Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Jogador Nº 1 by Ernest Cline

12 reviews

phantomgecko's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

1.0

If you don't think about this book critically at all, it's fun. That's why I finished it.

But dang dude I hated this. It's listening to a Redditor gatekeep mediocre media for 300+ pages. The most accurate word I can think for this would be masturbatory. I know that the author =/= narrator necessarily, but tbh I can't imagine why he would write this book in this specific way unless he personally just gets right off on it. This had v strong self-insert Mary Sue vibes.

For example, having to describe in detail all the (fake) tech used or having to talk about every article of clothing anyone puts on.

Also, obvs pop culture references are the whole book, but like, my dude. You don't need to explain every reference. This isn't Dora the Explorer.

My facetiously favorite line, paraphrased was 'it's their fault they don't have all the words to Schoolhouse Rock memorized' as if that's a normal thing. Like, bro, yeah, I know. Dissecting everything in Halliday's life is essentially their job, but the condescension and superiority complex that goes along with it is such a toxic part of fandom culture.

I kinda thought the narrative would loop around, and everyone would acknowledge that Halliday was psycho and not worthy of adoration or study. Wah wah wah, whiny piss baby can't forget pathetic childhood. But no. How silly of me. 

Also, willing suspension of disbelief and all, but NO. It's just not possible for a kid to have read/watched/listened to/played all the things he has in 3 years. No amount of "that's all he does for 12 hours a day" can convince me that it's possible. He didn't just have 4 screens going at once on double speed. He claims to have consumed the media in a way that he apparently can remember every single thing in all of it. Every sound byte from every obscure snippet of media from a decade. He straight up says he's watched some movies over 100 times. There is simply not time for that. I cannot and will not get over this egregious stretch of the imagination.

And another thing...looking down on Star Trek Voyager and Star Trek Enterprise instantly lowered my opinion of Cline.

Science fiction in particular from the 80s is rife with sexism, and you can tell Cline triiiied to subvert that. But it was done in classic "nice guy" fashion. Sexism with a different face.

Oh, almost forgot about the atheist rant at the beginning. It honestly felt like a fourth-wall-breaking diatribe that didn't fit? Like, wah wah wah, I'm alive and anything good anyone has ever told me is a lie, the only point of life is to end and everyone dies, wah wah wah.

Do not recommend. Tbh, the movie was better.

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hazeleyeddreamer's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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lenorayoder's review against another edition

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adventurous

3.0

I might have rated this 4 stars because I do think the world is cool, but the teen boy of it all gets to be a bit much, especially by the end of the book. At first I thought the main character was just an accurate portrayal of teen boyness, warts and all, but it becomes obvious as the book goes on that Wade can do no wrong (and actually those aren’t warts at all!) once he’s learned the Moral of the Story. Cline also really hits you over the head with said moral. And let’s not forget the clumsy exposition that continues throughout the novel. I can tolerate that at the beginning of a book, but the entire thing?? Also “rubenesque”. More than once. Kill me. 

Kind of a bummer, because I think this book had a lot of potential. I still liked it though, and I’ll probably check out the sequel. I can definitely see why this was adapted into a movie and I’ll be checking that out too. 

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akacasper24's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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bookmark3brodi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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itsheyfay's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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frankieclc's review against another edition

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2.0

i didnt vibe with this at all i hated the writing style and the world building info dumps right in the middle of sections, the pacing was all off and i hate when men write female characters as unnecessarily angry or entitled 

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m_hates_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Wade (main character) is very annoying and almost unbearable at points, but somewhat lovable in an awkward, please-gain-some-self-awareness type way.
It’s a book that’s somewhat about found-family, and fighting for what you believe in-  but mainly just an excuse for the author to do a bunch of world-building off of nerd-trivia (greatly appreciated, as I am a massive nerd).
All in all, a fun and exciting book, but not a particularly meaningful one. I see the nostalgia appeal for a lot of people- something I cant relate to though as I am currently a teenager. 
I do like a passage towards the end, tough, where a character discusses that even when reality sucks, it’s the only place that’s real and, therefore the best- I really found that quite meaningful, even if not much else in the book was (and the author completely goes back on this point in the sequel)
A great read and one I believe really is deserving of its positive reputation.

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bardic_llama's review against another edition

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challenging lighthearted tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

While I did find the specificity of Cline's references annoying at times, that specificity was needed as they would of otherwise gone over my head. I hadn't seen that great of reviews about this book on booktube and was curious enough to read; can say it wasn't as bad as they say then again I've chalked it up to having too high of expectations or the hype that had came along w/ the movie release. Don't know if I'll read the sequel though. 

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nickiethebookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-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

5.0

Holy. Shit.

Second read: I still really love this book. There's a lot of explanation and a few cringe-worthy moments, but I love the nostalgia I feel in reading this novel. I love how happy it makes me. And it's one that I feel I could read a dozen times more and still enjoy every time. 

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