Reviews

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

queenbethie's review against another edition

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5.0

Part Sci-fi, part 80s nostalgic flashback and a dash of romance make "Ready Player One" an outstanding read (or listen), especially for those of us who are children of the 80s. Cline's story is masterfully written, intertwining countless 80s references into its futuristic story.

A bonus for those who listen to the book: Whil Wheaton reads it, and there is even a WW reference in the book.

hcmcmains's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

by_sander's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

4.0

rew12's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

periburton's review against another edition

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2.0

I'd first like to say my rating of this book is more like 2.5 stars than 2, but half stars don't exist and I can't in good conscience rate it 3 stars.
My main issues with this book are the nostalgia overload (name dropping) and unnecessary romance. Any chance given, Cline tossed in any video game reference or detail he knew just for the sake of showing off to the reader or with the hopes of hitting them with a bit of nostalgia. A few of these references were necessary for solving riddles and continuing the main quest to find Halliday's egg, but much more often it was unnecessary and slowed the momentum of the story dramatically. Now for the romance, it added about 50 pages to the middle of the novel and would have been better off just left as a friendship-- the same end results could have been achieved through a well written blooming friendship. It was so forgettable and unnecessary that it only got about a page and a half worth of resolution at the end of the novel.
I think the saving grace of this book is the general plot which just felt poorly executed. I love the idea of a virtual scavenger hunt with tough riddles, larger than life fights and interesting challenges to complete quests (like winning old arcade games). I feel like if the book had less down time or more interesting interactions between solving the riddles it would have been exponentially more enjoyable.

seagullsound's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

mooskie_13's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

_carly_'s review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

yerkillinmesmalls's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

katydailey's review against another edition

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3.0

I started this because my husband love it. Devoured it. And my cousin also enjoyed it. Within the first chapter, I knew I would not enjoy it as much as they had. It was not something I enjoyed picking up each evening. I pushed through the last third just to be finished. This doesn’t mean it’s not s good book. It’s just not my book. It had good parts, and interesting plots points and scenes, but... just not my thing. I don’t think I’ll be enjoying any more of Mr. Cline’s work, but I applaud his efforts that are so enjoyed by other people. May he have continued success.