Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) in Fantasy-Faction.com

Nov 29, 2011 Mogsy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: gaming, fantasy, science-fiction, action-adventure, dystopia, favorites

I was born in the mid-80s so I probably missed out on more than half of the movie/music/game etc. references in this book. Didn't matter, I still enjoyed the heck out of this. The story is rather simplistic, but once it got going i couldn't bring myself to stop reading.

I also loved how Ernest Cline described the relationships between the characters in the book. A lot of us online gamers can probably relate to the experience of making long-lasting friendships over the internet, the excitement an ...more

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Aug 31, 2013 Althea Ann rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book a lot. That said, I feel like it has a very narrow audience; a reader much younger (or older) than me would probably miss a lot, and a reader geekier than I would probably like it even more. But if you were around for 80s pop culture, you'll get something out of this.

In the near future, a virtual reality world has taken over pop culture. Gaming, socializing, even school classes take place in this MMO environment. It only adds to the popularity when the fabulously wealthy desi I enjoyed this book a lot. That said, I feel like it has a very narrow audience; a reader much younger (or older) than me would probably miss a lot, and a reader geekier than I would probably like it even more. But if you were around for 80s pop culture, you'll get something out of this.

In the near future, a virtual reality world has taken over pop culture. Gaming, socializing, even school classes take place in this MMO environment. It only adds to the popularity when the fabulously wealthy designer of this interface dies - and leaves his entire fortune to the person who follows the clues and wins the secret video game he's hidden in easter eggs in his virtual world.

The deceased programmer was a child of the 80s, so his clues are all based in 80s video games, movies, music and other pop culture references - which spawns a massive cultural retro fad for all things 80s, which creates an odd veneer on this dystopian future landscape (things aren't doing too well, out IRL.) Communities of people devoted to playing the game spring up - but, with that much money at stake, evil corporate interests also have an eye toward winning.

Wade (known as Parzival online), a poor but fully geeky boy, becomes one of the leading players of the game, hoping to leverage his videogame skills and his in-depth knowledge of 80s trivia into success. With the help of his friends - whom he's never actually met - he goes up against the Borg-like Sixers (paid corporate hackers) - and soon gets in deeper than he'd expected.

The book's a fun adventure, but it also has a lot to say about both the good and the bad aspects of today's increasingly wired environment; the pitfalls and the benefits of online identities, and how the 'virtual' can also be quite real.

One thing that struck me while reading the book, however, which wasn't really discussed as deeply as it could've been, is the limitations inherent in fandom. The author is clearly, as we could say himself, a 'fanboy,' as are his characters. However, the author has now created his own art, in the form of this book, and his other creative output. However, his characters don't. They spend hours obsessing over and memorizing trivia. The can play pre-programmed video game routines flawlessly. They can recite all the dialogue to movies that others created, lyrics to songs others wrote. They immerse themselves in virtual worlds that others designed. This may apply to today's 'geeks' as well, but in the book it's much more glaring because for these characters it's practically ancient history, decades removed - their grandfather's pop culture. Not much new and creative seems to be going on at all; the world is kind of falling apart, while people escape into VR. There's a fun, rich aspect to this fandom - but also a desperation, and a stagnant, stifling side.

Addendum:
I forgot to mention: the 'armchair treasure hunt' aspect to the video game contest made me remember the book, 'Masquerade' from my childhood: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masquera.... I thought it was funny that the book didn't make even a passing mention of book-oriented puzzles of this sort, that were very popular in the 80s.

(revisiting for book club, 5/15) ...more

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May 30, 2016 A.E. Marling rated it liked it

If you’re looking for the story where gamers are the heroes, try Ready Player One. In this twenty-first-century retelling of the Matrix, our hero has willingly plugged into a virtual world where he’s playing for the ultimate prize: the inheritance of an eccentric billionaire who created the megagame called the Oasis. Not only does humanity enter this dreamland to escape from the ravaged world but also to go to school, to socialize, and to work. Whoever wins the competition will gain control of t If you’re looking for the story where gamers are the heroes, try Ready Player One. In this twenty-first-century retelling of the Matrix, our hero has willingly plugged into a virtual world where he’s playing for the ultimate prize: the inheritance of an eccentric billionaire who created the megagame called the Oasis. Not only does humanity enter this dreamland to escape from the ravaged world but also to go to school, to socialize, and to work. Whoever wins the competition will gain control of the Oasis and of society itself.

The problem is, an Evil Corporation is throwing all its resources behind beating the game. They have warship upon warship of avatars, and if any one of them win, they’ll monopolize the Oasis.

Our hero has every reason to ally with the other gamers. In fact, many people in this world do form clans dedicated to beating the game together. However, Ready Player One is primarily a single-player story. Most of it occurs in extreme isolation, and the protagonist is the greatest recluse of them all.

