protomattr reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Pure fun!
456 pages
Romanian language
Published May 9, 2016
Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
4 stars
(624 reviews)
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which would lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune. Cline sold the rights to publish the novel in June 2010, in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House). The book was published on August 16, 2011. An audiobook was released the same day; it was narrated by Wil Wheaton, who was mentioned briefly in one of the chapters.Ch. 20 In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2011 Prometheus Award. A film adaptation, screenwritten by Cline and Zak Penn and directed …
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality game, the discovery of which would lead him to inherit the game creator's fortune. Cline sold the rights to publish the novel in June 2010, in a bidding war to the Crown Publishing Group (a division of Random House). The book was published on August 16, 2011. An audiobook was released the same day; it was narrated by Wil Wheaton, who was mentioned briefly in one of the chapters.Ch. 20 In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association and won the 2011 Prometheus Award. A film adaptation, screenwritten by Cline and Zak Penn and directed by Steven Spielberg, was released on March 29, 2018. A sequel novel, Ready Player Two, was released on November 24, 2020.
Review of 'Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Ready Player One. All in all, I enjoyed it, but it took work. The biggest challenge for me is that I have no particular affection for the 80s. I found a lot of the book to be, as other reviewers have put it, useless nostalgia porn. It wasn't until the end that Cline had enough depth and tension to tell a compelling story, but he didn't do very much with it. Was he trying to? I doubt it and in the end, that's fine. The book was fun and, for many people, entertaining. But for me, it didn't live up to the hype.
Brad Fonseca reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I listened to this book as an audiobook. As it turned out, I ended up listening to this author's other novel "Armada" first as that was what I was able to get at library first. This is much the same book with its homages to the 1980s and geek culture. It was entertaining enough but I've read/listened to much better books this year. It's a fun read but not earth-shattering.
doug reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I typically don't like excessively long narrative, especially by an unreliable narrator, and this book is that in spades. But it's FUN, especially if you grew up in the 80s.
The pop culture references are relentless and never-ending, and I imagine they must be exhausting for someone who doesn't get any, many or most of them. The problem with this nostalgia overkill is that it hits a saturation point where it becomes pedestrian, and at times it completely misses the mark. (Such as a character liking everything, just so Cline can include everything, or having a Japanese character use the term seppuku incorrectly.)
The writing is not-great-not-terrible, kind of like a "What I did on my summer vacation" essay. But the story is entertaining and well-paced, even if it becomes a little repetitive and thus predictable.
I'm no doubt biased because it's packed full of stuff I grew up …
I typically don't like excessively long narrative, especially by an unreliable narrator, and this book is that in spades. But it's FUN, especially if you grew up in the 80s.
The pop culture references are relentless and never-ending, and I imagine they must be exhausting for someone who doesn't get any, many or most of them. The problem with this nostalgia overkill is that it hits a saturation point where it becomes pedestrian, and at times it completely misses the mark. (Such as a character liking everything, just so Cline can include everything, or having a Japanese character use the term seppuku incorrectly.)
The writing is not-great-not-terrible, kind of like a "What I did on my summer vacation" essay. But the story is entertaining and well-paced, even if it becomes a little repetitive and thus predictable.
I'm no doubt biased because it's packed full of stuff I grew up playing, reading and listening to.
SaraLeon reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Ugh the ending - I wished there was something else when it came to the foreshadowing. Also I think it hinders the character development of the main character quite a bit. Very clichée.
The main character annoyed me quite a bit, he's not very well thought out imho, seems like just another Harry Potter: Entitled, unthoughtful with a big portion of luck and a little clueless. Well a lot clueless. The motivation just seems so ... superficial.
I think without the references to games and stuff I'd given up much sooner.
The development of H was cool, but cut very short.
There was so much potential for a good character story, but it was rather like a 0-8-15 (boring, normal) game story, very one-dimensional.
Azuaron reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
If you get all the references and are nostalgic for 80s pop culture, this book is probably for you. If you don't and you aren't, it's probably a 2-star disappointment.
