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diazona's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Ready Player One took a few pages to get going, but once it did, I was hooked! This is the first book in a long time, not counting rereads, that got me to stay up late reading when I should have been sleeping.
Ernest Cline does a great job of immersing readers in the fantasy world he's constructed. The writing style is comfortable and easy to follow, and the characters feel real and relatable for the most part. They're unnaturally good at what they do, sure, but it's no different than you get in any "chosen one" story - although to its credit, this isn't a "chosen one" story; our main character Wade got where he is through talent and dedication, and a little bit of plot armor. The world of the novel, as well, feels different enough to be exciting but familiar enough to be understandable - and here I'm talking primarily about the virtual world of the OASIS where most of the action takes place, rather than the dystopian "real" world, which has little to do with the story. Granted, I'm a nerd; I suspect someone who isn't might find all the references to video games and old movies a bit too much, but you pretty much know what you're in for right from the beginning.
Given how well the world and characters drew me in, it's no surprise that I found myself getting heavily emotionally invested in Wade's quest. It's an exciting one, with almost nonstop action, so at every turn I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. And I could feel the enormity of the stakes, which is something that not a lot of authors can pull off. Tolkien of course does this masterfully in LOTR; Robert Jordan in Wheel of Time; J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter; and Ready Player One is right up there with the same ability to convey just how much is riding on the outcome. I will note, though, it was really refreshing to read what is essentially an epic fantasy set in a futuristic world as opposed to a historical one.
The one thing that detracts from the experience of reading this book is that sometimes it will drop in to pages-long expository monologues. It's somewhat understandable since Wade is kind of a loner - in fact one of the themes in the book is how little real human interaction he gets much of the time - so things that would otherwise be demonstrated by the interactions between characters might have to get explained explicitly. But the exposition kind of drags on for a while. I think some of it could be left out. These are just a few isolated parts of the story though, and they do at least provide relevant information, so I don't mind that much. It doesn't take away a whole lot from the overall reading experience.
All in all, it just comes back to the fact that I haven't been this excited to read a new book in a long time. I'm definitely keeping this one around for a future reread.
Ernest Cline does a great job of immersing readers in the fantasy world he's constructed. The writing style is comfortable and easy to follow, and the characters feel real and relatable for the most part. They're unnaturally good at what they do, sure, but it's no different than you get in any "chosen one" story - although to its credit, this isn't a "chosen one" story; our main character Wade got where he is through talent and dedication, and a little bit of plot armor. The world of the novel, as well, feels different enough to be exciting but familiar enough to be understandable - and here I'm talking primarily about the virtual world of the OASIS where most of the action takes place, rather than the dystopian "real" world, which has little to do with the story. Granted, I'm a nerd; I suspect someone who isn't might find all the references to video games and old movies a bit too much, but you pretty much know what you're in for right from the beginning.
Given how well the world and characters drew me in, it's no surprise that I found myself getting heavily emotionally invested in Wade's quest. It's an exciting one, with almost nonstop action, so at every turn I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. And I could feel the enormity of the stakes, which is something that not a lot of authors can pull off. Tolkien of course does this masterfully in LOTR; Robert Jordan in Wheel of Time; J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter; and Ready Player One is right up there with the same ability to convey just how much is riding on the outcome. I will note, though, it was really refreshing to read what is essentially an epic fantasy set in a futuristic world as opposed to a historical one.
The one thing that detracts from the experience of reading this book is that sometimes it will drop in to pages-long expository monologues. It's somewhat understandable since Wade is kind of a loner - in fact one of the themes in the book is how little real human interaction he gets much of the time - so things that would otherwise be demonstrated by the interactions between characters might have to get explained explicitly. But the exposition kind of drags on for a while. I think some of it could be left out. These are just a few isolated parts of the story though, and they do at least provide relevant information, so I don't mind that much. It doesn't take away a whole lot from the overall reading experience.
