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May 2014 Read: Ready Player One (also April 2013 read)
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Got my copy of the book, got my tokens, let's hit the start button and get reading!
I read this book some time ago and so I am looking forward tp discussing it with you.
This is why I love this group - I'm not sure if I would have found this book otherwise.I have my epub version all ready to go - right after I finish Wool by Hugh Howey (which I'm reading for another group), but that won't take long because I'm on the last 50 or so pages.
I love this book... I can't wait for you all to read it so we can chat! There is one part (view spoiler) that I thought was kind of a bit much... but I love the rest. I could not put it down. Read faster! :)
This is my favorite book I've read this year. I think it's going on my all time favorites list, I love it that much.
Those are some mighty words Robyn and Rebecca - now my expectations are raised! I just started it last night.
It's silly and over the top, but serious with an important message, but that message is not OVERLY annoyingly shoved in your face every minute.
The first 20 or so pages I was ho-hum about it, but farther in now and I'm definitely liking it.One thing that is annoying me, which isn't a plot spoiler but I'll put behind a tag just in case (if you're 50 pages in, this won't ruin anything for you):
(view spoiler)
Is this just me?
I do love that it specifically mentions that one of the worlds in the OASIS is a Firefly like world. I would play the hell out of that.
I'm gonna start this soon. Just finished the last book I've been reading.I hope this is as good as you say. :D
Kelly - for your spoiler... here's a spoiler... don't read it if you don't want a little hint! (view spoiler)
Kelly I agree with you. I read this last year and while I enjoyed the overall story, to me it was just so 80s that it was a bit overwhelming. Though I was also happy for the Firefly addition.I'm a late 80s baby so I technically did not grow up then but with all the 80s nostalgia in our culture I understood most of the references. To me this entire book was a giant love letter to the 80s and how you feel about that does affect your enjoyment.
Granted I had fun speculating about making everyone as obsessed with my fandoms as I am if I were an insanely rich person who created a world with hidden easter eggs to my fortune and what kind of clues I would leave.
The one thing that really bugged me was near the beginning Watt listed all of Halliday's favorite authors. 20 authors. All male.
On another note Warner Brothers has snatched up the film rights for the book. I'm curious how it would work since I cannot imagine how expensive it would be to include all the rights to all the references in the book and how much they would cut out.
There has been a lot of discussion about the movie - how can "the man" make an honest movie about "the man" being sneaky and manipulative. I'm not sure it's possible and agree that there are some concerns to be had. I took the author reference as something sort of 80s actually. I don't know many 80s authors who were women (might just be me!) but I felt like he was otherwise very open-minded about that stuff (view spoiler) We have a ways to go before everyone is equal, but we have come a long was since even the 80s.
Just started this book tonight, so I am only at 7%. So far, I am liking the world building and the way it is being presented through Wade's p.o.v. I, as an 80's fan, am absolutely loving and grinning at single reference. When Wade stated his OASIS password-phase "You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Xue and the Ko-Dan Armada" I actually whooped! out loud. The Last Star Fighter was one of my favorite movies as a kid and one of the things that sparked my love for science fiction.
I am also loving the use of the VR as the escapism point from the grim reality around them. This has become an escape tool used today with games such as Second Life, Eve, and other MMOs like WoW and a hundred others. Wade is just about to log in to "school". I wonder how long before our own school system is supplemented or replaced with VR simulations.
Oh Oh and did anyone else catch that Wade's name inside of Oasis is Parzival? Nice Grail reference there..
I'd have to agree Robyn, there were definitely women sci-fi authors in the 80's, but I can't think of one that wrote cyberpunk or huge space operas. There's still not that many women sci-fi authors, compared with how many men there are. Publishing, especially in the genre world, is still very much a boys club.Robyn, I'm going to avoid your spoilers right now, but I'm up to the part where we have the Copper Key, so I think I see where it's going. Although it still feels a bit heavy-handed to me with all the references.
