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Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)

Ernest Cline

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Jan 22, 2014 Lorena rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, epl

2.5 stars. I enjoyed some aspects of the book...the plot line was fun, overall, and there was obviously a lot of nostalgic elements for someone who grew up during the time period idolized and obsessed over by everyone in the book. I thought that the world-building was not as strong as it could have been, though - we only see the world through the eyes of the gunter sub-culture, really, and therefore only through the eyes of people obsessed with the 1980s. I would have been interested to see more 2.5 stars. I enjoyed some aspects of the book...the plot line was fun, overall, and there was obviously a lot of nostalgic elements for someone who grew up during the time period idolized and obsessed over by everyone in the book. I thought that the world-building was not as strong as it could have been, though - we only see the world through the eyes of the gunter sub-culture, really, and therefore only through the eyes of people obsessed with the 1980s. I would have been interested to see more of the "real" world the gunter culture is a part of. There's so much left unexplored and unanswered that could have made the novel a more complete and immersive experience, rather than an exercise in 80s geek nostalgia. I also had some qualms about the fact that it's clearly a very limited and specific white male 80s geek nostalgia that is being very uncritically celebrated. Having been a white (but not male) geek in the 80s, I understand the satisfaction in creating a fantasy world in which the culture you were ridiculed for enjoying has now become THE dominant culture, which everyone has to respect and appreciate. However, there are plenty of elements of that culture that were problematic, like the compete marginalization of women, that carry over into the structure of this novel. Women here are either not gunters (and thus irrelevant), manic pixie dream girls to be won like the princess in the castle at the end of a video game, or, (view spoiler) As it is, the version of geek culture that is celebrated here seems an awful lot like the version that groups like the Sad Puppies and other cis-white-male-dominated groups want to see codified as THE canon of all "real" geek culture. ...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Joanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bookclub, borrowed, 2013

I totally loved this. More soon....

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2017 Marsha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: a-good-read-for-my-sisters

As the stars suggest, I loved this book! I am not a gamer, nor have I ever been, but that didn't matter. The characters were likable, the dialogue and writing fun, the plot fresh and compelling, and I was on the edge of my seat as I read. I really enjoyed the throw-back references to the 80s and 90s pop-culture; maybe because I am in my 50s. I have given away at least three copies of Ready Player One as gifts because I liked it so much and thought I would share the joy. :) Warning: there are qui ...more

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Nov 02, 2013 Abigail rated it really liked it

Well, you definitely have to have at least *some* inner geek to appreciate this book, and luckily for me, I am the kind of person whose heart literally stopped beating for a few minutes when Cline flashed me back to my childhood in a deep and vivid immersion with the opening command lines from text based Zork: "you are standing in an open field west of a white house..." .
The contest to find Halliday's Easter Egg in a virtual second world was excellently paced (though I admit there some slow part ...more

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Oct 30, 2013 Leslie rated it it was amazing

I'm giving it 5 points because it completely captured me and the writing stayed interesting. I'm not a video-game player, so I didn't get many of the references, but the premise of the book and the draw of a virtual reality was believably portrayed. It's easy to imagine the story cinematically, with the dystopian civilization as a backdrop. The virtual world was thoroughly described...and engaging. I could see how it would be more inviting than reality. ...more

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Jul 30, 2014 Cairnraiser rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction, audiobook

A true geek's novel.

A games developer dies and wills his entire fortune to the player who can find three keys and clear the three matching gates. All of this within the virtual reality MMORPG The Oasis.

It is a classic quest story with a huge amount of 80's geek trivia in matters as diverse as movies, music, anime and of course video games.

The book is read by Wil Wheaton, adding another layer of geek cred. ...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Bryan457 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: juv-ya, science-fiction, fugitive, dystopia, borrow-library-audio, profanity, virtual-reality, treasure-hunt

Geek-pop-culture heaven. A new religion is born. Join the gunters.
While the pop-culture stuff actually got a bit tiresome for me at times, I absolutely loved the VR setting, where anything that can be imagined and coded can be experienced.
One of the best books I've listened to this year. ...more

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