All in all, it just comes back to the fact that I haven't been this excited to read a new book in a long time. I'm definitely keeping this one around for a future reread.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, War, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
razkat's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
abicaro17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HOLY SHIT. Well gooddamm. So this is probably one of the best books I have ever read (well listened too but same difference). Wade Watts is a socially awkward poor 18 year old boy living in the year 2045. In this not so distant future, a immersive reality video game has taken over most of the planet. The Oasis was invented by James Haliday and Oggden Morrow. When Haliday died, his will revealed that he will leave all of his fortune and the entire Oasis game in the hands of the player who can find the egg he hid. Wade, and most of the Oasis population, has been searching for the first key for 5 years and when he accidentally stumbles upon the answer everything changes. This is a beautiful tale of love, friendship, perseverance, and ambition along with the message that reality is better than even the best recreations. I definitely thought this would be a boy book, based on the movie (which I have seen and can safely say this is almost nothing like it), but it pleasantly surprised me with how entertaining and emotionally deep Cline goes. This is a fantastic read/listen and I will be rereading this soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
shirarweiss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had more knowledge and/or excitement about video game history and 80s culture. It took a long time for anything to really happen; there was so much world building- which was necessary to understand this highly detailed world- but it felt like sometimes the plot stopped entirely in favor of a long explanation of the world and its history or a cultural reference. Sometimes time just suddenly jumped in a confusing way. The way Wade talked about women and gender was… uncomfortable. And strange. The book did make me think about the blurred lines between reality and technology, which is fascinating and frightening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
hazeleyeddreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement and Fatphobia
I put mass shooting and fire and injury but it's actually a bombing.richardw2024's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was a fun book. It was an easy read and well paced. I enjoyed some of the"geek" references in the book, although I felt a lot of the references are outdated and will probably only really be nostalgic to 80s kids.
There were elements of 1984 and The Matrix but neither particularly well executed. I didn't find the story tense at all and I felt the characters were pretty generic and not hugely developed, which I guess is maybe why the story didn't feel tense to me.
Again, it was a fun read. I enjoyed it. I'd recommend it for someone looking for a light sci fi dystopian book that has Matrix elements. Equally, if you really loves video games and 80s geek culture theme you may well enjoy this. If that's what you are looking for I'm sure you'd enjoy this. Only thing I would say though, is for what is essentially a purely plot driven book, it could probably have benefited from being about a hundred pages shorter.
There were elements of 1984 and The Matrix but neither particularly well executed. I didn't find the story tense at all and I felt the characters were pretty generic and not hugely developed, which I guess is maybe why the story didn't feel tense to me.
Again, it was a fun read. I enjoyed it. I'd recommend it for someone looking for a light sci fi dystopian book that has Matrix elements. Equally, if you really loves video games and 80s geek culture theme you may well enjoy this. If that's what you are looking for I'm sure you'd enjoy this. Only thing I would say though, is for what is essentially a purely plot driven book, it could probably have benefited from being about a hundred pages shorter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide
ishouldbereading's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Death
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This could have been so good
<<<SPOILERS(?)>>>
Ok number 1, we’re gonna talk about how all the gunters are like B) look how cool i am i know all these thing and like cool retro things
THATS NOT COOL
YOU LITERALLY DONT HAVE A PERSONALITY
YOU HAVE A COPY OF A PERSONALITY FROM SOME OLD DEAD GUY
oh hey wade? STOP STATING WHAT THE SONGS ARE AND THINKING WERE GONNA BE IMPRESSED- THATS NOT A SPECIAL SKILL
also brosky art3mis was literally like i dont want to date. Like verrrry fucking clearly and u were like cool imma confess my love to you whenever i see u
I was so mad that he was the one to win, like it was super predictable but he literally sat around doing fuck all but moping for like 6 months after the first gate
Also why would you not just like post how to get through the later gates as soon as you get through like? Even if other gunters get to them and the beat you later, like that is still more people to compete against the sixers? So,, stupid
Oh yeah hey wade u dumb bitch? Why may i ask did u spray paint your windows black? Why not, i dont know, get curtains?? Ya lil freak.