DollyWhiskers reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Not finished. The story is bland, flat, and doesn't hold my interest. Which is a shame as I was really looking forward to reading it as I love video games & 'geeky' references, and the positive reviews by Rothfuss, Gaiman et al made me feel like this would be a book I'd adore.
milsyobtaf reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A great story wrapped up in very uneven writing. And a few passages of just awful writing.
okenwillow reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
[Vous pouvez lire mon avis sur mon blog, merci :)]
govmarley reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This book is an 80's geek's paradise. I grew up on video games, D&D, and John Hughes movies, and I want to have this book's babies. Not everyone will appreciate this book, but 90% of the references made me squeal with delight. And I loved the plot, pacing, and even the clever dialogue. Read this book.
otrops reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
I haven't had this much fun reading a book in a long time.
Ready Player One is a combination of dystopian sci-fi, cyberpunk and a whole lot of eighties nostalgia.
When this book was recommended to me, I wasn't sure I'd be geeky enough to enjoy it. Actually, I'm pretty geeky, but I was worried I wouldn't be enough of a gamer. I'd forgotten just how many video games I played as a kid. Even the video games I thought I didn't know, it turned out I did know. Although I may not have known the names, I immediately recognized the screenshots when I googled them.
The story itself is a pretty straightforward adventure story: three keys and three gates. Find them all and you win. Around that basic structure Cline builds a world that manages to take in the highlight of a 1980s childhood. Not just the video games, …
I haven't had this much fun reading a book in a long time.
Ready Player One is a combination of dystopian sci-fi, cyberpunk and a whole lot of eighties nostalgia.
When this book was recommended to me, I wasn't sure I'd be geeky enough to enjoy it. Actually, I'm pretty geeky, but I was worried I wouldn't be enough of a gamer. I'd forgotten just how many video games I played as a kid. Even the video games I thought I didn't know, it turned out I did know. Although I may not have known the names, I immediately recognized the screenshots when I googled them.
The story itself is a pretty straightforward adventure story: three keys and three gates. Find them all and you win. Around that basic structure Cline builds a world that manages to take in the highlight of a 1980s childhood. Not just the video games, but the movies, the music and even the books.
If you were young in the eighties and were even slightly geeky, I'd highly recommend this book. But be warned: there is a high nostalgia factor. You might just find yourself revisiting the movies and music of your childhood. You might even start playing classic video games (I have a young son, so I can get way with this by playing them with him, right?) Don't let that stop you, though. Read it and enjoy.
Sharyl reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This was a fast read for me, very engaging. Riveting. Of course the 80's trivia was fun and nostalgic for me. I absolutely adored the ending, in more than one way.
One reason I have so much love for this novel is the good messages the four main characters help to illustrate. It is ironic that the these young people, who spend so much time plugged into OASIS because they feel like social misfits, would eventually forge such a strong bond--and they get to know each other before having the chance to be prejudiced by appearances or circumstance. (An avatar can be a good thing.) It is a virtual reality game that finally forces Aech, Parzival, Shoto, and Art3mis to become friends, outside of OASIS.
Some timely issues poke up, as well--greedy corporations, environmental devastation, an ever-growing chasm between ultra-rich and very poor, and even net neutrality.
This is good …
This was a fast read for me, very engaging. Riveting. Of course the 80's trivia was fun and nostalgic for me. I absolutely adored the ending, in more than one way.
One reason I have so much love for this novel is the good messages the four main characters help to illustrate. It is ironic that the these young people, who spend so much time plugged into OASIS because they feel like social misfits, would eventually forge such a strong bond--and they get to know each other before having the chance to be prejudiced by appearances or circumstance. (An avatar can be a good thing.) It is a virtual reality game that finally forces Aech, Parzival, Shoto, and Art3mis to become friends, outside of OASIS.
Some timely issues poke up, as well--greedy corporations, environmental devastation, an ever-growing chasm between ultra-rich and very poor, and even net neutrality.
This is good stuff! I'd recommend it to anyone.
Trey Hunner reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I definitely found flaws in this book, but I couldn't stop reading it (listening actually). I liked Wil Wheaton's narration. This book didn't challenge my world view, but I enjoyed the story.
René reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Absolutely brilliant! I can't wait for the movie. Let's hope they do a great job on that (similar to the movie for [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413706054s/18007564.jpg|21825181]).
Travis reviewed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Ready Player One, #1)
Review of 'Ready Player One' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Overall fun read that occasionally strays a bit too far into nostalgia for nostalgia's sake, lengthy backstory dumps, and nerd dream fulfillment... I recommend the audio book read by Wil Wheaton to multiply the geekiness (plus, I just really like his reading voice).
