A fast-paced, geek-filled, nostalgic ride. Here's another hyped up book I was so, so reluctant to read. Sometimes, apparently, you just have to suck it up and jump on the damned bandwagon.

Being six years younger than James Halliday put me at a slight disadvantage...I'm sure I missed some references, but the feeling was there. The vibe was true, and I recognized that. A child of a multi-broken home, living in the 80s, a latchkey kid, and all the other tropes that come with it, I identified with Halliday’s need to engorge yourself on the pop culture of the period.

We didn't have a local arcade, so though I knew most of the games by name (and several of the at-home consoles), I didn't have the experience on some specific games. But!, I remember the feeling of them...the anticipation, the frustration, the boggling inability to save your progress. Each reference felt like an emotional fist bump, directly from Cline to me.

The music and movies though, that's where I really homed in on it all. How many times did I watch WarGames! Gah, I could just gush and gush.

Totally a trippy, time-traveling-esque ride that perfectly gets the feel of the era just right. Plus, this was one of those rare dystopian novels that never really feels like the other played out dystopian novels. This bleak future just felt crappy, but realistic. No giant nuclear disaster, no alien invasion, no rare population-wiping disease...just regular bleakness. This felt like a brilliant shoulder shrug of dystopians, and I loved Cline for it. Here, the sad future for humans on Earth can actually simply act as a proper backdrop and not a catalyst for the entire book. A completely recommendable book!