I was not thrilled with this depiction of a gaming hero. First, it seemed rather stereotypical. Second, it downplayed the importance of community in such megagames. I’ve played MMORPG’s, and thinking back to the lively banter of guildchat made me realize what a different story this could’ve been. In my experience, very little of importance was done alone.

What relationships there were in Ready Player One also made me uncomfortable. The romance is squeezed mostly into a single chapter. The characters never believed they truly could know each other until they had met in real life. The importance of RL was emphasized again and again, which felt dissonant in a book dedicated to virtual spaces.

The characters doubted the verisimilitude of each other’s avatars. That’s healthy skepticism. But it should be extended to real life. The persona people project in person may not be their only one. We love to believe everyone has fixed personality traits, but that’s a myth. Social situation plays a large role in behavior, and personality can be fluid from place to place, from time to time. People have been false to each other long before online communication. Deception doesn’t require electronic media.

When the hero meets his best online friend in real life, they quickly accept each other (regardless of appearance) because it feels like they already knew everything of import about each other. And yet this same set of values isn’t extended to the romantic relationship, in which it’s suggested that nothing counts unless it happens IRL.

In Victorian literature, I accept that some measure of passion can be exchanged by letter, and I am even more willing to believe in long-distance relationships through Ethernet cables. True, romances begun online aren’t likely to persist in real life. But it’s not as if relationships originating in the real world are infallible.

Ready Player One may isolate its characters and sabotage its own virtual setting, but you are still likely to love it if you enjoy references to classic video games and geeky 1980’s icons. The high-tech competition revolves around both.
...more

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Nov 03, 2011 David rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites

I loved this book, even though it was completely predictable. It's something of a musical with an 80s soundtrack. It's got the music and plot of a Broadway musical. Boy gets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back, etc.

All the 80s details are amazing! But if you don't remember the 80s I don't think this book would appeal to you. It's making me wish I could gather up the old geek gang and play role playing games the old fashioned way, with dice and paper! ...more

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Apr 29, 2015 Anthony rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian-literature

I have to admit right off the bat: I really really really put off reading this book. I do this sometimes: a book/movie/show/band gets so hyped, so over-hyped sometimes, that I just know I'll be disappointed so I delay checking it out. Most of the times I've finally given in and read/watched/listened, I've ended up enjoying. And Ready Player One is no exception that experience, as you can tell by the five star rating.

I could natter on for paragraphs about all of the 80's pop culture references. P I have to admit right off the bat: I really really really put off reading this book. I do this sometimes: a book/movie/show/band gets so hyped, so over-hyped sometimes, that I just know I'll be disappointed so I delay checking it out. Most of the times I've finally given in and read/watched/listened, I've ended up enjoying. And Ready Player One is no exception that experience, as you can tell by the five star rating.

I could natter on for paragraphs about all of the 80's pop culture references. Plenty of other reviewers have already done so at greater length. As a child of the 70s-80s, I enjoyed all of the references I picked up on. I wasn't much of a computer-game player, although I did enjoy D&D and the cabinet arcade games, so some of those references didn't immediately click with me. I had a Trash-80 as I believe my first computer (I remember the tape deck); I also think we had a Commodore and I know we had an early Atari game system, and enjoyed those references. And of course the movie and music references brought smiles to my faces. (Sorry, Aech, but I'm with Wade: Ladyhawke and Legend rock.)

And if the book were nothing but pop culture references, it would still be a fun read -- but it would also get old very quickly. Cline's real strength is in marrying all of that well-researched detail to characters that we care about. Wade is personable and interesting from the very beginning, while the book is still set in the real world and we see how badly everything had deteriorated. We get a strong sense of who he is, how he relates to other people -- so that when the bad guys make their inevitable first move, we feel Wade's reaction authentically. We also recognize and understand his reasons for making his online avatar look more fit/handsome than Wade is in real life. The same is true as we meet Art3mis, Aech, Shoto and Daito -- they are real people, regardless of the fact that this being a first person narrrative from Wade/Parzival's POV we are only meeting them as avatars in a world-wide video game. We come to care about them despite knowing in the real world they are probably not who they say they are. Wade has his real-world secrets, and so do his best online friends. Along with Wade, I was worried about what would happen if (or rather, when) they would all meet ... which is another indication the author has done a great job investing us in the characters.

I also enjoyed the fact that, like so many of the movies and books referenced, the main villain is a Super Evil Conglomerate (IOI) and that the face of that Conglomerate is a smarmy, snazzy-suit-wearing, jackass. Nolan Sorrento IS every classic 80's movie bad-guy: he's Walter Peck, Gordon Gecko, Carter Burke, Hans Gruber, and so many more, rolled into one, and like those gentlemen you're just waiting for him to get his but good.

