I almost read this book in one sitting. It's very readable, and at times really exciting too. There are some slow parts, but they do not stop the narrative enough to make you want to put down the book.

This book a dystopian look at a near future where real world problems are being shoved aside, while people focus more on the ongoings in a virtual world called OASIS. The VR-technology presented is plausible, and as are many of the uses of it presented in this book. While the book does have some heavy handed moral lessons about seperating reality from the virtual world, it never really delves into what this really would mean. The few times its mentioned, it feels more like an afterthought.

The big "gimmick" of this book is its focus on 80s popular culture, something that I was afraid would be a bit too much. It actually does work, and also serves as an excuse for not having to predict future trends in culture. One could also read this as a comment on the current obsession with popular culture, but the book never really goes there. It's an uncritical love and passion that's shown, and one that's not really argued much for or against.

I can't really fault the book for what it is not, but I really do wish that the book would have grappled more with these themes.

The book also has a tendency to serve big info dumps about the world, which some times feels more motivated by the story than others. Because the world is fun/interesting it works, but I do wish that he would have solved it differently.

But! Despite all this, I did enjoy the book alot. The world was interesting, some of its predictions about technology probably hits more close to home than we would like to imagine, and it's often quite heartwarming.