At least once each month (possibly more than once), I will post a list of four titles connected by a theme, a Four4U (#44U) list. The titles could be considered as once-a-week reading suggestions and used to explore a general theme throughout the month. Alternatively, you might read them one right after the other OR simply choose a single title to peruse! Your choice! :-)
This #44U list was inspired by a post on Filmmusicreporter.com regarding composer John Williams, who will be writing the score for Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of Ready Player One, coming to theaters in 2018!
That brought to mind three other titles set in or dealing with different aspects in the world of video games and virtual reality. Therefore, I offer three books, one just published in April, and a movie for your consideration. The film is an oldie but a goodie that still holds up even 30+ years later; especially if you've never seen it!
So here is a #44U of Video Game Realities ...
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011) - this is so much fun with a plethora of pop culture references from the 70s and 80s, dealing with a virtual treasure hunt to find the mother-of-all video game prizes. It is a great read and an even better listen with Wil Wheaton, Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: the Next Generation, doing the narration! Try the audiobook for this one!
You: A Novel by Austin Grossman (2013) - a mix of reality and mystery that provides a look into how a video game is developed and marketed. The main character, hired to debug the newest version of a hugely popular game, gets so wrapped up in his job he ends up holding personal conversations with the fantasy heroes from the game.
Arena by Holly Jennings (April 2016) - pampered, superstar pro athletes train full-time to compete in a fully immersive virtual sport! The corporate-sponsored, Virtual Gaming League members fight (to their virtual death) in a gladiatorial elimination tournament to determine which team will take the world championship.
The Last Starfighter (1984) - a motion picture starring Lance Guest, Dan O'Herlihy & Robert Preston (Yes, Robert Preston of The Music Man fame, in a role you would not have expected). A young video game virtuoso is taken into outer space to defend Earth and the Universe from the aliens featured in his favorite game.
Twitter hashtag: #44U or #4-4-U
