Ready Player One (spoilers) - My New Fav Book

[CataclysmicKnight]

Before I even get into the review, if you're a fan of video games or the 80s just go buy or borrow this book immediately, open it up and don't stop til you're done. As a fan of both, this has become my favorite book!

The story follows a boy named Wade and his adventures in the OASIS, an online world that's essentially a cross between World of Warcraft and Second Life but infinitely larger. The OASIS has become as pervasive as the internet is today: people go to school in it, can make a living there, and now that James Halliday (the creator) has died, everyone is even more involved as a Willy Wonka-esque race for an egg will give one person absurd wealth, becoming essentially Hailliday's sole heir. The real world, however, has become broken, almost apocalyptic, and this is explored as well as the OASIS itself.

Here's the fun part - because there's so much at stake on finding Halliday's egg, and because of his addiction to all things 1980s (when he was a teenager), the world of Ready Player One has morphed almost entirely back to the 80s - people watch, play and study everything from the times, wear the fashions, debate, you name it! Hardly a page goes by without some reference, and because of the nature of the story, they're never forced.

The adventures of Parzival (Wade's OASIS name, which he named after Percival of the around Table, editing the name since the original was taken - how real is that!?) and his exploration of the OASIS are told in a manner that is easy to read, something that's not always easy to find in the sci-fi world. This is a story filled with adventure, mystery, suspense, exploration and plenty of surprises, one I devoured and wanted to live in forever, despite the whole crappy-world-outside-the-OASIS bit.

[gali]

I have read and loved this book. An awesome book indeed! Thank you for the lovely review.

[ejcogan]

Wow,this sounds like a fun book! I can't wait to read it! Thanks for posting a review, it was quite good.

[CataclysmicKnight]

You're both welcome, and I'm happy I wasn't the only one who loved it this was the first book in a looooong time that wasn't non-fiction and I wanted to buy, but then saw it was at our local library as an online rental. I already miss the world of the OASIS, it's been far too long since I missed the world of a book after reading it.

And thanks for both of you reading it and replying!!!

[RStone]

This book is /amazing/! I haven't read it straight out, I actually picked it up as audiobook to listen to while working on knitting, and it's read by Wil Wheaton, who just did the most amazing job. He was perfect for it- so I listened to it twice! Great book. Clever, funny, and man do I want to go to the OASIS.

[Lisalovecraft]

This sounds fun; I'm going to have to check it out!

[Yates6600]

Ready Player One is a great book. I read it in two days because I just could not put it down. Its reference to the 80's video game industry is very nostalgic and Ernest Cline knows nostalgic. The book has a large amount of accurate information about the 80's as background information to pull the average video game junkie or even the average reader into the book. All in All, the book is so good it is just hard to put down.

[rborie1109]

One of the best debut novels I've ever read. Generally not a fan of first novels, but containing solid, well formed dialogue Ready Player One was and has been a pleasant surprise. While I will not spoil the story for any who haven't read it yet, I will say Mr. Cline has masterfully presented a possible future and all of the inherent struggles associated with it. Somewhat dystopic in scope, with elements of teen angst thrown in, I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed the 80's, Enders Game, or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Elements of each will be found inside.

[edelaoefi]

This book is /amazing/! I haven't read it straight out, I actually picked it up as audiobook to listen to while working on knitting, and it's read by Wil Wheaton, who just did the most amazing job. He was perfect for it- so I listened to it twice! Great book. Clever, funny, and man do I want to go to the OASIS.

I also listened to the audiobook on this one, but then as so often happens with me, I liked the book so much that I had to go pick up a hard copy. I found the story to be very engaging and really enjoyed all of the video game references. It was definitely a geeky indulgence for me as I was reading.
What really got me hooked though was the reading by Wil Wheaton, he really knows how to capture reader attention and get the story to come alive. Another book I would recommend listening to on audiobook that was also read by Wil would be Redshirts by John Scalzi. Not only does he do a great job with the reading of it, but the book will probably hold appeal for many of the same fans as Ready Player One, Redshirts is a spoof of Star Trek which focuses it's story line on the most replaceable characters of the series. Though be prepared if you do listen to this book around other people that it is quite hilarious and you might end up laughing out loud for no apparent reason.

[Lisalovecraft]

I finally picked this book up when I saw it on display at my local library. I really enjoyed it! The storyline was good and I loved the 80's references ( I used to be an an awesome Joust player ) however some of the characters were pretty one dimensional. The story does make up for that, I guess.

I hear they might make a movie out of it!

[adria_charles]

My book club chose this book for June. At first I was a bit apprehensive. A bit of a gamer myself I was intrigued by the fact that a novel could contain entire plot around video games, especially 1980s games. (This also shows my lack of knowledge on these types of books) At the same time though I was a little worried it would be a snore. Well, thankfully I was wrong. Sure the first few chapters were a bit slow, but even then, at the beginning I was hooked. Ernest Cline outdid himself on his first book. The characters lacked a bit of depth for my taste but how detailed Cline was while working his way through the plot blew my mind and allowed my imagination to envision the story as if I was actually there. Part of me wishes I could actually be! I can say that this is now one of my all time favorite books!

The wonderful Steven Spielberg will be directing the film for this book and it should be released some time in 2018. CAN'T WAIT!

[Apollo]

Just finished this book. Dissenters will tell you it's full of 80s pop culture references that are forcefully placed. Not true. The references are brilliantly executed and tie in very nicely with the story. Absolutely loved this book. Can't wait for the Spielberg movie, although I have no idea how he's going to translate some parts of this book into a movie. If and how he does will be interesting to see.

[dejab]

This sound like a different but interesting book. I will have to read it

[Sithlyone]

Hello! I am new to this forum! Seeing your review I had to register and post. Ready Player One is certainly one of my favorite books! A friend recommended it to me. He praised it so much I had to give it a once over. As my childhood was during the 80's, the era is a bit foggy to me I thought I wasn't going to like the book. I grew up not playing video games (even though I've gotten into them later in life) and so I again didn't think this was going to appeal to me. HOW WRONG I WAS!!!

Ernest Cline did a fantastic job with this book. Drew me into this world and made it live. If you are looking for another book that is in the same ballpark, his 2nd novel Armada is in the same vein. Not quite as good and had many of the same themes but still a good read.

Thanks for the review!

[Sakuko]

I loved the book too. It is pretty awesome, though the 80th stuff was not that important to me. I know some of it, but I was born in the 80th, I don't remember that much of it.
But the whole old-fashioned feel of exploration and puzzle solving, that you don't have as much in modern video games, I liked that a lot. It's what the book was about for me, first and foremost.
I also loved how he portrait relationship and friendship in the virtual world. Most people tend to be negative about it, I liked how realistic and positive it came out.