C.E. wrote: "I am also loving the use of the VR as the escapism point from the grim reality around them."I'm actually liking this aspect of the book the most, and it's the closest thing to cyberpunk that I'm getting at the moment. Just having a bunch of it take place within a simulated environment does not a cyberpunk novel make (necessarily). I'm thinking that might not be as touched upon as I'd like. But I'm only a third of the way in, so we'll see.
C.E. wrote: "Oh Oh and did anyone else catch that Wade's name inside of Oasis is Parzival? Nice Grail reference there..
It'd be hard not to catch since he actually explained it immediately following his introduction of his virtual name to the reader. That's what I meant when I said previously about the over-explanation of everything.
Kelly wrote: "C.E. wrote: "Oh Oh and did anyone else catch that Wade's name inside of Oasis is Parzival? Nice Grail reference there.. It'd be hard not to catch since he actually explained it immediately following his introduction of his virtual name to the reader. That's what I meant when I said previously about the over-explanation of everything. "
Ah, I hadn't gotten that far yet. I am wondering if we might be being to critical of the over explanation, but without knowing his intended audience, it's hard to judge. Some readers might not ever catch the Grail reference unless it is explained, same for the 80s references. Some people may never have seen an episode of Family Ties. I'm still just scratching the surface of this book, so the explanations and info dumps may get worse. So far, I don't find them as an issue. I will admit that my love for 80s pop culture might make me a little biased towards liking this book. :)
I'm now 16% in and am starting to catch what some people were reading as info dumps and over-explanations. There seems to be two writing styles merging within this book. Once being a descriptive tale of Wade's experience, but the other is a journalistic, almost historian, approach, as if you the reader are someone in the future who is reading Wade's autobiography about his search for for the egg. In a historical / autobiographical take, the explainations and info dumps could be expected, as his voice is speaking to someone who is not from our time period or even his time period, but someone even further in the future who may have no clue what any of the 80s references are, what a desktop computer or MMO was, etc. That's what I am getting out of it at least, and when you approach the book as more of an autobiography intended for a reader from beyond 2044, then it becomes a less questionable or tedious read.
*****spoiler alert - discussing parts of the book up to 73% completion. ******I just hit on two very interesting dynamics in the book that I wondered if anyone would care to discuss further:
1. The idea that the virtual world OASIS had become such a replacement existence for the real world that the real world had fallen into decline. The decline of the real world is blamed on OASIS by Ogden, while others would argue that OASIS was merely an escape for the declining real world, which would have been declining regardless. Is the escape of OASIS responsible for the decline, or responsible for the decline's perpetuation? Can you see this as a possible future for our own society?
2. I just reached the part where Aech (H)'s real identity is revealed as a HUGESPOILER (view spoiler) who states that the OASIS society that developed where most jobs were now virtual behind false avatars was of great benefit because it helped to remove racial and sexist barriers in the working world and society. Anyone could now put on an avatar as an average white male, no mater their real nationality or sex. Aech mentions the immediately noticeable difference and effect on the treatment received to the white male avatar chosen. I thought this was an interesting aspect to include in the book that certainly gives you some food for thought.
C.E. wrote: "*****spoiler alert - discussing parts of the book up to 73% completion. ******I just hit on two very interesting dynamics in the book that I wondered if anyone would care to discuss further:
1. ..."
I'm marking my whole response to a spoiler because it is about #2 and I don't want to ruin anything.
(view spoiler)
So I finished up the book last night, and here are my thoughts:I will be discussing the book freely, so if you're only part-way through, BEWARE - HERE BE SPOILERS
On the whole, this was a fun read, and I enjoyed it. When I was at work, I'd be excited to get home so I could read it again. It left me thinking about what I had read the day/hours/whatever previously. So it was an entertaining read.
