4.5 Stars This book turned around nicely. It was slow going for me at first and I got the impression Cline was a cynical misanthrope. I get that it's a sort of distopia and the Hunt is the hope for the people, but the way everything was presented put me off instead of immersing me in the story. Once Parzival started interacting with other avatars things were better because you got to see some character development. The love story with Art3mis is great because he develops a crush on her reading her blog and when he meets her (view spoiler)[ both onling and IRL she's everything he thought she was. (hide spoiler)] 
 I liked Aech, Parzival's relationship with him, and all the developments along the way, though I do sort of feel like(view spoiler)[ when Cline threw in that Aech is actually Helen Harris, a fat black chick (her words, not mine) and a lesbian disowned by her mother as well, he was trying to hit all the diversity points possible in one character, which for me, drew attention to the blinking sign saying "Look! We have diversity! Look!" instead of just having diversity woven throughout the story. (hide spoiler)] 
 Most of all I'm glad that I got what I wanted. I was terrified Cline was going to do something awful to Parzival/Wade, but (view spoiler)[that he allowed him to stay in the contest and actually pull off some super spy business and win was amazing. I love my HEA. The final scene with Wade and Samantha sitting together in Og's maze was perfect. (hide spoiler)] 
 Obviously, I really enjoyed this story, even though I'm not a gamer and didn't get all of the references (I was born in 86), and the only reason this one gets 4.5 instead of 5 stars is the beginning - if I hadn't seen so many great reviews I may have put it down. So, if at first you're not totally into it, stay with it, at least until Parzival clears the first gate.