nglofile's review against another edition
2.0
Everything I liked about this book is connected to Wil Wheaton's performance.
Let's acknowledge that the brilliance of Ready Player One is a tough act to follow. Even granting that, this doesn't succeed, and that is a disheartening statement to have to write. I'll narrow my primary complaints to three:
1. Pacing -- The world may be under imminent threat, complete with a running countdown clock, but any tension is undercut by the characters' overwhelming lack of urgency. Preparations to defend the planet repeatedly take a back seat to casual conversations, sightseeing, music breaks, hookups, snacks, petty arguments, and more. There's a difference between grabbing at possibly last moments and meandering toward life-or-death confrontations as if the big event will wait until you get there.
2. Originality -- Genre fans don't mind expected elements, plot arcs, or archetypes. We do ask for variations on the theme, not merely re-runs. Missing was any surprise or freshness, and that was bewildering.
3. Allusions -- Look, we love the pop culture references, but they have to be artfully deployed. Simply rattling off lists is not effective, and when repeated it induces eye-rolling. I lost count of how many times instead of dropping one reference, the character stacked three parallel ones in a single sentence, as if to prove his sci-fi cred.
audiobook note: Wheaton doesn't simply serve the book well; he saves it. His pacing, intonation, and emotive beats increase the richness dramatically, even helping the reader to overlook cliché and utter predictability. He captures everything from giddy excitement to teen angst, and there is one scene with an important character that shimmers with multiple emotions played all at once.
Let's acknowledge that the brilliance of Ready Player One is a tough act to follow. Even granting that, this doesn't succeed, and that is a disheartening statement to have to write. I'll narrow my primary complaints to three:
1. Pacing -- The world may be under imminent threat, complete with a running countdown clock, but any tension is undercut by the characters' overwhelming lack of urgency. Preparations to defend the planet repeatedly take a back seat to casual conversations, sightseeing, music breaks, hookups, snacks, petty arguments, and more. There's a difference between grabbing at possibly last moments and meandering toward life-or-death confrontations as if the big event will wait until you get there.
2. Originality -- Genre fans don't mind expected elements, plot arcs, or archetypes. We do ask for variations on the theme, not merely re-runs. Missing was any surprise or freshness, and that was bewildering.
3. Allusions -- Look, we love the pop culture references, but they have to be artfully deployed. Simply rattling off lists is not effective, and when repeated it induces eye-rolling. I lost count of how many times instead of dropping one reference, the character stacked three parallel ones in a single sentence, as if to prove his sci-fi cred.
audiobook note: Wheaton doesn't simply serve the book well; he saves it. His pacing, intonation, and emotive beats increase the richness dramatically, even helping the reader to overlook cliché and utter predictability. He captures everything from giddy excitement to teen angst, and there is one scene with an important character that shimmers with multiple emotions played all at once.
ktxx22's review
4.0
Gahhhh my sci-fi love hath grown 10 fold!! This book is sooo much fun! Action, language, and story concept! Hats off to you Mr. Cline! I’m giving this lovely book 4/5 only because some of the storyline was fairly predictable and cliché, but that really didn’t effect my love of this book! Also Will Wheaton reads this book and he does an amazing job!! I didn’t really know what to expect but I was absolutely chuffed with his reading.
Know a gamer who doesn’t really like to read.... Buy them this book!!
Know a gamer who doesn’t really like to read.... Buy them this book!!
ally1135's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars, only because I didn’t really like the ending. I enjoyed the majority of the story, definitely a page-turner, but there were some obvious cliches and tropes that made it a little less enjoyable. Overall, fun read, but I preferred Ready Player One by a long shot.
dannycakez8808's review
4.0
4.5 stars
I absolutely adored this book! Although this followed different characters, it really stayed true to Ernest Cline and his writing style. It also felt like you were still in the same world as ready player one. I like the representation in this book as well as the views on Aliens and War. I love that he Embraces nerd-hood and all the video gamereferences. .
I absolutely adored this book! Although this followed different characters, it really stayed true to Ernest Cline and his writing style. It also felt like you were still in the same world as ready player one. I like the representation in this book as well as the views on Aliens and War. I love that he Embraces nerd-hood and all the video gamereferences. .
cdeane61's review
2.0
An entertaining read and very fast paced, but way too cliched as far a character and relationship go.
I like the scenario and this is a good Young Adult book.
I like the scenario and this is a good Young Adult book.
laissezfarrell's review
1.0
Lazy references--mostly explicitly explained and almost totally groan-inducing.
ndenitto's review
2.0
A note after only 50 pages: I'm really annoyed with how perfect Cline has made his main character Zack. He's got a temper, but only shows it when standing up for "weaker" people; he's got an easy kick-ass job; he gets "faintly disgusted by his own gender" when guys flip out about how hot his mom is. This character just reeks of Cline trying to live out a fantasy of being his own definition of perfect: a mega-geek that not only plays video games but is AMAZING at them, had a hot girlfriend (who cheated on him, adding to the boo-hoo easy sympathy for the character), has a sweet job, and is morally upstanding to boot. When am I going to see something negative about Zack?
Ok, back to reading.
OK SO NOW I FINISHED THE BOOK
I guessed everything that happened in this book.
Everything.
Every major plot point that was supposed to be revelatory or surprising, including the aliens motivations, I figured out extremely early on.
Was this book well-written or unique enough to justify being so predictable? Not in the slightest. The characters were paper thin, a perfect romantic interest shows up randomly, the battle scenes were dull, and the ending was borrowed from a South Park episode.
Ok, back to reading.
OK SO NOW I FINISHED THE BOOK
I guessed everything that happened in this book.
Everything.
Every major plot point that was supposed to be revelatory or surprising, including the aliens motivations, I figured out extremely early on.
Was this book well-written or unique enough to justify being so predictable? Not in the slightest. The characters were paper thin, a perfect romantic interest shows up randomly, the battle scenes were dull, and the ending was borrowed from a South Park episode.