I still maintain that the info dumps of 80's pop culture got quite tiring, but thankfully that seemed to lessen substantially by about 60% through. In fact, the author made several allusions to Brazil (my all-time favourite movie evah) and didn't explain it. He left it to the reader. I liked that, so I was pleased he did migrate away from all the heavy-handed explanations.
The book was gratifying (I kept coming back for more after all), but I think there were some overall problems that left me wanting more.
1. I don't think the real world was explored well enough. We learned a bit about it, but I don't feel like I was immersed in it. Not enough to really feel why the entire world's population refuses to make their real lives better and instead just lives in a fantasy world. This is a really interesting aspect of the book, like C.E. said. There are other writers who have done this better (Gibson being at the forefront, IMO). But, this was Cline's first book. If he continues in the cyberpunk genre I believe this will improve.
2. I don't think Wade/Parzival was forced to suffer enough. In fact, the most interesting character progression I would have liked to see was after he fled to Columbus, and progressed from "the OASIS is better than real life!" to "I'm a horrible lonely person because of the OASIS" in six months. Cline completely skipped over those six months. We see the results of that realization, but not the progression. I felt rather cheated by that. He also completely skipped over the progression of his hacking into the IOI databases. Once again, we see the end result (and it was a great plan), but we don't see the progression. I think Cline was trying to do a big reveal, but it just left me feeling like I wasn't party to it.
3. Stuff seemed to easy for the characters, and this hearkens back to #2 (Wade not suffering enough). We knew from the beginning that Wade was obviously going to get the Egg. We knew that he was going to get the girl. Even Ogden Morrow came down like a shining white knight to provide the five remaining players with everything they needed. Even when Sorrento was right on Parzival's tail at the end, I didn't feel much sense of urgency. I desperately wanted to be wrong on any of those though. Everything just worked out pretty as pie at the end. I wanted something to not be perfect and good. But I just don't like endings that work out that way in general (I always lean to the darker side of fiction, which is one of the reasons I love cyberpunk so much).
And then there was just kind of a smash ending. No denouement - left me a little shaken at the end there. I wanted a bit of a breathing period at the end.
Those are my major criticisms, but on a whole, like I said, I liked the book. It kept me reading, and it was fast paced and had extremely interesting elements, even if I felt those weren't explored enough. I wanted to give the book 3.5 stars, but we can't on GR.
Having said that - who thinks this would make a pretty good movie? I almost get the feeling it was written that way.
I listened to this book and Wil Wheaton did a stellar job with the reading. The constant 80's references were cool to a point. I kept thinking I love 80's pop culture but you had to be born in the '70's and knee deep into video games to get all the console references. So if this was intended for an audience born after 1990, well I guess I'm wondering how they will relate. If they make a movie (Kelly I agree they really should) it might be a better storytelling. Do you think they'll run into the same copyright issues as The Wonder Years with all the music, movies and TV references? Also I kept thinking of the documentary King of Kong and how the writer might've been influenced by it. Ok I'm done digressing!Liked:
-the premise - we grew up with many forms of escapism while classic SF authors had books and movies. Video games, manga, Saturday morning cartoons, movies and most of all pop music are influential to me but I just don't get that rich spectrum of influence from SF classics (understandably so the authors are old). This book kinda legitimized that and made most old faves 'canon'. Very cool.
-the voice - the book was very accessible IMO. These are characters I could have a beer with. They text and use messenger and are used to LOL'ing by themselves.
- re-enacting movies and video games - I used to really really want Lloyd Dobler to want me and I wanted to skip school (now work nyek) and run around Chicago in a luxury car with my friends. Also I want to visit Animal Crossing bc I had a killer house and some rad neighbors. Maybe something like the Oasis (or whatever console they had in Sword Art Online) will happen in our lifetime. Cool and scary!
Could've been better:
- the 80's could've been presented as a turning point IRL. It had lots of good fun stuff but it was a time of huge excess that could have been compared to Wade's crappy reality in the future. A wasted opportunity for cause and effect. Kelly I think you mentioned this. The '80's wasn't perfect.
Kelly my next book is Wool and I haven't read any of the discussions in TAW though it seems to have raised quite a storm over there.
Kelly wrote: "So I finished up the book last night, and here are my thoughts:I will be discussing the book freely, so if you're only part-way through, BEWARE - HERE BE SPOILERS
On the whole, this was a fun re..."
A move is in the works. It is suspected to be done by Warner Brothers last I heard, and there is a lot of discussion about " the man" and how a giant ompany could actually make a movie about how "the man" can be a sneaky a-hole sometimes. I'd be excited for it, though, and would definitely watch.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/?...
Kelly - I agree with all three of your points. I do wish the real world was explored a bit more, I do agree that Wade and all the characters had too easy a time of it. I also agree with Camille - the voice was very accessible, thought I am still not sure who the intended reader audience is. The 1980s references make it seem like it is for my generation, but the writing style, characters and actual plot make it seem more like a YA or NA novel, and they wouldn't understand a vast majority of the references.
Totally agree with you Camille, it definitely is an accessible book (as where someone like Gibson might not be so accessible to as many people - sorry, I just keep comparing to him, but he did basically invent the genre!)Camille wrote: "Kelly my next book is Wool and I haven't read any of the discussions in TAW though it seems to have raised quite a storm over there."
Hah, to put it nicely! The shit storm is mostly about Howey's post over on his blog that he took down. I seem to be in the minority of the opinion over there, but it's definitely sparked a good conversation.
Robyn wrote: "A move is in the works. It is suspected to be done by Warner Brothers last I heard, and there is a lot of discussion about " the man"..."
See, totally not surprised! Sometimes you read a book and instantly you're like "that'll become a movie". I think the lack of a real B plot helps with that too - a fairly straightforward book is usually optioned pretty quickly.
As for "the man" making a movie about "the man". There's a pretty long history of that happening, not all anti-establishment movies are independent (I just watched In Time last night, so there's an example right there, whether or not the movie was any good). I could come up with an extensive list I'm sure, but I'm still on my first coffee of the morning and don't have the patience for it right now.
But that does bring up another interesting point - IOI was the big evil corporation, but GSS/the OASIS was also a hugely successful multi-billion dollar company that had immense power. They certainly weren't portrayed as evil as IOI was. Was there a specific statement the author was making about that, or was it more about Halliday, the creator?
Halliday was very much in charge of his company (I imagine the man was CEO, if not also COO and CFO), and they seemed to stay as altruistic as a company can.
As where IOI was obviously run by a faceless board of directors (Sorrento being the face of the company that the reader got, but obviously not any actual decision maker within the company outside of the egg hunt), and would stop at nothing to gain more power.
Was he making a point about how companies can be good and bad? Just because the company is big doesn't mean they aren't responsible (although some certainly are, like IOI)?
Or was he not making any particular statement about companies at all?
C.E. wrote: " The 1980s references make it seem like it is for my generation, but the writing style, characters and actual plot make it seem more like a YA or NA novel, and they wouldn't understand a vast majority of the references."
I'm a bit confused about this one myself, although I think he really was writing for people between the ages of 30-45ish. The writing itself did lean towards YA, but I think that was mostly because it's a first book, rather than he was actively trying to write that way.
Although, all the info-dumps could be entirely for people who are younger.
I don't know, still thinking about that one. It just doesn't feel YA in its entirety. I don't read a lot of YA, but I have read some, and this just seems older somehow. I can't exactly put my finger on why.
Honestly, I'm less than 50 pages in, so far. Enjoying it, although I am at least 10 years (born '89) too young to actually know the 80s parts (from my own childhood, that is). Buuuut... Maybe this is because I am so "young" xD but I don't notice those info-dumps you all are talking about... at all. o.o I mean, that's good for me obviously but I feel like I'm reading an edited version. hahaAbout the writing style: He might come of a little YA (dunno cause I mostly don't read YA) because Wade is a teenager and maybe it is just supposed to be convincing. After all it's told from Wade's perspective.
