Ready Player One by Ernest Cline seemed a timely read given recent tech magnate speculation about the “metaverse.” Futuristic fun and pop culture references aside, the book lays out a possible future.

In the story a dystopian world is largely ignored by the majority of the impoverished population, ditched for a persistent three dimensional virtual online reality. While foreboding in the year it was published, 2011, the scenario invokes fear in 2021.

But the novel’s main message, even if not fully developed or featured, resonates deeply in current times as well: people are good, this world is worth saving…and never give up. Still fiction, but Ready Player One is a highly relevant tale and a short fun ride.