Also i know it was kinda on purpose but the challenges were so anticlimactic hahaha no winder they changed them all in the film.
Dude wade was so annoying, like until he mopes about doing - literally nothing- he just like perfectly goes through everything, dude its no fun watching the mc breeze through all of lifes challenges, woulda been so much better from art3mis’ perspective
Oh and why did you have to do that whole omg im so ugly you cant even look at me cry cry cry bit from her, damn, girly is so confident what the hell was that about?? She doesnt need wade to be like no, i dont think so
Also once again I DONT NEED TO KNOW HOW BIG ALL THE GIRLS BOOBS ARE? THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN THE FIRST SENTENCE ABOUT THEM ALL I STG
ok i think im done xx
Oh wait ahah it was so funny how wade literally didnt leave his house looool and also got a bit incel-y at one point
Oh also those like random throw away homophobic comments for no reason at the start???
Oh also its pointless (ha youll get that in a min) that when everyone goes through the gates they always get 100,000 points, like, you might as well get 1 point, that just stupid
Dude either relate things to your plot or leave them out, i dont need to hear you talk about some obscure made up tech reference if it has absolutely no relevance to your plot
<<<SPOILERS(?)>>>
Ok number 1, we’re gonna talk about how all the gunters are like B) look how cool i am i know all these thing and like cool retro things
THATS NOT COOL
YOU LITERALLY DONT HAVE A PERSONALITY
YOU HAVE A COPY OF A PERSONALITY FROM SOME OLD DEAD GUY
oh hey wade? STOP STATING WHAT THE SONGS ARE AND THINKING WERE GONNA BE IMPRESSED- THATS NOT A SPECIAL SKILL
also brosky art3mis was literally like i dont want to date. Like verrrry fucking clearly and u were like cool imma confess my love to you whenever i see u
I was so mad that he was the one to win, like it was super predictable but he literally sat around doing fuck all but moping for like 6 months after the first gate
Also why would you not just like post how to get through the later gates as soon as you get through like? Even if other gunters get to them and the beat you later, like that is still more people to compete against the sixers? So,, stupid
Oh yeah hey wade u dumb bitch? Why may i ask did u spray paint your windows black? Why not, i dont know, get curtains?? Ya lil freak.
Also i know it was kinda on purpose but the challenges were so anticlimactic hahaha no winder they changed them all in the film.
Dude wade was so annoying, like until he mopes about doing - literally nothing- he just like perfectly goes through everything, dude its no fun watching the mc breeze through all of lifes challenges, woulda been so much better from art3mis’ perspective
Oh and why did you have to do that whole omg im so ugly you cant even look at me cry cry cry bit from her, damn, girly is so confident what the hell was that about?? She doesnt need wade to be like no, i dont think so
Also once again I DONT NEED TO KNOW HOW BIG ALL THE GIRLS BOOBS ARE? THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN THE FIRST SENTENCE ABOUT THEM ALL I STG
ok i think im done xx
Oh wait ahah it was so funny how wade literally didnt leave his house looool and also got a bit incel-y at one point
Oh also those like random throw away homophobic comments for no reason at the start???
Oh also its pointless (ha youll get that in a min) that when everyone goes through the gates they always get 100,000 points, like, you might as well get 1 point, that just stupid
Dude either relate things to your plot or leave them out, i dont need to hear you talk about some obscure made up tech reference if it has absolutely no relevance to your plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
cianarae's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I liked this a lot! The story was great, the characters were funny, I liked the ‘80s references. I think it could have done a little bit better with the representation of women and people of color. Also I’m not a big fan of the benevolent billionaire trope so that was another thing I didn’t love. Last complaint, a lot of the riddles and things that were supposedly so difficult that no one could figure them out for years seemed really obvious. All-in-all, the writing isn’t perfect but it’s a fun book that I enjoyed reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Classism
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide