Reviews with content warning for Murder - Ready Player One

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

78 reviews

meroree's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

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m_hates_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Wade (main character) is very annoying and almost unbearable at points, but somewhat lovable in an awkward, please-gain-some-self-awareness type way.
It’s a book that’s somewhat about found-family, and fighting for what you believe in- but mainly just an excuse for the author to do a bunch of world-building off of nerd-trivia (greatly appreciated, as I am a massive nerd).
All in all, a fun and exciting book, but not a particularly meaningful one. I see the nostalgia appeal for a lot of people- something I cant relate to though as I am currently a teenager.
I do like a passage towards the end, tough, where a character discusses that even when reality sucks, it’s the only place that’s real and, therefore the best- I really found that quite meaningful, even if not much else in the book was (and the author completely goes back on this point in the sequel)
A great read and one I believe really is deserving of its positive reputation.

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random19379's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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kaitlynnnng's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Many of my students have recommended this book to me, so I finally decided to read it, and I enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook (at 2.5x speed) and followed along in the physical book, which added to the fast-paced storytelling.

There is a LOT of information and world building in this book. I wouldn’t say it was unnecessary, but I will say, at times, it was overwhelming and took away from the urgency of the hunt. I’m sure I would feel different if I was more into VR and video games.

I saw another reviewer say they liked how, even though most of the story takes place in a virtual reality, the characters still deal with real problems, and I completely agree.

I was definitely rooting for the main characters (the IOI can rot), but I didn’t really connect with any of them. But, again, I realize I might feel differently if I was still a teenager and/or more into VR and video games.

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ruthieelisa's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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

3.5

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inuyashaswife's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

I didn’t realize this was directed at a very specific audience, who is not me. If you’re a nerd and a huge fan of the ‘80’s then this might be for you.

The dialogue was really cringe-worthy, like the author himself doesn’t know anything about gaming (or possibly uses ‘80’s lingo that I just don’t get/sounded cheesy). The black and asian characters were treated in a weird way that could be offensive to some people. The characters had almost no fleshing out so I couldn’t really route for them, just routed against the villain. The romance was generic and kinda bland and wasted quite a bit of time even the plot was meant to be time sensitive. But there were some cool moments like the puzzles I enjoyed even though I couldn’t have guessed the answers, I also enjoyed the first gate and the end of the third gate the most. That one part where there’s some espionage…. It really didn’t work for me and felt over dramatic and dumb. This feels really rant-y for a two stars but I’m feeling generous, and the narrator was pretty good.

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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

This could have been so good

<<<SPOILERS(?)>>>

Ok number 1, we’re gonna talk about how all the gunters are like B) look how cool i am i know all these thing and like cool retro things
THATS NOT COOL
YOU LITERALLY DONT HAVE A PERSONALITY
YOU HAVE A COPY OF A PERSONALITY FROM SOME OLD DEAD GUY
oh hey wade? STOP STATING WHAT THE SONGS ARE AND THINKING WERE GONNA BE IMPRESSED- THATS NOT A SPECIAL SKILL
also brosky art3mis was literally like i dont want to date. Like verrrry fucking clearly and u were like cool imma confess my love to you whenever i see u
I was so mad that he was the one to win, like it was super predictable but he literally sat around doing fuck all but moping for like 6 months after the first gate
Also why would you not just like post how to get through the later gates as soon as you get through like? Even if other gunters get to them and the beat you later, like that is still more people to compete against the sixers? So,, stupid
Oh yeah hey wade u dumb bitch? Why may i ask did u spray paint your windows black? Why not, i dont know, get curtains?? Ya lil freak.
Also i know it was kinda on purpose but the challenges were so anticlimactic hahaha no winder they changed them all in the film.
Dude wade was so annoying, like until he mopes about doing - literally nothing- he just like perfectly goes through everything, dude its no fun watching the mc breeze through all of lifes challenges, woulda been so much better from art3mis’ perspective
Oh and why did you have to do that whole omg im so ugly you cant even look at me cry cry cry bit from her, damn, girly is so confident what the hell was that about?? She doesnt need wade to be like no, i dont think so
Also once again I DONT NEED TO KNOW HOW BIG ALL THE GIRLS BOOBS ARE? THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE IN THE FIRST SENTENCE ABOUT THEM ALL I STG
ok i think im done xx
Oh wait ahah it was so funny how wade literally didnt leave his house looool and also got a bit incel-y at one point
Oh also those like random throw away homophobic comments for no reason at the start???
Oh also its pointless (ha youll get that in a min) that when everyone goes through the gates they always get 100,000 points, like, you might as well get 1 point, that just stupid
Dude either relate things to your plot or leave them out, i dont need to hear you talk about some obscure made up tech reference if it has absolutely no relevance to your plot

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cianarae's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced

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

3.75

I liked this a lot! The story was great, the characters were funny, I liked the ‘80s references. I think it could have done a little bit better with the representation of women and people of color. Also I’m not a big fan of the benevolent billionaire trope so that was another thing I didn’t love. Last complaint, a lot of the riddles and things that were supposedly so difficult that no one could figure them out for years seemed really obvious. All-in-all, the writing isn’t perfect but it’s a fun book that I enjoyed reading.

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mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

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

2.5

Honestly I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book, since some aspects of it were really great and others...not so much.
I really enjoyed the world building and really.enjoyed the world of OASIS and thought it was a really cool idea with lots of room for fun and interesting scenarios. The story and world really had a lot of potential to explore ideas of consumerism, escapism, virtual reality, and the power of the Internet and video games and stuff but I felt like it wasn't really discussed as thoroughly as I would have liked. This book was on the verge of being really thought provoking but instead chose to focus more on the surface-level action and drama, which isn't a bad thing either. This was really fast-paced and really action packed and engaging. The tension was really there, and although the villain had absolutely no substance, it still was a lot of fun to read.
That brings me to one of my biggest issues, which was that I didn't feel like any of the characters were particularly engaging or interesting. Sure, they were likable and served the story well enough, but Wade felt less like a character in a story and more like a blank void for readers to insert themselves into the story and live out their dreams in which they transform from unattractive, anti-social losers into rich, all-powerful gods. Art3mis was a total disappointment, since she didn't really serve purpose in the book except to be Wade's idolized love interest.

I really disliked how their "romance" was handled since Wade's stalking was seriously creepy and clingy and it felt like the whole relationship was really one sided. Their dynamic felt very stilted and forced, probably because they had very little chemistry. And especially in the end of the book, it felt like her behavior was really inconsistent without any explanation and was just changed on a whim to best suit the storyline (AKA Wade).

Aech was probably the most likable and engaging character out of the main group, and I honestly would've preferred getting a book from Aech's perspective instead just because that story would be so much more interesting.

The whole thing with Aech being a black lesbian woman was the most interesting thing that happened in terms of characters and I wish that the whole book had just been about Aech's story instead because it not only is Aech a much more likeable character, but Aech also would've provided some actual substance and tension in the story in a way that Wade simply couldn't. Also the fact that this was barely discussed about was really annoying, like Ernest Cline really just wanted to get that diversity point and give nothing but breadcrumbs in terms of representation.

Although this book isn't AMAZING, I can definitely see why it's so hyped-up and well-loved within communities, since this book is targeted towards a very specific audience and provides a story that really speaks to that group. Overall, it does have some cool ideas about video games that I like to think about as well as some incredibly mediocre writing and bland characters, but at the end of the day it still gets the job done.

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vy5687's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

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

4.75

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