Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Nov 12, 2016 Jordan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 4-0-rating-or-higher

This was not my typical read...I'm not usually into sifi novels but this was kind of hard to catalogue into one specific genre. I guess it was more of a futuristic/dystopian/sifi, packed full of 80's trivia, and it had some realistic possibilities with the way technology continues to advance.
The whole book took place in a future United States where our society, and our planet as a whole, is falling apart after years of abuse and neglect from humans. Gasoline and energy are precious resources, f This was not my typical read...I'm not usually into sifi novels but this was kind of hard to catalogue into one specific genre. I guess it was more of a futuristic/dystopian/sifi, packed full of 80's trivia, and it had some realistic possibilities with the way technology continues to advance.
The whole book took place in a future United States where our society, and our planet as a whole, is falling apart after years of abuse and neglect from humans. Gasoline and energy are precious resources, few and far between and extremely expensive and most humans find there escape and refuge in a virtually reality world called the OASIS where many people spend the majority of their time working, playing games or going on quests, attending virtual school, shopping, exploring the 29 sectors of countless planets, all from the anonymity of the personal avatar of their design. The main character, Wade aka Perzeval, is trying to find the ultimate Easter egg, hidden in the Oasis by its founder, J. Holiday who informed every Oasis user of its existence and that he had hidden it somewhere within his vast creation. Whoever finds this hidden gem will inherit Holidays entire fortune worth multi billions! However, the nemesis of Perzeval, and all other Gunters (a term defining gamers who search for the egg professionally) are called the "Sixers", an organization also trying to find the egg so they can take over the Oasis, commercialize it and begin charging everyone who uses it a fee. The sixers are a powerful rival with many members, nearly endless resources, and they are willing to do anything to find Holiday's egg, including killing not only Avatars in the Oasis, but also the actual players controlling the avatars IRL.

One thing I loved about this book, being a child of the 80's myself, was all the 80's references and there were tons! From video games to movies, music, computer models, cartoons, toys, even cereal prizes, it was very nostalgic.

However , one thing that bothered me, and this really isn't a spoiler because it's mentioned in one of the first chapters, maybe even the first chapter, is that we are told right from the beginning that Perzeval won the inheritance by finding the hidden egg. The rest of the book is just an account of how he did it. I don't know why the author set it up like that, maybe because it would have been so obvious that that was what was going to happen he didn't want to insult the readers intelligence so he just put it out there, but whatever the reason it took away all the suspense and anticipation when you know from the beginning how a book is going to end. Regardless of that one little complaint I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone even if you're not into video games or sifi because this book really does have something for everyone. I have read there is going to be a movie adaptation, directed by Steven Spielberg I believe, and I can't wait to see that not only because I loved the book so much but also because I can't even imagine how they will translate it from book to movie format. There will definitely be some crazy over the top special effects and if I had to guess I'd be inclined to assume it's going to be fantastic especially if the book is any indication! I gave this book a 5 star rating because it was such a fun, unique, creative read and completely unlike anything else I've ever read before (in a good way) and even though nothing like the OASIS exists today, Cline did such a great job describing it that I feel like I've been there myself, seen and experienced it, and can still recollect it in my minds eye when recalling this book. ...more

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Jul 08, 2018 Jenn G rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobooks, 5-stars, borrowed-from-library, read-in-2018

4.5

This book was so full of geeky things I loved it! I have a thing for books set around a game and this one was such a fun one. I wasn't crazy about all the battle scenes (I can't picture them in my head and I lose some of the action) and the ''love'' story. Also, I don't know a lot about 80's culture but the explanations really helped me understand the references and it made me want to watch some of the movies mentioned in the book. ...more

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Jul 24, 2019 Keli rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: defo-not-my-cup-o-tea, i-dont-get-their-popularity, now-i-know-what-the-hype-was-about, i-wanted-to-like-it-more, 2-5-rounded-down

I suck at writing reviews. When I love a book I always know there is someone more eloquent than I who will put into words better than I thoughts that we share. When it comes to a book I didn't appreciate I write a review sometimes but sometimes I just can't be bothered. So I'm going to start leaving my thoughts as I go.

I'm a third of the way through, here's what Ernest is evoking 😴😴😴😴😴😴😴😴
So far this book is a chore. I almost dnfed it at chapter 2!! I've got so many issues with it. Here's a hand ...more

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Jan 09, 2016 Kimberly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

A fantastic read! Fast-paced and engaging in very way. Full of humour, intrigue, and for those of us who grew up through the '80s, memories!
Highly recommend. ...more

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May 05, 2018 Tina rated it it was ok

Shelves: ammp-fairytale

The book was really something special. The idea is great. The world in the book is really interesting and believable.
The main problem was that I'm not familiar with the 80's. All this games are "new" for me, so I believe I couldn't have feelings like someone who was teen/adult in that time... ...more

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Feb 08, 2017 Lu rated it liked it

It's a nice enough book for people who were born in the '70. The whole book is nothing but an homage to the 1980s and since I was born in 1988, most of the references got lost on me. I had to google most of the characters named and I haven't played any of the games that are played during the book and I only saw 2 of the movies mentioned. All in all, it's not a bad book, but the target audience is too limited. ...more

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