This is a spoiler free review, which I’m going to find a little tricky considering I just want to gush about how delightful this book was.
In the grim future of the year 2044, the world has become obsessed with living inside the virtual world of the OASIS, an online reality created by the late billionaire James Halliday. Upon the news of his passing, it is revealed that when the OASIS was created, an Easter egg was hidden inside the online universe by Halliday himself, and his entire $250 billion fortune, would go to the player who can find it. The contest however, is not that simple – requiring players to sift through every little detail of the creator’s life and his fixation on 80’s pop culture and videogames, to unravel a series of riddles and clues, leading towards finding the egg. That, and being against big corporations working together who will stop at nothing (and I mean nothing) to acquire it.
Are you ready, Player One?
Every so often, a book comes along that feels like it was written especially for you. This is what Ready Player One felt like to me. It combined everything I could want from a book and ticked all the boxes. It was a breath of fresh air in science fiction and was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and that being said, it’s worth a read. (No seriously, go and pick it up now) Especially if you’re a giant nerd at heart.
The first thing I have to mention is, Cline knows his stuff. From the get go, this book is filled to the brim with nods and references to 80’s pop culture and old school video games, which are the driving force behind its epic plot. Like myself, you don’t have to have grown up in the 80’s to understand any of them as Cline never hesitates to go into details of their relevance to the quest, however we could have done with a little less detail as it gets a bit excessive and repetitive at points when it isn't necessary.
The concept of the OASIS fascinated me, and at times I was so engrossed I felt as if I was plugged in with a visor and haptic gloves myself (I wish). Although not always the strongest, the world building was very well executed and not so drastic that it became unbelievable, which many apocalyptic/dystopian novels suffer from. This future is not one that I would want to live in, there’s been an energy crisis, resources have been severely depleted and civilization is in decline, and honestly it’s a little frightening how it’s not impossible that this could happen in our future.
The cast of characters are what bought this book to life. Unlike those characters you see from time to time who seem too perfect in every way to exist in the real world, Ready Player One is made up of characters who are not perfect, who aren’t anything special but they’re ordinary and relatable. Wade Watts, alias Parzival our protagonist, is a normal kid, slightly overweight and isn’t doing so great at school, but he’s an exceptional and cunning gamer, and doesn’t shy away from risky but brilliant plans which could end in disaster. The rest of the side characters are just as fabulous and have you laughing throughout, but Wade/Parzival still remains my favourite, because.. well, how could he not be?
The pace of this story was excellent. It has the ability of keeping you gripped to its pages by remaining exciting and thrilling, never slowing down. At times I even found myself trying to decode the riddles and puzzles which were way too clever for me to ever work out, because Cline seriously is a genius in coming up with these.
As I said, Ready Player One for me ticked all the boxes: An unique and epic plot. Solid writing. Well-constructed. Science fiction. Great world building. Geeky sub-culture. Well developed and realistic characters. No irritating love triangles, but a well done romance. Humour. Lots of action. Ridiculously fun.
So would I recommend it? Absolutely
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Reviews with images
I never leave reviews.
Despite the fact that i am an avid reader i never leave reviews... I'm not great with words.But these books need reviewing!! They're awesome!I saw Ready Player One film a year or two ago and really enjoyed it, i have even re-watched it a few times since...Then a couple of weeks ago a friend recommended i read the book. Now my friend knows i am a fantasy reader, i have been since my early 20's so i was reluctant as this is not my sort of book, despite me liking the film so much.But being in lockdown and very bored i thought, why not... It was only a fiver for the paper back so thought i would give it a go as he wouldn't stop going on about how good it was, and he wasn't wrong.I started it one evening, read for a couple of hours, went to bed and the following evening it was finished, i could NOT put it down! The general plot is the same as the film but it was different enough to really get lost in the story, it was 11.30 at night and i was a couple of chapters away from the end when i realised, i HAVE to order the second one! (This is when i realised i made a mistake ordering the paperback, i like things to match so now i am going to have to re-order it in the hardback format as that was the only format the second one was available in... Not to worry, the paperback will go to a good home!)So i finished the last few chapters and started the second one when it arrived the next day, took me a similar time to read the second book, again i thoroughly enjoyed it. The second one is a little more 'out there' but for someone who mainly reads about magic, made up places, orcs, elderlings and demon wars, this wasn't an issue.I highly recommend these books and this is coming from someone who doesn't really enjoy the 80's (I'm a 90's kid, born very late 80's and as you will have picked up from the other reviews, 80's film/game/music culture is heavily referenced in these books).I am about to start Cline's other book, Armada, again recommended by the same friend... He just finished it and said despite the slow start is another great read... So we shall see!
Top reviews from other countries
Quim Pedret
Igual o mejor que la película, excelente libro.
Reviewed in Spain on 4 September 2024
Quim Pedret
Reviewed in Spain on 4 September 2024
Una cosa que me ha parecido curiosa es que la historia del libro y de la película no tienen mucho que ver, la trama es la misma, obtener las 3 llaves para conseguir el easter egg y adueñarte del oasis, pero la obtención de las 3 llaves cambia mucho a diferencia de la película, no voy a decir nada mas para no espoilear nada.
En general me ha encantado el libro, una cosa que queda un poco fea es la tapa dura, que es toda negra menos por el lateral, pero no importa mucho. Si eres fan de la película, o incluso si no te la has visto es un libro de 10 para leértelo, seguro que te encanta.
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harish gupta
One of the Best Sci-fi books available on market!!
Reviewed in India on 20 March 2023
