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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
aj_readsbooks29's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Interesting read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, Death of parent, and Murder
pomegranate_muse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, and Death of parent
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
bookdragons's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Say what you want about the author, but I truely enjoy 99% of this book. There are a ton of points where the main character lists off chunks of info that some people find dry but I enjoyed it. On top of that, there are two points in the book that knocked it down to a 4/5 for me. One point making me feel uncomfortable reading and another just straight homophonic. Besides those two comments, I truely enjoyed the constant reminders of the virtual world full of anything and everything from pop-culture.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia and Stalking
The point of mysogyny/ homophobia:danka66's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Death, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
paukinra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Stalking, and Murder
jessthanthree's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
zakcebulski's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
Yeah, this book is not for me. This review is going to be very... very ranty and more than a little discombobulated. This review is also going to be VERY vulgar, so, if you are sensitive to that, then please do not read.
I read this book 10-11 years ago, and I remember loving it. I found a used copy and I thought it would be fun to go through this one again and relive some of the feeling that I loved back in the day. Now, I don't know if I read it more in depth now, or, if I have just matured a bit in general. But, holy fuck dude, this book is soooooo not for me.
First, I cannot stand Wade- the main character. This dude is fucking insufferable if not for anything more than his general temperament and his weirdly manipulative incel like reaction to rejection?
He confesses his love to another character- Art3mis- and she does not reciprocate the feelings- sure, a bummer, but, a totally normal thing.
Wade then talks about how "winning the money is more important to her than he is", which is just the most manipulative shit around. And then, when she talks about how she could save the world if she won the OASIS he replies "how fuckin' noble of you". Dawg, are you serious?
And, what the fuck is up with the talks about this dude being a virgin? Stop? He is 18 in this book- why is this a point of discussion more than once? Why is it a fucking discussion point at all? Who gives a shit? Just... stop?
I don't understand the obsession with people's obsession with virginity- but, whatever at this point.
And, Wade has, one of the most incelliest incel comments in the history of incel behavior- "The female of the species has always found me repellent."
What.
The.
Fuck.
I am going to go ahead and put this out there. If every girl you talk to does not like you... then you are the problem.
FUCCCCCK I hate Wade.
Do we want to fucking discuss how he talks about using a fucking sex doll? And how he references to a passage in this stupid ass book he uses as a guide for life about how James Halliday also masturbated alot and so it's fine? What a weird fucking inclusion, Cline.
I absolutely cannot stand the amount of pop culture references within this goddamn book.
We get it. 80s. The. FUCKING. NINETEEN. MOTHERFUCKING. 80s. DO YOU GET IT?? Holy shit. This book came off as little more to me than an overindulgent masturbatory exploration of Ernest Cline's love for the 80s where he just proves that he knows so fucking much about the 1980s you wouldn't even believe it. And, it is every fucking page. It is just written in such an unbelievable way, too. Some super obscure thing from the 80s? Oh you bet your bottom dollar that our boy Wade knows exactly what it is because, I mean, obviously he does. This guy is SO fucking cool and SO fucking prepared! Hell yeah Wade. GODDAMMIT.
This shit is so fucking annoying is just where I am at when I think about this fucking book. How flippantly people talk about this stuff "oh, what're you doing" "Just brushed up on some old- coin ops". Fuck. Off. The amount of eye rolling I did in this book is beyond compare. We are really, truly supposed to believe that an 18 year old kid has the entirety of fucking WarGames memorized? Jesus Christ.
When Aech and Wade "flex" their knowledge on another gunter (don't even get me fucking started) it is the most cringe inducing scene fucking hell.
But, the worst scene is by far... by fucking FAR when Wade opts to go and fucking stalk Art3mis after they stop talking and he send her flowers and all of this shit and then goes to her castle complex and holds a boombox over his head to play "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel because- what's that? You guessed it.... MOTHERFUCKIN 80s REFERENCE, FUCKER- it might be one of my least favorite scenes in books this year.
This shit could have been so fucking cool. But, it wasn't, it missed the mark so much by fucking flooding so many goddamn references to the 80s to the point where I wonder why Ernest Cline didn't just write a book entitled "The 80s: A Cultural Exploration" because that is clearly what he wanted to write.
And why... why why why why why why why why why why why was Aech's big reveal of being a black lesbian a reveal at all? I guess the whole idea is to say "people feel like that can't be themselves", but, really? That falls flat when this is a big reveal that is not at all explored at all. Goddammit. What a piece of shit "twist" this was. To me, it doesn't come off as representation if it is a bait and switch like did Cline really think "hmm, I am going to get the readers to love this character and then reveal him to be a her" and think that that counts as representation? It really rubs me the worst kind of way.
And Art3mis? Could have been such a great character, but you know what we should do instead? Relegate her to love interest, stalking target and lady in need of a big strong man aka mother fucking Wade to come through and use his brain knowledge about the fucking 1980s to show how fucking RADICAL he is. And, I am giving absolutely zero fucking points for Wade accepting Art3mis even though she has a *GASP* port wine birthmark. She is described as Pro-tip- accepting someone for their appearance doesn't make you an absolutely wonderful person.
I am going to go on record and say that having a billionaire die and leave 240,000,000,000 not to the starving people of the world, but rather hidden where it might never be found is the pinnacle of why we should eat the fucking rich. I don't know why this should be lauded? The guy had the means to kinda sorta even START to unfuck parts of the world and instead he opted, posthumously, to say "good fucking luck you little peasants!". I fucking loathed this goddamn plot. Ohhhh the big bad guy works for a big bad corporation? Get it? Do you get it? DO YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND??? CORPORATIONS ARE BAD!
We know. We fucking understand what you're saying.
There are authors who have re-written scenes and whole portions of books so that they can undo or rectify a plot hole.
The dude Ernie C? Nahhhhh can't be fucking bothered doing that. This guy has no time- he has to tune his boombox while waxing his fucking DeLorean while reciting the entirety of The Breakfast Club while voting for Walter Mondale while listening to Madonna because fucking 19 goddamn mother fucking 80s!
Instead, our guy? He has an ace up his white jacket sleeve from the Thriller album cover- Deus Ex Machina.
Need to get out of a pickle? Don't want to do the work to make things make sense? EZ PZ just have an extra life granted for a perfect game of Pac-Man! No one else in the history of the OASIS did that? DON'T QUESTION IT!
Need some hyper obscure 1980s knowledge to get you out of a jam? Well, luckily for me, I actually can recite every moment of the 1980s from memory because I studied it all while bored one day, so, I have it!
If there is one thing I can commend Cline on it is his complete and unabashed dedication to the death of subtlety. This book read as the worst fucking kind of overindulgent gatekeeping fanfiction masquerading as a book.
I hated this book, I think that much is clear.
I need to stop writing before I have a goddamn conniption.
Fuck this book. Don't waste your time with this trash. This may legitimately be my least favorite book I have ever had the displeasure of reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War