"Ready Player One" Chapter 0003 & 0004 Reaction

"So I remained stuck at school. I felt like a kid standing in the world's greatest video arcade without any quarters, unable to do anything but walk around and watch the other kids play," Ready Player One,  pp.51

This quote alone makes Wade such a familiar character. Even though I have not read the book before and I don't know much about the story past what I have already read, I can easily relate to this feeling presented here. Growing up in a single family home where my mom did everything for my sister and me, I can relate to feeling like you have less than everyone else around you. I can also relate to how Wade capitalizes on the resources that he has. This is a connection I think many readers will identify with, which I feel early on establishes a strong connection between the hero of the story and the reader.

In the third and fourth chapter of "Ready of Player One" Cline presents us with more world building. At this point in the narrative, we are still in Wade's Ordinary World and he has yet to Cross, though we know this is coming because Wade has already told us how he finds the first piece of the Halliday puzzle.

We get an idea of what school is like for Wade. We meet some characters and learn more about what the everyday normal is for being a poor kid in a depression that is in its third decade. We learn more about friends, such as Aech and I-r0k (well, I-r0k is maybe a frienemy) and about the OASIS.

What is cool about Wade is how he has managed to accomplish so much with so few resources. His intelligence and wit are his winning features, and we get a physical contrast between him, Aech and I-r0k. Where Aech sits in the middle between Wade and I-r0k on the physical-intellect divide, he tops them both when it comes to skill and precision, as noted by his skill in gaming and shooting. Wade is the lowest character level, but is the brightest of the 3. He has the fewest resources, however has some level of respect in the Gunter community even though he is not level 10. I-r0k, seemingly void of decent common sense, is the physical strength. As a group of 3, they are decently well rounded. If they need to team up in the future, I bet their collective strengths will do well together.

It is not hard to see how Wade will Cross the first Threshold, but the story so far has left out what happens if Wade dies in the OASIS. Unless I missed it, there don't seem to be terrible ramifications of dying in the OASIS. Do the players' avatars re-spawn? The chapters make note that Wade does his best to stay inside his level, but never fully explains why this is the case. If he were to go to a 13th level world with Aech, what would happen if he dies? Why are schools no pvp zones, when pvp IS a thing on other worlds and characters don't seem to die forever? I am hoping the next few chapters address this so we have an idea of what is at stake in the virtual world. Also, when do these people eat? Does eating in game affect real life? I don't know if I would buy into that.