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hazardpossum's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Murder
sonjaelisee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Interesting ideas but doesn’t really say anything. Protagonist is definitely a teen boy from the early 2000s… who has never had a single meaningful female friendship in his life. That said, I did enjoy the quest/adventure… as long as I don’t think too hard about anything and breeze past some (all) of Wade’s problematic views. I am choosing to believe that Wade was written this way as satire/commentary on the classic incel nerd stereotype (even though I know he wasn’t)
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Death of parent
imkedogger's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this book for school, so obviously I wasn't too stoked at the beginning. The concept seemed interesting enough, but when something is for school I just can't be bothered. I actually got really into it though. The plot was very engaging and kept me interested the entire time. The main characters actions are a bit questionable sometimes, but he had some character development that definitely redeemed him a little. You could definitely sense this book was written by a man, because everything about women or romance cringed me the fuck out, but I'm willing to overlook that part. A solid 4 stars, really liked the ending and the message it sent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug abuse
a_novi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
For the first time in my life I was actually glad I watched the movie before I read the book. The move adaptation absolutely changed EVERYTHING about the challenges and so many huge details of the story. If I had read this book before the movie came out I would have been FURIOUS in the theater. This book is awesome. The futuristic dystopian concept is fascinating and scarily metaphorical for reality at times. There’s mysteries, puzzles, romance, suspense, and emotion. This is a book that I would read over again to catch even more detail the second time around. Good movie. Even better book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
hilarylouise's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
lenorayoder's review against another edition
adventurous
3.0
I might have rated this 4 stars because I do think the world is cool, but the teen boy of it all gets to be a bit much, especially by the end of the book. At first I thought the main character was just an accurate portrayal of teen boyness, warts and all, but it becomes obvious as the book goes on that Wade can do no wrong (and actually those aren’t warts at all!) once he’s learned the Moral of the Story. Cline also really hits you over the head with said moral. And let’s not forget the clumsy exposition that continues throughout the novel. I can tolerate that at the beginning of a book, but the entire thing?? Also “rubenesque”. More than once. Kill me.
Kind of a bummer, because I think this book had a lot of potential. I still liked it though, and I’ll probably check out the sequel. I can definitely see why this was adapted into a movie and I’ll be checking that out too.
Kind of a bummer, because I think this book had a lot of potential. I still liked it though, and I’ll probably check out the sequel. I can definitely see why this was adapted into a movie and I’ll be checking that out too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
oliverreeds's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
Good book; the portrayals of Shoto and Daito are a little racist; the main character is a pick-me boy and while he does experience some growth, most of it is because of a woman (sexist) and that whole subplot is honestly ridiculous. Like it suits the character but christ it’s a little excessive and he never faces any repercussions for his obsessive nature. We also never see a developing care for the outside world which realllly makes the love interest feel like a moral hospital for a promising young man. The world building is exceptional and the characters are all believable. I think the theme of race really gets trampled on//doesn’t get enough attention in the novel. It felt like an after thought, like the character was made to develop Wade into his final form. He’s the hero but he also sucks a lot. Also, there’s a paradoxical idolization of the creators or OASIS (rich) who honestly do and did so little to help the real world despite their vast sums of money (the reason why some characters want to win the game in the first place — to save the world). idk. the whole thing felt half-baked in terms of ideology but very strong in terms of character personas but weak in terms of character development
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
olive_lol's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
To me, one of the biggest appeals of this book is the world it creates. It intertwines old video games and futuristic technology in a compelling way. If you're a fan of references to 80s pop culture and classic video games, you'll probably like this book.
A few parts in the middle felt like they were rushed over to maintain the story's momentum, but other than that the pacing is pretty good.The ending wrapped the story up nicely. It might be a bit too clean for some, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, I liked the story and loved the world it's set in.
A few parts in the middle felt like they were rushed over to maintain the story's momentum, but other than that the pacing is pretty good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Death of parent
filipa_maia's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was not for me. I was dragging it since the beginning and I only finished it because I skipped several parts. Although I love the 80´s nostalgia (I'm a huge Stranger Things fan, for example), and I really appreciate all the movies, shows and songs that are mentioned in this book I could not enjoy it as I was expecting. I'm not the biggest fan of computer games... maybe that's the reason.
Overall, I found the narrative quite tiring, very long and repetitive. The world described in this book is very depressing... On the other hand, I think that the author is very creative, and I did appreciate the overall storyline - that's the reason I give this book three stars.
Overall, I found the narrative quite tiring, very long and repetitive. The world described in this book is very depressing... On the other hand, I think that the author is very creative, and I did appreciate the overall storyline - that's the reason I give this book three stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder
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