Ready Player One

[Cathie]

This is one of my all time favourite books - love this one! Lol, yes Sarah, it is very Geek-tastic!!

[Sarah]

This book reads quickly - I'm reading it at the same time as another book though otherwise I think I'd have finished it by now. I have the day off today so I hope to get a bit more read.

Great to here it is a favourite of yours Cathie!

[Canadian Dragon]

Sarah wrote: "OK, so I asked my partner whether he remembers Family Ties and he said it rang a bell so it clearly aired here in the UK - I just didn't watch it.

I have read up to the end of chapter 5 I thought ..."

I completely agree with you Sarah I will put my comment in spoiler too (view spoiler)[I had a commodore 64 myself, that is what I started with. I remember when I coded to change the color of the text and I was ecstatic. lol and waiting for the tapes to load were hilarious when you think back. It shows we have come a long way. (hide spoiler)]

[Canadian Dragon]

I am up to chapter 21. Really liking this book (view spoiler)[ I am really glad all of the money that Wade has made has not totally gone to his head. Yes, he did get all the best software but that was a given. It is a turning point when he realizes he needs to take care of his physical body too and I feel very sad for him that he is that lonely. Hopefully he gets back in touch with H. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

C64 Tasha (view spoiler)[It's the small things! Yes I recall being excited too by the text colour change! I was just thinking about the cassette decks and how long they took to load and then it would just freeze and you wouldn't necessarily know if that was the case or whether it was just being slow on that occasion then it would crash and you'd have to start from the beginning. It's amazing how quickly things have changed in the world of computers. (hide spoiler)]

I am totally fangirling while reading this book! It's so much fun!

I've read to the end of chapter 10 (view spoiler)[Loving the lists of Halliday's favourite authors, books, films, games etc. I was amazed to see that quite a number also appear on my list of favourites too. I've read a few reviews on this book where people have commented that they felt that the book was written solely for them and I too get that feeling - it's the pop culture references for sure. Glad to see a Bill Hicks mention too!

I really liked the part when Wade works out that the copper key is on the Ludus and he finds the mound. The image I had in my head of Wade playing against Acererak in front of a Joust Arcade Machine in the depths of a dungeon! I'm pleased that Wade won first time, got his first magical items, picked up loads of coins, and leveled up!

I thought the run in with Art3mis was sweet. I thought Wade did pretty well communicating with her considering he has had a crush on her for years.

Now Wade and Art3mis are on the leaderboard, I wonder if they'll team up even if it's just to watch each others back - I get the impression that they both might become targets in the real world and will no doubt be hounded in OASIS too. I bet the conglomerate company won't be very pleased with their progress!
(hide spoiler)]

[Stephanie]

Tasha wrote: "I am up to chapter 21. Really liking this book [spoilers removed]"

I am up to chapter 19. (view spoiler)[I have now read up to chapter 19. I can't believe the Sixers tried to kill Wade, not once, but twice. I am glad that Wade is away from the stacks and his aunt, even though his aunt had to die in the process. I am really liking the convo between him and Art3mis, but not sure if I trust her. After all, she could still be a dude named Chuck who lives in his mom's basement in suburban Detroit ;-) I can't wait to see how this story progresses. (hide spoiler)]

[Melissa]

Wish I brought my book to know where I'm at so I can know if I can read comments with spoilers! I'm in the middle, but who knows what chapter that is :)
I am really liking the story as well.
It hasn't lagged at all, the pace is great and keeps us turning the page! Of course, I love the 80s references, as I'm an 80s kid as well :) Some things go over my head, others I'm like OH YEAH! I remember Max!! :)
Thoughts on Art3mis and/or Aech anyone??

[Melissa]

And I think that's great Wil Wheaton narrates the audio book, how perfect is that! :) And he has to say his own name...awesome ;)

[Stephanie]

I loved that part too, Melissa :-) I think I will have to listen to the audio version sometime :-) I'm not sure I trust Aech or Art3mis...I'm thinking there is going to be a big twist towards the end...I always hope for a twist anyways when I read a book :-)

[Sarah]

I have read to end of chapter 13 (view spoiler)[So Aech has found the tomb and the gate now. I liked the email exchange between Wade and Art3mis. I had to look up what the acronym MTFBWYA stands for though - May The Force Be With You Always. Love it!

