Ready Player One

One of the best books that I have read. I purchased this book because I liked Ready Player One movie. But I can say with surety that this book is 100 times better than the movie. The book is fast paced, more detailed, more instance and unputdownable.

One of the best hard science fiction books. Story and creative vision developed by the author is fabulous. The only problem is with the characters. There isn't even one character expect Parzival who leaves a hangover on the reader's mind. But the story is creative and ingenious. If you are hardcore science fiction and virtual reality lover. Buy it. You won't regret it. I appeal to all those gamers out there to read this wonderful novel.

The book depicts a dystopian world in which oil resources are nearly exhausted and there is widespread poverty and famish. People have lost interest in the real world and are addicted to a virtual utopia called OASIS. OASIS is a virtual world with numerous planets where individuals lose their original identities and can create an avatar of their choice. James Halliday, a geeky scientist is the brainchild of OASIS and when he dies , a video is circulated which tells the world that his entire OASIS empire of half a trillion dollars is up for grabs. In the video Halliday tells people about an online contest to win the ownership of OASIS. The first person to find the Easter egg would win the contest. Wade is the protagonist in the story and his OASIS character Parzival is a below average “ Gunter “ . The book revolves around Parzival and how he ultimately finds the Easter egg. IOI is an organisation which wants to win the contest and is willing to go to any extent for the same. Sorrento, a member of IOI is the antagonist in the book..The characters of Art3emis, Aech , Shoto & Daito form “ the high five” with Parzival and take on the IOI head on. Art3mis is the love interest of Parzival and they fall in love in the OASIS without ever meeting in person. The book is very addictive and you get completely engrossed in the adventures of finding the Easter egg. I was initially apprehensive about reading a novel on 80’s pop culture & video games but I went ahead anyway and enjoyed it thoroughly. I was not acquainted with half of the 80’s pop culture references in the book but it didn’t matter. The book still interested me a lot & I was astounded by the research which Earnest Cline has gone into to write this book . PS . Watch the movie after you have read the book. The story depicted in the movie is quite different from the novel and all the adventures around the three keys has been changed completely. The book is however 100 times better than the movie.

Really enjoyed this book. Loved geeking out to the pop culture references.

Liked the book simple english, nice plot, characters with deep touch. Amazing story and execution. Better than movie . Highly recommend.

Reading this book was a mixed ride for me. On one hand, I do agree with some complaints made by others such as the writing style being flat and the story being somewhat monotonous. But on the other hand, the people who treat it like utter garbage are very far from reality. Now let me start with some things that I did not like about this book : 1. The romance portrayed between our hero and her crush is downrightbad. 2. The story tends to take a monotonous or a very typical undertone during some parts of the book. 3. This is not a book you read for admiring beautiful phrases and writing, the writing style and the expressions used are average at best but some advantage to this is that it is easily understandable to most of the readers including someone who is beginning his/her journey. 4. Being an engineering student I did encounter some logical flaws in the technical advancements or (the futuristic devices) that are mentioned in the book but that's just me :P. Coming on to the things I like about this book: 1. The setting or the world/timeline where this story takes place is not something that is very out of bounds or unimaginable. In fact, I found it quite convincing and possible. 2. The OASIS is a beautifully thought out world and game and it enjoying to go through it every time. 3. The story is average at best but it does get very captivating during certain parts. 4. The riddles and the 80's references are understandable (though not quite relatable to me) and bring out the geeky flavor of this book. All in all, this is a 'good read' :P and if you are interested in the genre you will enjoy reading this book.

Ready Player One is a thrilling adventure with an intriguing plot, captivating characters, and a unique virtual world. Cline's writing style is exciting and fast-paced, drawing readers into the virtual world of the OASIS. The characters are well-developed and real, and the book has great depth and detail. The story is full of suspense and surprise, and readers will find themselves rooting for Wade and his friends as they battle the corporate villains. It follows the story of Wade Watts, a teenage orphan living in a crowded future-world where the only escape is the virtual universe of the OASIS. When the creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves a challenge to find an Easter egg hidden within the virtual world. When Wade finds the egg, he must battle a powerful corporation to prevent them from taking over the OASIS and destroying it. Overall, Ready Player One is a great read for fans of science fiction and virtual reality. It is a captivating adventure that will keep readers hooked from beginning to end. Highly recommended! Thank you

I am quite late in reading this book but nevertheless here is my take. An extremely fast paced book that will keep you hooked through. Although the end is predictable, the build up and the detailing is very nice. But I must say that lot of background to the story requires reading through stuff that may be familiar to a western country person who has had access to the Attari games of the 80s and 90s. The movies that have been used as the references too are not one of the popular ones in India. Although this is not a struggle, some knowledge on these would be helpful.

In one sentence, Ready Player One is a geek 80′s retro cyberpunk techno thriller virtual reality love story. But one sentence is not enough. Let me get one thing out of the way first: If you are a child of the 80′s and were a computer geek and/or role player in the 80′s, like I was, you get a lot more out of this book, simply because of all the references to 80′s geek and gamer culture in the novel. If you are not, the book is still an excellent, fun and action-packed read. About the plot: In 2044 the world is a pretty messed-up place, war, recession, environmental destruction and the depletion of natural resources have devastated the world and sent most economies crashing down. The USA have turned into a poverty-stricken, almost lawless place, where civilization as we know it only exists in the remaining bigger cities. Most people flee their harsh reality in an online cyber environment called OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation) created by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Simulation Systems (GSS), formerly known as Gregarious Games. It is World of Warcraft, Second Life, Facebook and your real life combined. People go there to play, work, hang out, shop. You can do everything in OASIS. One of the people who flee their harsh life and live mostly in OASIS is Wade, a destitute orphaned boy who lives with his aunt in a stacked pyramid of trailers and makes a living on the side repairing and scavenging electronic equipment while being enrolled in OASIS-based online highschool. His life changes when one of the founders of GSS, Halliday, dies. In his will, released as an online-video sent to every OASIS player, he declares an Easter Egg hunt of epic proportions. Within OASIS, three keys are hidden and whoever finds them and unlocks the three gates inherits Halliday’s multi-billion fortune. All clues for the hunt are 80′s geek gamer references and things from 1980′s pop culture Halliday loved so dearly in life. The hunt creates a subculture called Egg Hunters (Gunters for short) and leads to a 1980′s revival. Wade becomes a Gunter and on his quest to find the keys gathers a group of other gunters around him who will become known as the High Five. But all is not well, because a multinational corperation, IOI, just another incarnation of Evilcorp Inc. devotes enormous resources to finding the keys and does not stop at extortion and blackmail at all to get what it wants, far from it. But I shall not spoil! Ernest Cline has created a masterpiece, a blend of Matrix, Blade Runner and every sci-fi/cyberpunk movie of the 80′s you love. plus everything you find in WOW and other such games taken to the extreme, after all, computer technology is so much better in 2044, thanks to Moore’s law. There is action, there is cyberpunk, there is a love story, there is a coming-of-age story in there. There is a tale of true friendship and of loyalty. And: There is tons of 1980′s references and some tongue-in-cheek hat-tips to our time (like the Doctorow/Wheaton tac team) A true masterpiece and an excellent read. I devoured it in three days. Highly recommended reading!

When I go back and watch a Spielberg film from the late 70s or early 80s, it has a certain look and feel to it - a tone that is instantly recognizable. When I watch a sitcom from the 80s, it has a singular cadence that instantly puts me at ease, and prepares me to have my problems solved in 30 minutes or less. When I play a video game from the late 70s or early 80s, it makes my fingers itch for a quarter. And, when I read one of the books I loved when I was a teenager, it brings back the pure joy I would find in losing myself in another time and another place. I spend so much time thinking about what I read now; it's becoming more and more rare for me to find that unadulterated escape in a book anymore. I found it when I read "Ready Player One" - and I loved it. This is a book for anyone who's every memorized a pattern on Pac-Man. It's a book for anyone who's ever answered a question by saying - "Blue...no, yellow!" It's a book for anyone who's ever rolled multi-sided dice in the hopes of achieving greatness. It's a book for anyone who's ever believed with all his or her heart that a small square on a small TV, holding a pixilated arrow, was really a brave knight on an epic Adventure. This book is just fun. I don't want to go in to great detail on the story itself - to do that would ruin the thrill of discovery I felt as I turned each page. It drew me in from the first chapter and whisked me along on a trip down memory lane. So much of my childhood is represented in this book; it felt like putting on a comfortable pair of old blue jeans. I realized about half way through that this is the book my 13 year-old self didn't know he was preparing my 40 year-old self to love. To stop there, though, would do the story a disservice. It's not merely a 300+ page excuse to reminisce about the stories, games, and movies of our youth. It's also a compelling story that invests you in its characters. There are themes exploring the corporatization of our culture, the true meaning of friendship, and the dangers of disconnecting yourself from the real world. The last is a timely message, and deftly balanced between a love for the virtual world and an understanding of the need for balance between the virtual and the physical. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of "Ready Player One". Whether you are a fan of 80s pop culture or not - whether you've ever even put a quarter in to a Ms. Pac-Man machine - this is a book that will entertain you. You will not be disappointed. It has action, it has adventure - but it also has heart, and ultimately a message about the importance of not losing sight of what's real. It gave me a span of 3 days where I felt like I was 13 again and nothing in the world mattered as much as answering the question - "what happens next?" It may only be August, but I feel certain I've just read my favorite book of 2011.

My Thoughts: 1. Just like a real videogame, the plot had me addicted from the start. For me, being a medium gamer, I LOVED all the old classic 80's references. It's geeky, sci-fi and fun, all in one! 2. The author does an amazing job building such an intricate and yet simple, futuristic technological world. It felt like I was actually playing the game and experiencing virtual reality through the character. 3. Flawless. Is what I would describe the plot, the writing, and pacing. Cline's writing style seem so effortless and yet detailed enough for the reader to fully experience the story. 4. What I enjoyed most about the plot is that it has a realistic quality and believable element. Most dystopian or sci-fi novels I've read have far-fetched and over-the-top ideas that end up ruining the book. It's scary to think about how much time in our daily lives is spent on the internet and I wouldn't be surprised if in a few decades reality will be overruled by virtual technology. Cline does an amazing job with the plot by adding a few fun twists and turns which makes the journey much more adventurous and exciting. 5. I praise Cline for his ability to make so many connections from the 80's and incorporating them into oridinary clues and riddles. It amazing how every small detail plays such a crucial role in the hunt. I was so engrossed with the hunt that it felt like I was playing it myself. It was smart of Cline to get the reader involved and thinking along with the protagonist in solving the game. 6. I really admire Wade's character. He's just an ordinary, average-looking, slightly overweight teen who, like many of us, undergoes a virtual identity to escape reality (not to mention he has an adorable crush with a famous online blogger). Wade's character is much like James Halliday, the deceased multibillionaire, who never felt at home in the real world and is socially awkward. When Wade embarkes upon this new adventure, he soon realizes that not everyone is excited about his newfound discovery. I love how smart, determined, and calculating Wade is; he picks his battles rather than impulsively jumping into situations. Wade's journey was non-stop action and suspense and a total page-turner that kept me on my toes the entire time. 7. I had to pace myself and tell myself to slow down in order to enjoy the book or else I would have read it all in one sitting. Just like every amazing stand-alone book, I was so sad that it ended. I'm hoping Cline thinks about doing a sequel because there's so much more I want to know! 8. In all, if there's one thing I must say about Ready Player One is READ IT NOW!!

Ce livre est une tuerie. Je l'ai commandé en entendant parler d'une future adaptation de Spielberg en film, et je pense qu'on va se retrouver avec encore un chef d'oeuvre en puissance. Cette histoire de quète du graal pixelisée est palpitante. Et pour tous les enfants des années 80 comme moi, une vague de nostalgie assez rafraichissante. Le style est plutôt classique, mais les personnages sont attachants, les rebondissements nombreux et l'intrigue très bien ficelée. Au passage ces pages sont un vraie bouillon de pop culture qui ratissent large. Vivement le film !!!

Ernest Cline heeft een fantastisch boek geschreven... De link tussen de echte wereld en de OASIS is wonderbaarlijk... En er gebeurt alleen in het begin (eerste 25 bladzijden) weinig Het is vol actie, Popcultuur en een wonderbaarlijke vr wereld Zeker een aanrader