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marie_1's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia and Suicidal thoughts
sarahuwu's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
Self-insert nostalgia fanfic at its worst. The book’s success banks entirely on “hey, remember this thing from the 80s?” The main character is unlikable from the beginning and removes all of his body hair for some reason? Not to mention the flagrant transphobia that really could’ve been left out. Watch the movie, avoid the book. It’s not worth the hours of your life you won’t get back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
olive_lol's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.0
To me, one of the biggest appeals of this book is the world it creates. It intertwines old video games and futuristic technology in a compelling way. If you're a fan of references to 80s pop culture and classic video games, you'll probably like this book.
A few parts in the middle felt like they were rushed over to maintain the story's momentum, but other than that the pacing is pretty good.The ending wrapped the story up nicely. It might be a bit too clean for some, but I still enjoyed it. Overall, I liked the story and loved the world it's set in.
A few parts in the middle felt like they were rushed over to maintain the story's momentum, but other than that the pacing is pretty good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Cursing, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
danka66's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Stalking
Minor: Transphobia, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
delaneybull's review against another edition
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
2.0
Very dated, throws in a heavy pour of misogyny and a sprinkle of transphobia too.
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
_nem_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
This is my go to book whenever I'm in a reading slump. I can just whizz through the pages and it gets me excited about reading again. I like how there are almost two stories running in parallel with real life and the world inside the OASIS. The world building is amazing and could be expanded on so much as well. I like the puzzle aspects as well and how it isn't immediately obvious to the characters what the solution is.
I didn't understand all of the 80s references but that didn't take away from the book. Everything was explained so you could know what it was without having come across that media before.
I didn't understand all of the 80s references but that didn't take away from the book. Everything was explained so you could know what it was without having come across that media before.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Racism, War, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism
planner5002's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The themes of this book make it a really compelling read. Finding parallels to life now and seeing some of what the future might look like makes for an interesting read. Even though a lot of references went over my head, and I didn’t really like the main charachter, I really liked reading this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Abandonment
Minor: Transphobia
nevenolson's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I remember really liking this book when it came out. The story isn't bad. I've given up on cis-het male leads in books. The stories are all the same and the characters are all pretty much the same. It feels like someone's sad attempt at reliving the best part of their life, having already given up on the world we live in now. The story is alright overall.
Content Warnings
Minor: Transphobia
wesleyreads's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
The writing style was very dry, at times cringy, at the level of a teenager. I was bored throughout almost the entire book. Many descriptive words are used and re-used a lot throughout a chapter and the whole book, sometimes even within a page. Often the only description given to a place/thing is that it looks like [insert 80s reference]. The pacing was off, there were large parts of the book where nothing really happened but there were massive detailed unnecessary descriptions that added nothing to the plot or character development. When there were finally scenes that were supposed to drive the plot forward, they were described in a rushed pace without any tension, making them fall flat.
(spoiler warning for this paragraph:)
The characters themselves lacked depth, were unlikable, with the main character being the worst. He was self-involved, arrogant, transphobic and fatphobic, and way too good at 80's pop culture knowledge and playing video games to be believable. Allegedly he had dozens of complete movies, video games and tv shows as well as this whole 'Almanak' memorised. As in, their entire scripts, all the words, in their entirety. He also pulls off some elaborate stunts which are left unexplained (e.g. after being detained at one point he simply hacks into the system of this highly secured building to let himself literally walk out, conveniently avoiding any security). His romance was clumsily done (and included our 'hero' obsessively stalking his love interest) and added nothing to the plot. The deceased inventor of the OASIS, who for some unknown (plot hole?!) reasons after his death set out a competition for all OASIS players to go on a quest and ultimately win ownership of the OASIS, was widely regarded as a hero, yet many of the descriptions of him were about how hard he was to work with and how rude he was?? None of the characters experience any growth. Two Japanese sidecharacters are portrayed as racist stereotypes.
To be fair, I don't know much of the 80's pop culture. But the book is clearly written in order to show off the author's extensive 80s pop culture knowledge as there are so many references per page that it gets extremely repetitive.
The worldbuilding is interesting but since a lot of time is focused on describing OASIS and its technology, the dystopian state of the world is left unexplained.
Overall, this book is just bad. Would only recommend for people who love 80's pop culture or are interested in the way the fictional technology of the OASIS functions.
The characters themselves lacked depth, were unlikable, with the main character being the worst. He was self-involved, arrogant, transphobic and fatphobic, and way too good at 80's pop culture knowledge and playing video games to be believable. Allegedly he had dozens of complete movies, video games and tv shows as well as this whole 'Almanak' memorised. As in, their entire scripts, all the words, in their entirety. He also pulls off some elaborate stunts which are left unexplained (e.g. after being detained at one point he simply hacks into the system of this highly secured building to let himself literally walk out, conveniently avoiding any security). His romance was clumsily done (and included our 'hero' obsessively stalking his love interest) and added nothing to the plot. The deceased inventor of the OASIS, who for some unknown (plot hole?!) reasons after his death set out a competition for all OASIS players to go on a quest and ultimately win ownership of the OASIS, was widely regarded as a hero, yet many of the descriptions of him were about how hard he was to work with and how rude he was?? None of the characters experience any growth. Two Japanese sidecharacters are portrayed as racist stereotypes.
To be fair, I don't know much of the 80's pop culture. But the book is clearly written in order to show off the author's extensive 80s pop culture knowledge as there are so many references per page that it gets extremely repetitive.
The worldbuilding is interesting but since a lot of time is focused on describing OASIS and its technology, the dystopian state of the world is left unexplained.
Overall, this book is just bad. Would only recommend for people who love 80's pop culture or are interested in the way the fictional technology of the OASIS functions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Transphobia
jasminrain's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. I think it's a very beautiful portrayal of the gaming community and an ode to pop culture. It was researched really well and it was just an absolute joy to immerse myself to the story even though I have little to no connection to the world.
I was a bit hesitant to read the book having seen the film, but the storyline was actually quite different to the film adaptation and brought more layers to the story. I listened to the audiobook read by Wil Wheaton and it just really brought the story to life in all the best ways possible.
All this being said, there was some problematic language and transphobia that were left completely unaddressed, which I found really problematic considering the target age and audience of this book. So not a five star but really good read.
I was a bit hesitant to read the book having seen the film, but the storyline was actually quite different to the film adaptation and brought more layers to the story. I listened to the audiobook read by Wil Wheaton and it just really brought the story to life in all the best ways possible.
All this being said, there was some problematic language and transphobia that were left completely unaddressed, which I found really problematic considering the target age and audience of this book. So not a five star but really good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Transphobia, Cursing, Violence, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, Murder, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Racism, Addiction, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts