emily_michelle's review against another edition

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

3.0

Overall enjoyable read.  People into videogames and 80s "nerd culture" will love this.  

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bebereads's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

i’m only glad i read this book so i can now know how bad it is? it’s not a crime to like this book, i even found it ironically enjoyable in a way, but if you find yourself uneasy with it just know YOU ARE NOT ALONE, THIS IS BECAUSE IT IS A BAD BOOK. it’s not only so poorly written, it is deeply problematic and unfortunately not aware of itself in any type of way, where that could have been insightful. books like these are often framed as “but it’s just lots of fun!” or “escapism” and etc. but my issue with that is don’t introduce themes into your book unless you are going to address them properly and it’s not like i would trust Ernest Cline to address anything properly (he wrote this book about as well as he could have) but regardless. i don’t even feel like going into all the problems with this story, there’s enough critical analysis about it out there as is, and also i exhausted even thinking about it more than i already have. moving on! 

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izzywhoisnotjaredand19's review against another edition

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

1.0


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kirdyk's review against another edition

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

3.25

3.25/5- It did better than I expected, but had quite some downsides. 

This review's gonna be short and sweet; I liked the beginning, got bored towards the end, and finished it only for the sake of finishing it. 

It's good for Sci-Fi fans who like the Virtual Reality scene, a classical, step-by-step adventure with a typical power-money-hungry villain as enemy. Someone who likes the main protagonist having a love interest (who slowly loses personality as the book comes to an end) to chase while saving the world, and enjoys a smack-ton of 80's references for the nostalgia. 

This book does offer a moral towards the finale, which I appreciate. It also introduced me to a few 80's bands I'd have never discovered otherwise.

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abithereader's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.0

This is very much a YA book, but is fully of 80s references that most YA readers are too young to understand. The plot and setting has potential but Cline is so focused on info dumping and making 80s references that not enough thought is put on the plot itself. Wade is an incredibly unlikeable self insert character/ author surrogate (Cline has a car that is a replica of Wade's car in the OASIS).

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