So far I have one part that I dislike about the book. Everything that's been told, like the history of GSS seems too much stuck in 2011. The currencies he mentions (Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen. What about the Yuan or Won for example? I think it's only a matter of years from now that they may get pretty important, too.) and up until now the only thing about the actual real world I remember is that climate change was the big problem? And the game worlds included in the OASIS, maybe that only annoyed me because I'm playing it (or he just couldn't have know when he wrote it), but the world of Guild Wars (2) is so incredibly beautiful, I'm pretty sure that even when the second part wasn't released yet enough people would have wanted it in the game and I think it would've been included. XP
I am absolutely loving this novel! Great selection! Would not have found this if not for this group :)
I have to say I've become more and more intrigued. :) I hope it stays good till the end. I'm now 3/4 through, I think.
I absolutely loved this book! Well written, well paced and totally absorbing. Great choice!
Kelly wrote: "But that does bring up another interesting point - IOI was the big evil corporation, but GSS/the OASIS was also a hugely successful multi-billion dollar company that had immense power. They certainly weren't portrayed as evil as IOI was. Was there a specific statement the author was making about that, or was it more about Halliday, the creator?"Now that I've finished the book, I want to say something about this.
I think the point is that GSS became such a rich and powerful company through something unique, an actual virtual reality. And as far as I've understood they haven't become that by making a game for the rich, basically something for the elite that is bored because they needn't work anymore and can just live off their wealth, BUT by making a game that basically everyone can afford. It seemed to me like most profits come from companies renting virtual land and teleports (maybe they'd also take a little from every transaction in the virtual malls etc. like paypal does?). Of course a poor person might be stuck in the low level areas or school like Wade but he might have become a higher level character earlier if he didn't have to go to school after each weekend. And technically you can join forces with your friends to level and get credits and split the teleport fares or so (like he said he was hitching a ride sometimes).
IOI on the other hand wouldn't have become so powerful without the OASIS and then they try to make it into a game that only the rich can access with something so outdated as a monthly subscription fee.
I think he differences cooperations that actually create something unique and then get rich because people love it from those who do bad stuff to get rich and become the most powerful people on earth and are willing to kill for it.
good points Rebecca, and I certainly got that as well - almost a Google vs Microsoft feeling to it. Google makes all their revenue from corporations and some devices (like the Google Glasses and the Google netbook), much like GSS made their money from corporations/advertising and the sell of the VR gear. To a point. There was still a feeling of inequality in the game / vr environment which is actually very similar to the Free-To-Play games now - where people can connect and play free, but if they want certain items and access to more areas, they have to use real money to buy things in a virtual store.
But then there's also that pretty important point about user data which they seem to guard pretty well. I don't think they talked about if GSS was monitoring what people did in some way, but I guess not (at least not for money making purposes).^^That's true. But I think GSS itself made it more like in Guild Wars (no monthly fees, either, but a copy certainly costs more than a quarter), where the real money stuff is purely cosmetic/convenient (cute backpacks, cooler gear skins you can put over your existing skins, instant revive/merchants, more inventory space...) and you can exchange in-game currency for diamonds (which is the currency you can buy for real money, though I'm not sure about the last part happening at all in the OASIS).
But I think, you can get most things as dungeon or other loot in the OASIS, too. Some people just choose to buy that stuff over ebay or in some brand-name shop in the OASIS. The teleport fees certainly are a problem for poor people and I think you cannot just loot whole spaceships unless you're already doing pretty well in the game and you have to buy the fuel. ;) So yeah, rich people do have an advantage, as always... I'm also wondering about the ammo part, apparently you have to buy that, too ... at least for guns etc.
Its the end of the month, but I just joined and I thought I'd chime in. Here is my review, lazily copy and pasted.I really enjoyed this book! It was a fun and entertaining read with an interesting world and characters. It wasn't perfect (infodumps!), but the good far outweighed any of the not so good for me. The book was a real page turner and I was kinda sad when it was over. I wanted to keep reading about these characters as their lives continued.
I was only alive for half of the '80, and am more of a '90s kid, but there were still a lot of references that I related to and the fun of the hunt was not diminished by the fact that I wasn't as pop culture obsessed as the characters (and I did figure a few things out before the main characters did).
Just recently had a chance to meet the author at a convention. Ernest Cline is a ton of fun and really is a giant geek himself.
We asked him if there was a chance of a sequel especially with (view spoiler) in the end, and he said that he thought he had enough material for possibly two more books in the series. He's busy with the movie at the moment (and I have no idea how they are going to be able to make that movie, it is going to be a licensing nightmare) so I don't think a sequel will come anytime soon, but I'm sure it is churning away in his head. I imagine any sequels would build more on the real world and focus more on the characters than the pop culture references. It would be a very different book, but I'd still be happy to read it.
Amanda wrote: "he said that he thought he had enough material for possibly two more books in the series..."Intruiguing. If it did focus more on the characters than references like you guess I would probably be interested in reading it.
Interesting info about the possible follow-ups. Though I'm not quite sure about what they might be...I'm very interested about how they'd do the movie scenes in the movie... especially (view spoiler) or maybe we're already technically more advanced to do these kind of things than I know. :D
Seriously though, about the infodumps... I did not notice that. o.o And I'm almost 24 so certainly I'm not THAT young. <.< Or is it maybe that I didn't grow up in the US? With very much not pop culture-savvy parents.
It wasn't the explanations of the references that bothered me, it was the times when we broke from the current action so that we could hear the entire history of something like Halliday or Og or the entire description of Wade's set up in his apartment. It's something I'm really working on in my own writing, so that's probably why it stuck out to me so badly. They were often things the reader really did need to know, but they weren't integrated into the story very smoothly.I was totally okay with him explaining the references. I certainly didn't get them all myself (and I'm 27), and to appeal to the widest possible audience he had to cover his bases. I'm sure some people know all the movie but none of the video games and some people know all the games but none of the music and so on. Plus, with it being in the first person I just felt like some of it was Wade showing off how much he knew to the reader.
Amanda, There were two different voices in the book - which is why there were the breakaways with the back explanations. It took me a few chapters to catch on to this style, as it's not one that is used often, and usually there is a better set up for it.
The first voice is the typical author voice telling Wade's story.
The second voice is Wade's own voice telling events through a historical journal for future readers (Future being people beyond 2044) (these are the breakaways you mention)
When you take those two different voices into consideration, the reading of the book makes a great deal more sense, and I found it much more enjoyable. The break-away historical excerpts became fun to read journal entries
Thanks for the explanation, Amanda, I was indeed a bit annoyed by the part of him living in the apartment because I felt like that dragged a little. Even though I didn't mind the step into the offline world at all. :)Lucky me, though, I haven't been distracted by the two voices. ^^
This one is back up for discussion, peeps.
I just finished reading RPO for the second time. I think I liked it even more on a second reading. I just went through a great deal of the discussion that went on in 2013 and I see the book through other eyes, and I have the urge to defend, defend, defend like a crazy librarian in a mech-suit. Warning, while excitedly talking about books I tend to make up words.So, the eighties. I grew up in the 80's and had nothing but a fond glow of rememberiness while reading this. Here is the thing, maybe it is what you read, but I feel like I read stuff that shoves the 1960's and the 1940's down my throat. To finally read something that I lived come alive again on the pages- I say, YES! finally. That's not to say that if someone loves a decade they love the entire decade. Rush? Didn't really know a thing about them. Did it ruin that scene for me in the book? Nah.
So, new observation:
Art3miss is one dimensional, 8-bit character. I didn't notice in the first reading because Cline told us she was like Jordan in Real Genius, so I took that to mean she really was exactly like Jordan. But on the second reading, I see Art3miss only really acts like that in one scene only and is either flat, playing Wade, or missing through the entire rest of the novel. She really could have been more fleshed out, even though we are seeing her through Wade's eyes and clearly he has a whole 500 Days of Summer thing going on with her.
What did you guys think of Art3miss?
This is hilarious - sorry guys, that was me not looking closely enough at what we had read! And I knew I had read it with a group too, but I thought it was another one *hits head with palm*.I'd love to see what some newbies since last year think of the book though to add to the discussion!
About 3/4 of the way through. LOVING it so far.
I "read" this book recently while assembling vibrators for many hours. The quotation marks are because it was actually one of my only times using an audiobook. I had specifically been recommended the version read by Wil Wheaton, whom I only knew from Star Trek: TNG, but whom I kept thinking sounded just like the narrator from The Sandlot.I know now what a perennial favourite it is for so many people, but I thought it was just amusing like eating sugary cereal on occasion as an adult, or watching a highlights reel from a VH1 special. I can't say it's "a good book." As literature quality goes, I would rank it with first year university essays, fanfic, and comic books written by Mark Millar.
And here's the thing: I'm supposed to be kind of the target audience, I think. I was very much an imaginative loner in the '80s and early '90s. I was too poor for things like Nintendo, but I caught a lot of the movies referenced in RP1 on regular TV. I still thought I was a boy, and had the same kinds of fantasies as those depicted in this novel - superheroic straight, white, suburban male fantasies with sci-fi twists and salvation found via an alternate identity on The Net.
I still love watching some of the same cartoons I absorbed religiously as a child, I love to daydream, listen to bands that were never great but which were important to me when I was 13, and I'm glad the Internet provides sanctuary for so many fellow freaks and geeks.
The ongoing adventure game part of Ready Player One was pretty awesome. The out-of-touch attempt at slang speak and encyclopedic tangent entries about specific fragments of pop culture were wayyyy too much. The attempts at character depth and relationship building was pathetic and made me feel once again like I was surrounded by a boys' club with which I couldn't actually identify and thought I had left far behind me along with the worst parts of the '80s.
If I had to choose to either put my figurative or literal quarters in an old arcade game for hours or put them into Ready Player One, I'd go with the actual arcade, hands down [mashed hard]. It was actually *because* of my hands being tied up, building aforementioned vibrators in my mad sexy science lab that I got through this book.
I think I get why so many people like this book in the same way I understand why so many people think Ender's Game is a great book (while I hated it). I'm fine with that. I *am,* however, surprised to see so many of my fellow She-Geeks raving about it.
I look forward to seeing what y'all's thoughts are throughout the month.
Mabel wrote: "I "read" this book recently while assembling vibrators for many hours. The quotation marks are because it was actually one of my only times using an audiobook. I had specifically been recommended t..."I read it this past summer in Edinburgh while waiting to attend my daughter's graduation from university (it's own weird experience and way to reflect on my place as middle-aged lady in gaming culture) and I devoured it despite significant issues I won't go into now.
I found it very similar to Little Brother, albeit not as well written.
What, in general, it had going for it is pacing, which is to say, a strong sense of story, humor, and reference to games like WoW, of which I am a player.
What it also had was a white-boy representation of gamers (again, specifics will wait for a general discussion). The question for me is, Does this reflect or promote a certain world view? I think it reflects it. Of course, that world view isn't my experience gaming. As far as gaming goes, there really are too many ds on the dancefloor.
My view is that widening the field means the she-geeks have to write their own work that reflects "the other side" of gaming, but I don't think it prevents enjoyment of other, admittedly boy-focused, literature.
I feel Ender's Game is an entirely different issue because it does not merely reflect. It promotes restricting all of the fun to white male heterosexuals, as OSC's homophobic screeds on his blog reflect. Anyway, that's my feedback as a feminist and reader of speculative fiction. My view is that all we can do is write, read, and repeat.
