Paperback, 374 pages
English language
Published July 8, 2011 by Crown Publishers.
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.
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.
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.
Si eres una persona que a vivido la experiencia de un mundo virtual como Second Life, Osgrid(OpenSim) o otro este libro te va a encantar.
Soy un residente del mundo virtual Second Life y este libro me hizo sentir muy identificado. Esto es el futuro
A fun book that brings a video game to life. I read very little fiction but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The author is creative and has some fun twists on the combination of the real word with the game world.
One takeaway was the comparison of our pandemic school vs. the OASIS school. The contrast emphasizes that the pandemic move of school online was nothing more than adding a remote broadcast. Despite the incredible opportunity, we didn't innovate or re-invent. We just started lecturing through a computer screen.
Nine years later it still holds up as a great exercise in fun SF world building. Cline isn't a particularly gifted writer from a technical perspective, and some of the middle part is cringey but it is important to note that this is a book for children.
Eight years later, I needed to reread this slice of science fiction bacon, in anticipation of the sequel that comes out in November.
WOW! not only is that the initials of our protagonist, but about everything I can say about this audio book. Pop culture, futuristic, distopian, romance, like everything anyone could ever want from a book. The emotional responses generated by this audiobook was out of this world. Wil Weaton is less annoying than usual. The man who invited the oaysis, an online video game that is so dominate in the market that it has become synonymous with the intent, passes away without any heirs. His video will indicates he has left everything, including control of the oaysis itself to whomever is the first player to find an Easter egg he has hid in the oaysis. That's only the beginning.
I just can't get into this book. The premise is corny, and reads like a screenplay. Maybe it's because I actually know what goes into building virtual worlds. Sure, lone-programmers built entire games--in the Atari era--but today games are built by teams of THOUSANDS of programmers, each toiling on a minute detail. People get famous developing techniques for animating hair, but nobody builds entire games all by themselves. Even if they do they must use tools developed by thousands more developers. Easter eggs are ferreted out by decompiling and analyzing source code. A process that's not nearly as glamorous as pouring over '80 pop culture for clues. Everything about the world this is set in is disorienting and hard to follow. You're never quite sure what the rules are, and without any visuals to back it up you're lost. I'm sure the movie is better, though I've not seen that …
I just can't get into this book. The premise is corny, and reads like a screenplay. Maybe it's because I actually know what goes into building virtual worlds. Sure, lone-programmers built entire games--in the Atari era--but today games are built by teams of THOUSANDS of programmers, each toiling on a minute detail. People get famous developing techniques for animating hair, but nobody builds entire games all by themselves. Even if they do they must use tools developed by thousands more developers. Easter eggs are ferreted out by decompiling and analyzing source code. A process that's not nearly as glamorous as pouring over '80 pop culture for clues. Everything about the world this is set in is disorienting and hard to follow. You're never quite sure what the rules are, and without any visuals to back it up you're lost. I'm sure the movie is better, though I've not seen that yet.
Listened to the audio book performed by Wil Wheaton, and I highly recommend. He does an amazing job. It helps that the book is well-written and has a great story.
