Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, 4 stars

[Jen]

Not sure why this one is listed in thrillers but it is so.....
Surprisingly good!
I am not a gamer and have no interest in computers for anything other than keeping in contact with people I know from the real world, talking books and doing my job. Despite this Ready Player One was still enthralling and fun to read.
Most of the action takes place inside a game but people's obsessions with the game do spill into the real world at times. Of course money and power are at the root of all the evil.
There are warnings for humanity in the story too. Morrow describes the gaming world as "A pleasant place for the world to hide from its problems while human civilization slowly collapses, primarily due to neglect". How many of us spend our time on our phones, computers or other gadgets rather than taking in the world around us or talking to actual people in the same room? What effect is this having on our ability to form relationships of all types? How many of us present ourselves online as we actually are? How many of those who do compare themselves to other fake positive profiles with all sorts of filters?
The online world can be a wonderful thing but not if it stops you living a real life with real people. People need real people to be happy and healthy. Halliday, the game's creator realised this himself when he was too ill to do anything about it; perhaps readers can take note and make the most of living a real life.

[Idit]

That’s a very sweet review to a really fun book.
I read it last year, thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t remember a thing
(...beside a small rant against religion that made it impossible to recommend this book to religious friends that would have totally loved it otherwise)

[Jen]

Idit wrote: "That’s a very sweet review to a really fun book.
I read it last year, thoroughly enjoyed it, and can’t remember a thing
(...beside a small rant against religion that made it impossible to recommen..."

That's a fair point...forgot about that bit. Not many religious people in this area or in my subject areas so I hadn't really taken much notice but you are totally right it is something to bear in mind. No point offending someone when there's no need to.

[Idit]

I will read it again one day. Aside from that it was real fun

[Karin]

I just saw this--this book came up today as I was chatting with a mother and friendly 11 year old son (the mother was also friendly, but many 11 year olds don't just chat freely with over 50 year old women they don't know). He likes to read and I asked him what he liked. First he said Ender's Game, etc, and since he likes video games (his mom sets rules, though) I suggested this book--how much more perfect could it be for him?

But I only really enjoyed this because I listened to the audiobook, having not been in a situation to play video games in the 1980s.

[LibraryCin]

I loved it for all the 80s references! :-)