Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Ready Player One

Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Series: Ready Player One, #1
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: August 16th 2011

T H R E E • W O R D S

Inventive • Gripping • Compulsive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Flashforward to the year 2044, the world is a dark and ugly place, a real dystopia. In fact, many choose to escape to a virtual utopia known as the OASIS, a place where you can choose to be anything you want. Ready Player One follows Wade in his ultimate quest to discover a secret egg, hidden somewhere within the OASIS, and inherit creator James Halliday's fortune. A nostalgic, high-stakes, action packed adventure of heartache, friendship, and determination.

💭 T H O U G H T S

It takes a special kind of book, for me to feel fully engaged within the first few pages, thus was the case with Ready Player One. The writing was intriguing and fast-paced, the character development was on point, and the references to 80s pop-culture and video game culture were fantastic. I certainly wish I could have appreciated all of the references to their full potential though. The trio of Parzical, Aech, and Art3mis has great chemistry, and I would have to say Arch was my favourite character, even more so as the story progressed. I listened to the audio simultaneously while reading, and the narration definitely added an extra dimension and really brought the story to life. Given the book is quite long, I am not sure if I'd have enjoyed it as much without the audio. This isn't a genre I typically gravitate towards, so there was apprehension going in, but it quickly dissipated. And this book ended up being just the escape I didn't know I needed.

I'd recommend this to anyone craving retro vibes, an escape from reality or who reads science fiction on a regular basis. And I'll definitely be adding Ready Player Two to my TBR for the future.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for retro vibes
• Science Fiction lovers
• those not too sure about Science Fiction

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn't know how to connect with the people there. I was afraid, for all of my life. Right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real. Do you understand?'"

Content Warnings

rbacon's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

This book had a potential to be even better than it is by cutting out the half-assed romance storyline and building on the apocalyptic/social issues/eco crisis going on and working out how to actually deal with that rather than running away from it!

Content Warnings

onadatewithdestiny's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read the book physically and in audiobook form because the first few times I tried to read it I had a difficult time staying focused. I loved the 80's pop culture that's embedded in the very essence of this story. It was action packed and filled with lovable characters.

Content Warnings

ravensandlace's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny informative tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Find this review and others like it at https://aravenclawlibraryx.wordpress.com

I wish I hadn’t watched the movie of this book first. Normally, I read the book first and then watch the movie. I didn’t mean to. My boyfriend was looking for a movie to watch and we decided on this one. I really enjoyed the movie but after reading the book, I realized how different they are from each other. Watching the movie first might have hindered my enjoyment of the book. I might have rated this book higher if I had read it first and then watched the movie.

With this book, you have to be a bit of a geek with technology and the eighties in order to have even the vaguest understanding of what all the references mean. And I mean, there are so many references. I’m a bit of a geek myself but even the references were lost on me. It got to be a bit much at times. Sure, Wade explained most of the references but it was just...a lot. It was like Cline was trying to prove just how much he knew about the eighties and wanted to talk about how much he loved it.

One of my favorite things about this book was the OASIS and concept of it. James Halliday, the founder, made sure it was available to everybody for free. He put libraries and educational things on there so everybody could learn anything they wanted too. I loved that and it shows that technology can be an awesome tool. Because the Lord knows I am tired of people complaining about how technology is ruining the lives of the youth. It’s a topic that makes me so annoyed. Maybe one day, I’ll post something about it.

Overall, while I enjoyed the book, it had some flaws. Like the absolute crazy amount of geek and eighties references. The ending was also kind of abrupt but I wasn’t too bothered by it. I recommend reading the book first and then watching the movie. Because they are very different things.

Content Warnings

More...