Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Ready Player One

Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

23 reviews

jaklindberg's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

1980s' nerd porn
gatekeeping
incel
agoraphobic
recluse
gaming addiction
escapism
depression
masturbation
identity theft
low self-esteem
seeking social approval
stalking
misogyny
ableism
hyperfocus

There are many ways to describe this scary dystopian novel, which serves as a warning against relying too much on computers and how people become the humanoids from WALL-E, the 2008 Pixar film, by making connecting to the internet their sole aim in life. This got two stars because the storyline was easy to read/understand.

"In real life, I was nothing but an antisocial hermit. A recluse. A pale-skinned pop culture-obsessed geek. An agoraphobic shut-in with no real friends, family, or genuine human contact. I was just another sad, lost, lonely soul, wasting his life on a glorified videogame."

"You know you've totally screwed up your life when your whole world turns to shit, and the only person you have to talk to is your system agent software."

"I'd been offline for eight whole days- a personal record."

"...an obsessive-compulsive geek with no life."

"...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 that, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place to find true happiness. Because reality is REAL."

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a_novi's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

For the first time in my life I was actually glad I watched the movie before I read the book. The move adaptation absolutely changed EVERYTHING about the challenges and so many huge details of the story. If I had read this book before the movie came out I would have been FURIOUS in the theater. This book is awesome. The futuristic dystopian concept is fascinating and scarily metaphorical for reality at times. There’s mysteries, puzzles, romance, suspense, and emotion. This is a book that I would read over again to catch even more detail the second time around. Good movie. Even better book.

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madeline_m's review against another edition

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I wanted to like it. Truly, I tried. The cool pop culture references felt more like aggressive gatekeeping. Any buildup or suspense was killed by main character VERY quickly figuring out the answer.
I guess I was expecting to follow an adventure and solve puzzles along side the characters. Not what the story is interested in. Oh well.

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icarusandthesun's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

5.0

excellent! i haven't had that much fun in a while.
even though i'm a little too young (or too little of a game nerd) to understand most of the niche 80s game references, i still enjoyed them all.
the world—the stacks, the OASIS, etc.—is so incredibly interesting and made my video-game (and reality-hating) heart do flips of joy.

10/10, so much better than the movie.

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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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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.25

Good book; the portrayals of Shoto and Daito are a little racist; the main character is a pick-me boy and while he does experience some growth, most of it is because of a woman (sexist) and that whole subplot is honestly ridiculous. Like it suits the character but christ it’s a little excessive and he never faces any repercussions for his obsessive nature. We also never see a developing care for the outside world which realllly makes the love interest feel like a moral hospital for a promising young man. The world building is exceptional and the characters are all believable. I think the theme of race really gets trampled on//doesn’t get enough attention in the novel. It felt like an after thought, like the character was made to develop Wade into his final form. He’s the hero but he also sucks a lot. Also, there’s a paradoxical idolization of the creators or OASIS (rich) who honestly do and did so little to help the real world despite their vast sums of money (the reason why some characters want to win the game in the first place — to save the world). idk. the whole thing felt half-baked in terms of ideology but very strong in terms of character personas but weak in terms of character development

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