Ready Player One - book and adaptation

[Zeljka]

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a relatively new science fiction novel published in 2011. The sequel is to be published this November, and we should thank the Spielberg's adaptation to the fact it was written at all, as the author himself said he wasn't in any urge to start writing it before the movie came out with the success. Many people didn't like the movie though, mostly because it wasn't just like the book. Well, that remains to be discussed by us, right?

The main point of interest in the book is the whole 1980s nostalgia and pop culture references, so, even though the main character is a nerdy teenager, the adolescents presumably would not enjoy it as much as grown-ups who lived through the 80s. Let's not judge the book by the cover, and see for ourselves if we like it or not, adults, teenagers, and children alike :)

[Zeljka]

Started reading this yesterday right after finishing The Northern Lights. I was so disgruntled when I realized I have to read the rest of the trilogy, so I rebelled and said to myself I'll rather read something else first :)

[Zeljka]

Finished the book two days ago. I do not remember that the movie was anything like it. I still want to watch it again, just out of curiosity, to see if anything was alike.

The book was really good. I'd like to read the sequel. Some references I honestly did not catch, mostly those of music and games, because I played only those from ZX Spectrum before switching directly on to PC 386. However, I did understand the feeling :)

It was sad though how isolated he was. Considering the dismal surroundings, it was a kind of understandable why would one want voluntarily to be a hermit.

[Zeljka]

Here's one awesome youtube video you should watch after reading the book:

Every Video Game in 'Ready Player One' Explained By Author Ernest Cline | WIRED

[Zeljka]

I watched the movie two weeks ago or so, but didn't have much time to reflect on it. The first thing that was so obvious, was that the actors are all super good looking, not really ordinary people you'll see around. The second was also very obvious, that the game is different, but it's difficult to complain about that, I mean, games from the book aren't so visually appealing for the film, so, this kind of was expected. What do you think, was there any other way to translate the game from the book to the movie?

The bad guy is ridiculously bad, well, just like in the book, which wasn't good thing in the book either. Sam though was actually improved, in my opinion. Her agenda makes more sense than the one from the book. Sam from the book didn't seem quite realistic in her plans.

The movie is indeed a crowdpleaser. However, the message that we got here is quite different from the book. In the book Oasis wasn't just a reality game for collecting coins and artifacts, exercising and going to fictional vacations. It was a source of education for those who couldn't afford it otherwise. That wasn't mentioned nowhere in the movie. It appears Spielberg had his own agenda - the book treated Oasis as a good form of escapism in a ruined world (it wasn't so ruined in Spielberg's vision), the film treated it simply as a game. Not mentioning its educational and other purposes in the world left without many resources. That whole point was omitted. And the ending highlighted how director thought Oasis was just a form of fun. (view spoiler)[(Oasis had to be off two days a week to allow people to go out and interact with each other -- I understand it was well meaning and makes sense in our world, but that was not quite realistic in the apocalyptic setting of the book. (hide spoiler)] What do you think? Am I reading too much into this?

[Kirsten]

I haven't seen the film, but I have read the book. I loved it. I normally don't like books that focus on video game culture. However, I grew up in the 1980s and I loved all the pop culture references.

Right now, I am reading the sequel and enjoying it.

[Zeljka]

Ernest Cline shared some notes about the book here:

Ernest Cline's Kindle Notes & Highlights