eBook, 384 pages
English language
Published March 10, 2014 by Crown Publishing Group.
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in …
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?
Part homage to previous XR concepts, part homage to 1980’s geek culture, Cline’s novel doesn’t break any new technological ground. That said it is an excellent examination of how monolithic corporations can use XR technology to control a population. The movie version is a decent interpretation, but the book is a much better experience.
Part homage to previous XR concepts, part homage to 1980’s geek culture, Cline’s novel doesn’t break any new technological ground. That said it is an excellent examination of how monolithic corporations can use XR technology to control a population. The movie version is a decent interpretation, but the book is a much better experience.
Iets te veel nogal Amerikaanse nostalgie naar de jaren 80, maar in het derde deel werd het hier en daar toch nog even een beetje verrassend. Ach, niet onaardig verder, als je de diepgang van een bord soep verder over het hoofd ziet.
I wasn't too sure how this one was going to go because I normally REALLY don't care for pop culture references in books because it dates them like crazy. I'm not sure how well this will hold up in the future since a lot of these references are already lost to the past and that will get worse as time goes on.
But I found this to be a fun ride! I felt like it had a good blend of tension and adventure and emotional connections. It kept my attention through the whole story and didn't lose me along the way. I felt like the characters were written well and had their flaws and issues, but it didn't completely tank the story.
I already have a physical copy of the book and this is one that I'll be holding onto.
Unbearably cheesy and overall ill-conceived. The author is high on his own supply of stale 80s nostalgia.
Overall this was a fun read. The world itself is quite dystopian, but the OASIS is incredible. It feels like a very natural evolution of today's online society, for better or worse. Some of the plot can feel a little sluggish with the exposition and the slowdown in the second arc of the book, but it has a good payoff at the end. The characters are OK, but not developed as well as the focus is almost solely on the main character Parzival and his obsession with the 80s, the hunt, and Art3mis. I think the concept behind this (and the nostalgia) was pretty good, though the narrative could have been better, both in terms of characters and plot.
For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2024/05/book-review-ready-player-one-by-ernest.html
On rereading this I found a lot less satisfaction. Its a cute adventure.
I read this when it was new, and thought it had some interesting ideas and was a fun trip down memory lane. But over time I kept seeing people point out problems, and I'd think back, and realize, yeah, there's not a whole lot of substance there, and it's got some serious issues.
Back then, the nostalgia and scavenger hunt were enough for me. Now, not so much.
Cross-posted from my website.
Fast-paced story, swiftly unfolding yet deep characters, and decent worldbuilding best describe this novel. Despite all of this, I still cannot say that it's an unique book, as the atmosphere and worldview of older cyberpunk pieces leak into Ready Player One too much. A fun read, but not as deep as Neuromancer or Snow Crash.
Příběh, který z větší části vsází na nostalgii čtenáře. Hlavní dějová osa je vlastně triviální. Máme tu dobro a zlo a cíl, ke kterému se musí jedni nebo druzí dostat první. Celé je to však zasazené do kulis 80-90 let, kdy dle autora vznikala ta stěžejní popkultura v podobě arkádových her, starých filmů a rockové hudby. Majstrštyk na skutečnost, že kniha je vlastně zasazená do roku 2045. Čte se to samo. Záleží jen na tom jak velký jste geek, nebo jak moc vás zajímají jednotlivé odkazy na jiné příběhy. Já jsem si to užil. Nutno dodat, že nostalgie mě naplňovala celou dobu čtení.
A great story regarding a late teen engaging in a video game quest with real-world impact. Set in a dystopian future, the tale gives you a blend of a virtual world learing to positive and meaningful real-life changes.
The story is told with enthusiasm and gives you a great insight into a late teen learning there is more to life than a virtual world. It also teaches you persistance, may lead to mindblowing results.
This one brought back a lot of great memories of geek life in the 80s
Even though I didn't much like it, I did actually finish it, which is worth an extra star.
//read in 2012
An enjoyable and quick read. Nostalgia is bound together by a fairly predictable plot line. I wanted to go back and create a playlist of all the music mentioned, but I borrowed the book from a co-worker and needed to return it.
To be honest it's been a while since I read the book so don't expect a full in depht review. Sorry.
I liked it, quite a lot indeed. I also enjoy playing video games and 90% of the action occours on a video game. I think that, as always, the book is quite superior compared to the movie.
In conclussion: I recomend it if you like cifi stuff.
