"I was jolted awake by the sound of gunfire in one of the neighboring stacks(13)".
Wade Watts is a teenager living in the near future. The world is polluted and wars rage over the little resources they have left. Most of the populations escape from this terrible reality is the OASIS, the most realistic video game ever created.
"What was i thinking? The Sixers had just tried to kill me (146)".
The OASIS is a virtual world where people can live out their wildest dreams doing whatever they imagine. The creator of this game is James Halliday. When he died he left a hunt to gain control of the OASIS and his massive fortune. This lead to factions being created to find the keys. Gunters who are 80s enthusiasts, and IOI, who are known as sixers, the corporate giant doing anything to obtain control of the OASIS.
Wade finds the fist key in a cave on his school planet, Ludus. He meets art3mis there, a famous Gunter who is trying to obtain the key. Wade gets it with ease, and leaves, passing the first gate, and topping the scoreboard.
After wade finds the key, he becomes a celebrity overnight, gaining the attention of IOI. They ask him if he wants to join their ranks, but he refuses. IOI responds by blowing up his house, killing his only family that he ever had.
Wade continues the hunt, with his best friend Aech, diato, shoto, and Atr3mis to find the other keys. They find the second key and pass the gate as well. Wade plays a perfect game of pack man, thinking it will get him the key. It doesn't but he eventually finds the last key.
The last gate is at Castle Anrok, where IOI is waiting ready to fight Wade and his friends. They call on all of the Gunters in the oasis to help fight IOI and stop their plan to take control of the OASIS.