This one is definitely worth a read, and maybe also a re-read or five. Most of us don't get all of the references on the first read, I suspect. ...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Nick Mariner rated it liked it

Maybe 3.5 stars, if that was allowable. The story is fun and engaging. I read it in just a few days because I kept wanting to know more about the adventure of the Egg Hunt. But the writing in the book is sub-par. Cline writes through the narrator, a teenage gamer. While he stays true to that character's voice, it's not exactly high art to read your protagonist continually refer to his enemies as 'asshats.' The scenes of banter between Wade and his allies are sophomoric to the point of being almo ...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Adam Casalino rated it it was ok

What the heck? This book feels like it was written by someone who doesn't play video games, writing to people who don't play video games. It is shamelessly pandering to the 80's generation. The most offensive thing about it, though, is its bleak vision of the future: a degenerated society that has abandoned natural life to live inside a massive video game. As if humanity--if it had the choice--would rather have an artificial life over the real one, letting our responsibilities and real world asp ...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Chris Davis rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

I recently reviewed Neuromancer by William Gibson, a book that with hindsight was incredibly prophetic and seems to have almost predicted the internet. I wonder whether we will look back on Ready Player One in 50 years with a similar sense of awe. It certainly seems possible.

Ready Player One takes place in about 2045. We are not told a lot about what happened to the world between now and 2045, however it is clear that things have taken a turn for the worse. While not quite being “post-apocalypti I recently reviewed Neuromancer by William Gibson, a book that with hindsight was incredibly prophetic and seems to have almost predicted the internet. I wonder whether we will look back on Ready Player One in 50 years with a similar sense of awe. It certainly seems possible.

Ready Player One takes place in about 2045. We are not told a lot about what happened to the world between now and 2045, however it is clear that things have taken a turn for the worse. While not quite being “post-apocalyptic,” the world is struggling. America is suffering from mass poverty and food shortages, with people living in Stacks, which are effectively towers of mobile homes. Not nice places to live.

Fortunately the world can take solace in the OASIS–a computer simulation that you plug into with a headset and gloves. The OASIS contains many planets and simulations. You can “quest” to level up and earn money and weapons, but you can also attend school on a dedicated planet for education, or work-part time in a virtual clothing store. Faced with the choice of living in the real world which is falling apart, or living in the OASIS, it is perhaps not surprising that people spend most of their lives plugged in.

Interestingly the OASIS still has a rigid economy, so if you are poor in the real world, you may also be poor in the OASIS and stuck on one world unable to travel anywhere. That is the situation Wade finds himself in. In the real world he is a dirt broke 18 year old kid, and in the OASIS he is also a dirt broke 18 year old kid. But slightly more attractive.

The story here starts when the creator of the OASIS, Halliday, dies. He leaves behind a video will that leaves his ownership of the OASIS to the person who can find three keys and open three gates. Halliday was obsessed with 1980s culture, so those who set about finding the keys have to brush up on their 1980s knowledge. Wade is one of these people, and to say he is obsessed with all things 80s is a big understatement. In addition to people like Wade, there is also a big corporation out to find the keys so that they can begin charging for use of the OASIS.

As you can probably tell from the set-up, this book is full of 80s culture. I cannot even begin to cover what is mentioned, but the main references are to things like Dungeons and Dragons, and arcade games. Unfortunately there is a heavy American focus on what is included. I would have liked to see more awareness of things like Doctor Who and Red Dwarf. To be honest though, the references are not that crucial. I am really a child of the 90s, but I still loved this book. I’m sure you will get more from the book if you are into the 80s culture, but it is not a requirement.

This book is one of the best examples of perfect pacing that I have seen in a while. There is no filler here. The story moves along from one point to the next. It is never predictable, but will also not shock you either. I’m not sure if this is officially a Young Adult book, but it certainly reads like one. It reminds me a lot of The Hunger Games, but with a focus on geek stuff. It is also a lot better. My only slight issue with the book was how Wade has apparently read, watched, and played everything 80s about 100 times (he has actually seen one movie 157 times). I get the point that the author is trying to make here, but it is simply not believable that an 18 year old has done all that while also attending school. Just a minor gripe I had.

I think you will already know if this book is for you or not. If the premise doesn’t appeal, then the quality of the writing will not overcome that problem. However, for most people who read science-fiction, I can’t imagine this being an issue. This is not an epic. There will probably be no trilogy (I hope). What it is, is an incredibly enjoyable book that you will not be able to put down.

9/10 ...more

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Jan 29, 2018 Pickle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy, books-that-are-movies

Read this as im planning on seeing the movie and im glad i did... it was fantastic. Very easy to visualise, nice happy plot, etc i could go on and on. It wont suit many people but for someone like me it was perfect.. really looking forward to the movie.

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Oct 09, 2013 Jason Abay-Abay rated it it was amazing

This one had me smiling with all the memories it brought back of living through the 80's. Loved the Joust reference as that was one of my favorite games. Great book! ...more

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