As for whether I trust her and Aech? So far I do - they've not done anything yet to get me thinking that they can't be but that might change as the quest progresses.

I-rok is a nasty character - first blackmailing Aech and Wade for information then leaking details about them. Daito and Shoto are clearly working together - at first I thought they might be sixers but it doesn't look the case otherwise IOI wouldn't be so desperately trying to recruit Wade.
(hide spoiler)]

[Stephanie]

I have read up to chapter 24. (view spoiler)[ if I just read this last chapter correctly, I cannot believe that Daito is dead :( I figured someone would end up dying buy why not Ir0k?(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Melissa]

I'm in Chapter 27. I love that you looked up that acronym! I love it, I should remember it :)
(view spoiler)[I can't believe Daito died too! That freaked me out how they came to get him while he was playing and he yelled out to Shoto that he thought someone was here and then nothing! Yikes! I was happy that Aech reached out to Wade again! And now he's on a roll! (hide spoiler)]Brought my book to work today to read during lunch! YAY! haha It is getting harder to put it down!

[Melissa]

Man, I was so nervous! Above is my first time posting a spoiler and was worried that it wouldn't work! PHEW!! :)

[Stephanie]

Melissa wrote: "Man, I was so nervous! Above is my first time posting a spoiler and was worried that it wouldn't work! PHEW!! :)"

I just reached chapter 29. (view spoiler)[I can't believe the Suxers..they are for sure cheating :( too bad there weren't any rules for the hunt. I think it should be against the laws of the hunt for them to set up a force field. Hopefully the gunters will bring it down. I'm also glad that Wade reached out to Aech, Art3mis and Shoto. I hope they can work together to reach the 3rd gate.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Pleased you got the spoilers to work Melissa. I need to catch you guys up as I'm sooo tempted to read your spoilers.

[Sarah]

I have finished chapter 19 (view spoiler)[I agree with an earlier comment about being able to mute people in the real world - that would be a great function!

So I was expecting Wade (and the others) to be in danger fro the Sixers but I didn't expect them to act so soon or quite so drastically. They killed loads of people blowing up the stacks - just as well Wade had a secret hideout is all I can say! I'm glad he is away from there but like already mentioned, it's a shame his aunt had to die (and all those others) for that to happen.

I really liked seeing Art3mis and Wade's relationship blossom. I felt really bad for him when he told her he was falling for her and she "ended it". And while it did send him in to a bit of a downward spiral, he did pick him self up again, started exercise and got healthy again. So now he's physically fit in real life so I'm expecting some action in that world soon too.

I thought Wade's car was well over the top - deLorean mixed with Kitt mixed with Ecto-1 - surely one would suffice?!?

I liked the sound of the shower in Wade's room which removes your hair (although i wouldn't want to be bald with no eyebrows but the rest would be cool).
(hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Oh and Art3mis (view spoiler)[I'm really pleased that a girl made it on to the high scorers. I know things have changed in the last decade but before then, computers were seen as a guy thing and that girls were no good at it. I remember working at Game (and being the only female employee) and customers would go to the guys to ask questions rather than me but then then the guys would send them over to see me as I knew what I was actually talking about. Same happened at Uni (I did Computer Science) - one guy told me that girls can't program - well he dropped out before the end of the first year! (hide spoiler)]

I've also been wondering how someone who didn't grow up during/live through the 80s would fare reading this book. Wade is 18 years old - I'd love to know what an 18 year old's opinion would be of it!

[Stephanie]

Sarah wrote: "Oh and Art3mis [spoilers removed]

I've also been wondering how someone who didn't grow up during/live through the 80s would fare reading this book. Wade is 18 years old - I'd love to know what an ..."

(view spoiler)[I'm sorry that happened to you, Sarah :-( I hate it when guys think they are better at something than girls, but I love it when us girls can prove them wrong. I was a tomboy growing up and was very good at softball. I played on a co-Ed softball team with my 1st husband and was A Lot better than him...which he didn't take very well, suffice to say we got divorced (not solely on that fact). I got really lucky this time though :) I like to think of my current marriage as my real marriage and the first one was just practice :-)(view spoiler)[
I am also glad that (view spoiler)[Wade seems to have picked himself back up. I love the explanation of his car and felt all giddy about it :-) night rider was such a great show. Later in life I realized that the voice of Kit was Mr Feeney from Boy Meets World.(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

To be honest Stephanie, I just got used to that kind of attitude back then - I'd be less accepting of it now though.

I've read up to the end of chapter 25 (view spoiler)[The heat is on! Things are getting very close and the names on the leaderboard are swinging all over the place.

I like how Daito took down all those sixer ships by using the artifact they found. It's a shame he was killed in RL - there was bound to be more casualties so I'm not surprised but I do feel bad for him and Shoto.

I find it very suspicious how quickly the Sixers found the second gate when Art3mis, Aech and Wade have yet to still - I'm wondering whether Art3mis has been recruited or blackmailed in some way to help them. And they've got the crystal key.
(hide spoiler)]

[Stephanie]

Sarah wrote: "To be honest Stephanie, I just got used to that kind of attitude back then - I'd be less accepting of it now though.

I've read up to the end of chapter 25 The heat is on! Things are getting very c..."
I like your theory, Sarah :-) Or do you think (view spoiler)[Ir0k could be helping them?(view spoiler)[

I am up to chapter 30. (view spoiler)[I am not surprised that IOI found Wade again in real life. I hope he can figure out a way to get out of working for and being trapped by them. I think by having all these indents is how the Sixers have gotten so far in the game. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Stephanie]

I have now read up to chapter 34. Any guesses how the story will end? (view spoiler)[ I am so glad Wade was able to break away from the Sixers. I held my breath when he was tapped on the shoulder as he was leaving because someone noticed his ear was bleeding. I am also glad he was able to meet back up with Aech, Art3mis and Shoto! I am glad Morrow showed up and has brought the real them to his home in Oregon so they will be safe...or will they? I did not see Aech as being a girl in real life. That totally took me by surprise! Can't wait to see how this story ends. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

That's another theory Stephanie (view spoiler)[Irok hasn't been mentioned for a while but I get the impression he is all mouth and no trousers so I'm doubting he could help them. (hide spoiler)]

I'e not managed any reading today but hopefully this evening.

[Stephanie]

I have come to the very end of, Ready Player One! I'm not going to say anything about it till ya'll have finished as well..I don't want to tempt anyone with a spoiler ;-) can't wait to chat about this book :-)

[Tejas Janet]

I've been on a road trip all week with my husband and our dog. Had trouble with accessing Goodreads from my phone and have just now been able to check in.

Just finished Ready Player One today. I liked it quite a bit. Looking forward to chatting and catching up.

[Stephanie]

Welcome back :-) hope you had a great trip :-)

[Canadian Dragon]

Just finished. Wow that was a great book

[Tejas Janet]

Stephanie wrote: "Welcome back :-) hope you had a great trip :-)"

Thank you. It was a good trip. Got some visits in to various family members and some friends. It was our first real road trip with our "new" camper van (new to us, that is) : )

[Sarah]

Glad you had a great trip TJ!

I am still reading - not long to go though now. I'm torn between devouring it and savouring it as I'm really enjoying it.

I have just started Level 3 (not sure what chapter that is) (view spoiler)[I am feeling Wade's frustration. I remember playing computers games when I was younger (actually and recently) where I would get stuck at the same point each time and not be able to move any further (or dying) and it can be really frustrating. Wade has this both in RL and in the OASIS now that the Suxers (loving how we've changed from referring to them as Sixers to Suxers!) are getting close to completion. They are so cheating too which is really unfair on the other guys.

I get why Wade reached out to the others - is better that one of them wins than the IOI even if it doesn't end up being Wade. He has a plan but I'm a little bit nervous of what that might be. The IOI cops have just turned up at his apartment to arrest him. He apparently owes money and will have to go work for them - they obviously don't know he is Parzival. So I'm assuming he's going to take the corporation down from the inside?!? (hide spoiler)]

[Melissa]

Finished this morning! :)
What a ride! Will chat soon!

[Sarah]

I'm pretty close to finishing now - about 40 pages left so I'll finish that hopefully before I go to work later. (view spoiler)[I didn't see Aech being a girl coming - I get her reasoning behind it though. I'm glad Wade didn't let it get to him that she deceived him - that was very mature of him I thought. And considering they all proclaim to be pretty bad with real life communication, they seemed like they fitted in to it pretty easily.

I too was pleased that Og stepped in to help them. I hope there isn't going to be a wicked twist though. I though Wade's letter to all the gunters for assistance was genius - gotta stop the Suxers from getting the egg, no matter what! (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

I just finished the book! That was a great ending! A 5 star read for me and I've put it on my favourites shelf too. I'll come back and comment in a bit when I have more time.

[Sarah]

The end (view spoiler)[I loved that three people had to work together to open the gate. I knew it would end up being Wade, Art3mis and Aech and that Shoto would seek revenge for Daito. I was really surprised that they triggered the artifact which killed everyone's avatars in the surrounding Area - made sense though. That coin Wade picked up wasn't a waste after all - an extra life?! I suppose I knew it would end up being Wade that did it given he was the protagonist of the book but I was still really pleased. I was excited that Wade had to act out Monty Python and the Holy Grail - I love that film! It all got a bit close at the end with the Sixers showing up again but Wade had a good support team.

I thought justice was served well at the end of the book - all the sixer's avatars were destroyed, Art3mis, Aech and Shoto were resurrected with items and levels as they were and Sorrento was arrested in real life. Wade got the girl and all get a share of the money and all is good with the world.!

Awesome book!
(hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

This was a good buddy read - I really enjoyed discussing with you guys!

[Stephanie]

Me too, Sarah :-)

[Canadian Dragon]

Me too it was a great book

[Melissa]

I enjoyed this book and reading it along with ya'll! What book is next? :)

[Tejas Janet]

Sarah wrote: "Will Wheaton is a good choice for the narrator given he was in Star Trek during the 80s and there have been some references to Star Trek already in the book..."

That's great, and I also love when on page 201 (view spoiler)[he pops up at as character in the book : ) (hide spoiler)]

[Stephanie]

The only thing that bugged me was (view spoiler)[that there wasn't more of an ending with Wade and Art3mis. I felt like them meeting would have more writing. I wish there would have been an extra chapter but all in all I really enjoyed this book :-) (hide spoiler)]

[Tejas Janet]

I love when Wade finds out in Chapter 33 that (view spoiler)[in actuality Aech is a 'young African American woman.' It made so much sense that she gave her avatar a Caucasian male identity on the advice of her mother because of her mother's experience with better treatment and more opportunities in working online as a 'white male' (hide spoiler)]. This is the kind of detail that added to the story's believability and made it so interesting.

[Canadian Dragon]

Tejas Janet wrote: "I love when Wade finds out in Chapter 33 that [spoilers removed]. This is the kind of detail that added to the story's believability and made it so interesting."

I completely agree with you Chapter 33 (view spoiler)[ I was wondering what H's alias was. I love that after Wade found out the truth, he was shocked, hurt but still their friendship prevailed. The author did a good job with this story line (hide spoiler)]

[Tejas Janet]

I want to make a general comment about the story so I don't think there's spoiler material. We see that you can spend real money in the virtual Oasis world for virtual items (like skins, cars, space ships, weapons) and in some cases for real-world items (like having a pizza delivered to your real-world location). And it seems like "real money" and "virtual money" are fairly interchangeable. I found this both insightful and quite credible.

Also, along the same lines I thought it was logical that in this world constructed by Cline, we learn in Chapter 27 that (view spoiler)[you can be forced into mandatory indenturement if you become indebted to IOI and that there was an IOI corporate police force (hide spoiler)]. Again, all quite plausible to me.

Really a fascinating story. Glad I read it!

[Canadian Dragon]

About the ending (view spoiler)[ man the character of Morrow, Halliday's best friend I laughed so hard when he greeted everyone in his bath robe and bunny slippers. Too funny. I also loved the back story about these guys - the creators of the oasis. I cared for them and really wanted the good guys to be victorious. To keep Halliday's legacy intact (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

I agree TJ about the plausibility of things - Cline really did put a lot of thought in to things and has based much of it in what happens now but just taken things slightly further.

re. Art3mis & Wade (view spoiler)[personally I'm quite pleased that we only got the amount that we did. (hide spoiler)]

[Cherie]

Sarah wrote: "OK, so I asked my partner whether he remembers Family Ties and he said it rang a bell so it clearly aired here in the UK - I just didn't watch it.

I have read up to the end of chapter 5 I thought ..."

Sarah, you are having all of the same reactions I had while listening/reading the book. It is always so much fun to come across a reference you recognise and there are soooo many in this book. I am older than you, but the computer and game references are all still relevant. My husband taught himself how to program in Basic and used to spend hours and hours writing programs. He even wrote an accounting program for his business. I did not do any programming until many years later with Pascal and C.

I thought the OASIS schooling sounded fantastic too. It would have been great for my youngest daughter. I felt bad for Wade regarding the traveling too.

[Cherie]

I think this is one of my very favorite books of the year. I am so glad so many of you got to read it and say and think the same things I felt when I was reading the book. Both of my daughters read it about the same time I did and we talked and talked about the characters and the references to the shows and games that they played. MTFBWYA!!!!!

[Sarah]

It's good that you got to speak to your daughters about the book when you were reading it Cherie. I am so glad I read this in a buddy read so that we could discuss it - I think I might have exploded otherwise ;-)

While I had dabbled with that BASIC code when I was a kid, I didn't know it - just followed the instructions in the book. Pascal and C were also my two first languages that I learnt (and really knew) and college and then on to C++ and Delphi. I probably couldn't do it now, although the basics are still up in my head. My partner programs for a Mod team for the computer game called ARMA and when he gets stuck he runs things past me, we chat about "the theory" which may or may not give him some ideas but the coding syntax itself has been archived to a part of my brain that doesn't get used that much now. I did love programming once but I decided I didn't want to be sat at a desk behind a computer all day so I took a different route. I still get nostalgic over it though and occasionally think about picking it up again.

[Mariab]

HI everybody! I couldn't post comments of te book til today (I had a killer week at work and also a mini catastrophe at home -see details in "Whatcha doing" thread). So if it is no too late, here are my contribution:
The book was VERY good. I was pleasantly surprised.
I recognized the series (included the obscures japanese ones (view spoiler)[As a kid I loved Ultraman (hide spoiler)]), the movies and most of the C-games.

[Mariab]

Sarah wrote: "C64 Tasha [spoilers removed]

I am totally fangirling while reading this book! It's so much fun!

I've read to the end of chapter 10 Loving the lists of Halliday's favourite authors, books, films, ..."

(view spoiler)[ At the beginning I was wondering why the school planet was called Ludus, which is clearly an allusion to "game" or "gladiator school" (hide spoiler)]

[Mariab]

Tasha wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "I love when Wade finds out in Chapter 33 that [spoilers removed]. This is the kind of detail that added to the story's believability and made it so interesting."

I completely a..."

(view spoiler)[I had believed the entire book, H stands for Halliday, and that he was alive still. The chapter in Ash's chat room, when a stack of comic books fell down, I was sure he was minimizing the whole thing because of that precisely (hide spoiler)]

[Stephanie]

Mariab wrote: "Tasha wrote: "Tejas Janet wrote: "I love when Wade finds out in Chapter 33 that [spoilers removed]. This is the kind of detail that added to the story's believability and made it so interesting."

..."

(view spoiler)[that would have been an awesome twist!(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]