to me it was too much useless, nerdy ramblings about pen and paper roleplaying games, irrelevant old ham and computer games and contests to (Earthworld- competition from Atari) and hackers of the 70s, the me just not interested. So the book begins with 100 pages of sheer boredom and I was about to put away there.
Another problem is that you may have played himself once Adventures and should be a little familiar with AD & D. I had this background, fortunately, so I understand what a +5 sword and I thoroughly with insider jokes, as an indication that the slaughter of squirrels brings no experience points, knows what to do something. From my own experience I can say roleplayers, also exterminating stray dogs and cats falls into this category of senseless roleplayers actions that bring no experience points, but each group tried.
In principle, this book is a story of a classic adventure games. You have to find objects and solve puzzles, much more happening. 500 pages, the Easter Egg is hunted, between the classic RPG banter and the way you dive under the RL because 101 players looking. Revalued but this book is, by repeatedly interspersed social criticism of our time. The escape from reality into the virtual world, which takes place today. However, the Internet censorship, the current attempt by the curtailment of freedom of expression and the massive commercialization is brought through 101 into play.
The power of corporations, which increases these days, more and more is being denounced. For 101 customers who are in debt with the group, just move as forced laborers until they have paid off their debts, which can become a lifetime at the low wages forced slave labor. With high unemployment, we euphemistically as the conscripting: touted by debt to career success.
And what course should finally in a novel about virtual reality is not lacking: Is it possible to fall in love with someone, because you have never seen in person and are friendships that are closed online, has also be applied in reality?
A fat logic error there was, unfortunately, still: Thursday finds calves the first key (Chapter 008), the weekend is free, the Friday he sleeps away and goes to school but Saturdays (Chapter 0012).

Conclusion: The 80s are just back in fashion, it shows on the radio again. The author has very well researched, as well as possible because he has experienced the time himself as a teenager. Whether the children and youth of today with the many references to the 80s, which really are very obscure part of German readers to begin something else to know, I doubt it. Since the author has it partly just a little too well-intentioned. A book for nerds and geeks and readers from 35 upwards, I would say.