In its time, circa 2012‐2013, I enjoyed the book. It was a relief from other things I was reading at the time, the world as it was then. A guilty pleasure.

Now, it does strike as trite, consumer-centred, fan-serving, intertextuality. I may have only thought of the branding and YA-crowd focus at the time. But, then again, I had just finished the Hunger Games the year before. I was primed for it then.

The escapist, pseudo-dystopia that is Ready Player One hits different when you're living inside of a naked escapist pseudo-dystopia in real life. The journey as a pop-culture "gunter" navigating 80s video games and movies is, essentially, a contemporary subculture. The reward now is a YouTube following, not a multi-billion dollar corporate empire. Even the end prize seems small today.

$240B? Pfft. That's not a world-dominating tech company. That doesnt even crack the top 100 today.