Last Modified: Mon 21 May, 2018 02:08 PM
I had heard of this book a few years ago but was only reminded of it recently when I saw a commercial for the movie adaptation and the next day a coworker mentioned he really liked it. I actually had it in my Amazon shopping cart and was about to buy it when I had the idea that I should check my library to see whether I had already bought it... and I had! So I dove in.
It's a quick read - not too long, and it moves fast enough that I didn't find myself having to stop and reread any pages due to boredom (You know what I mean. Sometimes I'll "read" for a while and before I turn a page realize that I didn't absorb anything at all and have to go back and once I did that, I realize that the reason why I didn't remember anything was because nothing happened. I never had that problem with this book). It was squarely targeted at someone about my age (or maybe a few years older) as the entire book is basically one gigantic 80's reference - and it focused on parts that I was pretty familiar with: video games, movies, music, etc.
That said, the constant 80's references were also maybe its biggest turnoff for me; they felt a bit hackneyed as the book went on. But it's hard to really fault it for that, as again, that was the entire premise of the book. Take that away, and there would have been almost nothing.
I have always had trouble finding authors I liked of this sort. William Gibson has done well in the past but sometimes swings and misses, Neal Stephenson rarely disappoints, and Charles Stross generally gets me too. I definitely liked this book and I'm hoping that Ernest Cline keeps it up.
Out of 5 stars, I give this book a 4.
Last Modified: Mon 21 May, 2018 02:08 PM