Just finished. I also consumed this book in the Audio book format. Kudos to Mr. Wheaton on another great audio performance.For reference, I am a geek-girl who grew up solidly in the 80's.
I really enjoyed this book. It was light-hearted and geeky, a nice contrast to the dire, dark, and dismal dystopian versions of the future that I have been reading (and enjoying) lately.
To me, the entire book read almost like one of those shiny 1980's adventures. There are bad guys and dire situations, but you know the heroes will prevail in the end. I interpreted the entire writing style to be part of the homage to 80's influenced geek culture.
Regarding the "info dumps," I agree with C.E. on this. The explanations seemed to authenticate the chronicler POV of the story for me. Did I need the explanations? No. I did find amusement in picturing how people from the future would perceive the things that I loved in my childhood. Another thought on this is that so often authors toss in pop culture references with no thought as to how their book will age over time. I think the explanations will help Ready Player One age a little more gracefully.
On the feminist side of the argument....I really could not find fault with this book. The author IS a white boy gamer writing about a white boy gamer. Of course, the book is going to have that perspective.
As for his not listing any female authors on Halliday's favorites list, this smacked of authenticity to me. I am not saying that there are not any great female SF/F writers. I am just saying, in my experience, when my male gamer geek friends list their favorite authors, they include very few, if any, female authors. Are my friends sexist pigs? Not at all. It is what it is.
Perhaps it is because as they have aged, they have less time for reading. Maybe it was because SF/F was so much more dominated by male authors during their formative reading years. Whatever the reason, I think the author list reflects what actually IS versus what we would like it to be and hope that it someday WILL be.
I am super excited to hear that this has been optioned for a movie. I hope it makes it through to a decent production.
Here is a review that gives an excellent overview of the multiple feminist criticisms of Ready Player One.The most geek relevant for me:
Women, in game, pass as men: No, actually, they don't.
I play WoW and watch the videos before I go into a
dungeon and have consulted our good friend the internet.
MEN PASS AS WOMEN IN GAMES.
Why? Because it lets them possess women and play out a bunch of fantasies that are pretty squick. By displaying the reverse, the author just shows he doesn't play.
Second, lesbians are men. Wait, wait, I am pretty sure if your romantic relationships are with women and you are a woman, then you are not a man.
In the book,black women exist to aid white men (and they're kind of men too).
In the book, women are either men or will put aside their own goals and values for men.
Mothers should be dead.
Well, those are the biggies for me. Does it mean the book shouldn't be read? For me, no, but I distinguish pacing and overall plot from a first read and think critical commentary is at reflective level. So, the book is a HUGE fail in these critical respects and, no, I wouldn't read it again.
But I didn't want to spoil if for you :)
M
Hi, noob here! Sorry, didn't know you guys already read this last year. I'm glad people voted to read this book and that the discussion thread has been revived. So, here are my two cents:There are revolutionary books that change the world. Then there are books you read purely for entertainment purposes. For me, RPO is the latter, and yes, I would read it again and again. It's my nerd candy on crack!
I agree that Art3mis was a "one dimensional 8-bit character," which bothered me at first, but then I realized that we are seeing her through Wade's eyes. What actually bothered me more was the stereotypical portrayal of Daito and Shoto.
On the POV of a white teenage boy gamer who clearly has no life outside of OASIS, and on whether women pass as men, or men pass as women (lesbian or otherwise) -- I think that is indeed the cautionary tale for this virtual age.
I try not to read too much into the social, political, and economic implications in this book, and just enjoy it for what it is -- a fun escape into '80s memory lane.
I loved this book. I liked it so much I found the audio book for my husband to listen to on his way to and from work. He liked it so much that he bought the book which I am so happy about as the first time I read it I had borrowed it from the library.
She-Geeks
Books mentioned in this topic
Ready Player One (other topics)Little Brother (other topics)
Ender’s Game (other topics)
Ready Player One (other topics)
It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?