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katieinca's review against another edition
5.0
READ it.
I've been describing it to people as "kind of a near-future dystopian virtual reality treasure hunt 80s pop culture fest." Which is TRUE, but somehow fails to capture the fabulousness. If I'd known anything about this before reading it other than that it was most enthusiastically recommended by someone I trusted, I'd have thought "there's no way you could do that without it being incredibly cheesy. And/or depressing." And I'd have been wrong.
My only complaint, if it is one, is that at times it felt like it skewed a little too YA. And there's a point near the end (I think this is vague enough to not be a spoiler but please, by all means, skip this next bit if you're paranoid) ---
where things get a little deus ex machina and I thought one of the good guys would surely turn out to be a bad guy and "really? can it really be that simple? when is the other shoe going to drop?" but it really was that simple.
---OKAY END NOT REALLY A SPOILER PART. So it's fun. It references everything and everyone and then some. But mostly from the 80s. It's like someone said to him "Storing a bunch of pop culture crap in your brain could never be anything but a waste of time" and this is his "oh yeah? What if..." And then the book wrote itself, except with surprising amounts of awesomeness.
I've been describing it to people as "kind of a near-future dystopian virtual reality treasure hunt 80s pop culture fest." Which is TRUE, but somehow fails to capture the fabulousness. If I'd known anything about this before reading it other than that it was most enthusiastically recommended by someone I trusted, I'd have thought "there's no way you could do that without it being incredibly cheesy. And/or depressing." And I'd have been wrong.
My only complaint, if it is one, is that at times it felt like it skewed a little too YA. And there's a point near the end (I think this is vague enough to not be a spoiler but please, by all means, skip this next bit if you're paranoid) ---
where things get a little deus ex machina and I thought one of the good guys would surely turn out to be a bad guy and "really? can it really be that simple? when is the other shoe going to drop?" but it really was that simple.
---OKAY END NOT REALLY A SPOILER PART. So it's fun. It references everything and everyone and then some. But mostly from the 80s. It's like someone said to him "Storing a bunch of pop culture crap in your brain could never be anything but a waste of time" and this is his "oh yeah? What if..." And then the book wrote itself, except with surprising amounts of awesomeness.
brendalovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a lot of fun, but too much infodumping took me right out of the story too often.
thecurseofchris's review against another edition
2.0
No idea how this book got so much praise, because it is...not good. Writing is poor, characters are poor, plot is average at best...the only reason it gets 2 stars is because the concept is somewhat cool and the audiobook by Wil Wheaton is well-narrated.
minimoose's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
ikykwklee_know's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
ana_poulsen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mariah9999's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. I loved the references and the friendships.
The adventure to get the egg kept me on my toes. I just loved this.
I can’t wait to watch the movie and read book 2
The adventure to get the egg kept me on my toes. I just loved this.
I can’t wait to watch the movie and read book 2
kikix2's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 stars. Overall: masterpiece.
It's been a while since I finished this book, and now I can confidently say that it's one of the best books I've read in 2020 so far. I won't write a review on it yet, because I plan to re-read it soon.
It's been a while since I finished this book, and now I can confidently say that it's one of the best books I've read in 2020 so far. I won't write a review on it yet, because I plan to re-read it soon.
kruegs27's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? No
5.0
dotreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The start was somewhat slow with all the explanation of the OASIS, it's creator and the contest rules. I think the author did a great job and weaving the story about Wade/ParZival throughout the explanation. The 80's pop culture references were awesome and I got almost everyone of them. (Monty Python's The Holy Grail!!!) What made this book great was the focus on human nature in the midst of a new digital age. People want to be loved, needed and praised and the OASIS fed them that in large doses. I loved how Wade was hungry for human interaction and remained a true friend even to the end of the contest. (Spoiler) The relationship between Art3mis and ParZival was cute but actually really tugged on my heart. I actually teared up at the last scene when they finally meet in person for the first time. Truly, this is an epic story about an alternative future that intertwines love, greed and every aspect of human nature into it's pages.