You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
fast-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:
Yes
adventurous
funny
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:
Yes
Mindless nostalgia porn with a generous serving of self-insert that could have been written by an edgy, r/lewronggeneration teenager except Cline was 39 when this was published.
This book, man. It's chock-full of bits the author is convinced are cool and clever but are so stupid they border on parody. (The lowest level of a city is called "The Floor", the door to a hideout is called "The Entrance" and so on.) If that was not enough, it also contains so much trivia name-dropping it comes this close to just being a checklist for lazy geeks who are too cool for the recent stuff.
It was not even so bad that it became entertaining, it was just bad bad. My friend and I tried reading the worst excerpts to each other for fun, but we stopped pretty fast because we realised we were just making ourselves angry. It did give us a confidence boost in our own amateur writing, though. (And we're both ESL...)
As for the treatment of female characters, you only need to know this: Cline wrote a poem deploring the lack of "quality" porn targeted at nice™, cultured (read pop cultured) men like him.
This book, man. It's chock-full of bits the author is convinced are cool and clever but are so stupid they border on parody. (The lowest level of a city is called "The Floor", the door to a hideout is called "The Entrance" and so on.) If that was not enough, it also contains so much trivia name-dropping it comes this close to just being a checklist for lazy geeks who are too cool for the recent stuff.
It was not even so bad that it became entertaining, it was just bad bad. My friend and I tried reading the worst excerpts to each other for fun, but we stopped pretty fast because we realised we were just making ourselves angry. It did give us a confidence boost in our own amateur writing, though. (And we're both ESL...)
As for the treatment of female characters, you only need to know this: Cline wrote a poem deploring the lack of "quality" porn targeted at nice™, cultured (read pop cultured) men like him.
I feel really conflicted about this book. It has some of the most dull, pandering early chapters of any book I've ever read. Just piles upon piles of 80's references, like Cline is trying to prove he's got some serious street cred about his knowledge of that era. It left me both exhausted and irritated. Felt like giant chunks of wasted space. Similarly, his "Not-Steve-Jobs" mystical game developer chapters were equally ridiculous. Yes, I've heard this story before. Recreating a famous man's life for your fiction character without adding anything remotely interesting to the tale is a waste.
On the other hand, once the book's main plot get into high gear in the later half of the book, I was definitely interested to see how it went. The end result was never truly in doubt, but the way it all came together was enjoyable. I happily went along for the ride to the end.
I walked away feeling glad I read the book, but only give it a minimal recommendation. There are lots of better books to read instead, but Ready Player One is an inoffensive way to spend a few lazy afternoons.
On the other hand, once the book's main plot get into high gear in the later half of the book, I was definitely interested to see how it went. The end result was never truly in doubt, but the way it all came together was enjoyable. I happily went along for the ride to the end.
I walked away feeling glad I read the book, but only give it a minimal recommendation. There are lots of better books to read instead, but Ready Player One is an inoffensive way to spend a few lazy afternoons.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use
absolutely one of the best books i've read so far!!! :--)
---------------------------------------------
re;read STILL ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ! It just never gets old.
---------------------------------------------
re;read STILL ONE OF THE BEST BOOK I'VE READ! It just never gets old.
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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