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Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)

Ernest Cline

Start date: November 1, 2011

Finish date: December 31, 2011

Discussion: 2011 Reading Discussions

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2011 Reading Discussions

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What Members Thought

Jul 30, 2011 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: _own-ebook, busy-as-a-bee-books-group, _own-home-library, read-in-2011, fiction, rec-botn, all-time-favorite, rec-ig-blogs-friends-other

I'm not a science fiction fan. I'm not a huge gamer. I'm not all of things that you'd think you'd have to be to enjoy this book. I wasn't sure going in that I was going to enjoy it. What a pleasant surprise! Wow. Just wow. I loved this book. Completely, totally and utterly loved it. Between the 80's references that took me straight back to my childhood and the unabashedly 'geeky' story, it was almost like coming home for me!

I love the world building that Ernest Cline has done so effectively in I'm not a science fiction fan. I'm not a huge gamer. I'm not all of things that you'd think you'd have to be to enjoy this book. I wasn't sure going in that I was going to enjoy it. What a pleasant surprise! Wow. Just wow. I loved this book. Completely, totally and utterly loved it. Between the 80's references that took me straight back to my childhood and the unabashedly 'geeky' story, it was almost like coming home for me!

I love the world building that Ernest Cline has done so effectively in this novel. The characters just jump off the page, the world at large so familiar yet completely changed, and the great writing ... it all adds up to a fantastic, can't put it down read! I want to go back and read it again because it was so packed full of amazing things, that I'm sure I missed a few. I very rarely want to read a book a second time, given the size of my TBR list but this is an exception. This is, so far, my favorite book of 2011.

It might be a good idea to give a quick synopsis of the book (which I usually don't do in my reviews). This novel takes place in 2044, in a world that is essentially a wasteland. The main character (and most people in the world) spends most of his time in a MMO (massively multiplayer online) virtual reality game known as OASIS. Upon his death, the creator of this online game has decided to give away the game (and his financial empire) to the first person who can complete a quest created by him that takes place in OASIS. The plot entails the main character and a group of fantastic other characters working on completing the quest.

The entire premise of this novel was fantastic, believable and intriguing. The idea of a 'egg hunt' within an alternative reality - an interesting take on the idea behind Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - is fantastic! All of the clues, riddles and puzzles were fascinating to me! I couldn't wait to get to the next one, to learn more about the world of Oasis and its creator. Halliday, Wade, Art3mis and the rest of the cast of characters came alive for me. I found the writing to be witty and multi-dimensional. I couldn't stop reading this novel. I wanted more and more and more. I was not happy when I reached the end and had to leave the world that Ernest Cline has created in this book.

The book is extremely easy to read and it's pacing is fantastic! It moved quickly and efficiently but it never felt rushed. Although technically a science fiction novel, the concepts of the book are easily understood and there isn't a lot of science fiction or any of the stuff usually associated with science fiction. It is in some ways science fiction for people who don't love science fiction. The endless 80s references and other 'geeky' references are fantastic if you're someone who likes that sort of thing. As a child of the 80s, I related to it. If you aren't a fan of the 80s, perhaps this aspect of the book might become tiresome.

I definitely recommend this novel. Without a doubt. Pick it up ... you will not regret it! As I said before, this may well be my favorite novel of the year! It's a great book! ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2011 Karli rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bee-books, 5-star-reads, amazing, ya

I couldn't stop reading this...again. SO GOOD!!! ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Liz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars, dystopia, bees-neez

What's not to love? If the movie, Idiocracy and the book, The Hunger Games had a novel book child, this would be it. Set in a dystopian future, where the world is in ruin, and people escape their real lives to be a part of a virtual world called OASIS. In OASIS, you can be anyone or anything, a true escape from real life troubles. The sky is the limit.
Without belaboring the plot, this is a novel of true adventure, that has you rooting for the underdog. Anyone who has ever played a video ga ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 30, 2011 KrisT rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2011

Best book I have read in a long time. This book has the excitement that you felt while reading The hunger games mashed with the cool trivia of the 80's all in a world where you can become the video game. Loved it. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2011 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: vacation-reading-recommendations

A delayed review...

In the future, human connections are maintained primarily through interacting in an incredibly extensive virtual world created by a brilliant developer and lover of 1980s geekery. Our hero is Wade/Parzival, a high school student who has had a particularly difficult life and relishes the escape of OASIS for conducting his day-to-day activities. When the creator of OASIS dies, the mother of all treasure hunts is revealed to the world: hidden within the depths of the OASIS platfo ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2014 Carly Svamvour rated it really liked it

I've been putting this off for a while - had the disks in from the library, but couldn't get interested. Then I got them again last week and really liked it.

Finished it up yesterday and was kinda sorry when it was over - I'm gonna miss all those weird nerds.

...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 26, 2011 Elizabeth (NC) rated it really liked it

Shelves: bee-bookshelf, isabel, hive-100-challenge, four-and-five-star

I read this several years ago and loved it. Just recently finished reading with my daughter and loved it again.

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 09, 2011 Loretta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bees, books-i-own, botns-recs, favorites, science-fiction, my-5-star-reads, 2012

Reading this incredibly book was like taking a shot of pure, unfiltered joy. An instant favorite.

5 stars.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2015 Queralt✨ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: faves

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2011 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: former-bees, five-star-reads

I loved, loved, loved this book. It was a fun Star Wars kind of feel good, the kids are all right adventure/mystery with a huge trove of 80's pop culture. The mystery of locating the 'egg' itself is compelling enough, but add in the young versus old, independant versus corporation dimensions and it gets even better. Then, layer on all the 80's pop culture references and nostalgia and you have a perfect book in my mind. I really cannot find anything about this book that I didn't like or could pic ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Feb 09, 2012 Adonica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: karli-s-recommendations

I would like to give this 4 1/2 stars...or maybe even 4 3/4 stars...going with 5 stars, because if you would have ever told me that a book with this storyline would keep my attention, I would have thought you were crazy! I found the book to be very hard to put down. My only complaint is not about the writing, but with my own lack of knowledge of that specific part of the 80's...I was not familiar with the technology of the time, so it was very foreign to me...but it was written well enough so th ...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Garlan ✌ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, defies-strict-adherence-to-a-given, 2012-reads

I'm giving this book 5 stars. Not sure if it really deserves it, but its definitely one of the more original, fun, and interesting books that I've read this year. Its no literary giant, but its a great read! Read the jacket blurb for a quick synopsis, but I'll just add that the characters are well rounded and believeable, and the story is pretty addictive. I read this one in three days, but could have easily finished it in one or two with a very little effort. This one's a lot of fun; give it a ...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Alison rated it really liked it

This book was addictive! I think because I remember some of the games that are mentioned in the book, but Cline's dystopic world is so believable and sad and cool all at once. Great read. ...more

1 like · Like · see review