#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg. “Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready? In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is … the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.
When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself.
Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Village Voice • Chicago Sun-Times • iO9 • The AV Club
“Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”—HuffPost
“An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN
“A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”—Boston Globe
“Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR
“[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”—iO9
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Wow, where to begin … I’m a child of the 80’s and spent most of my free time in classic arcades. In addition, I jumped headfirst and headstrong into the emerging MMO world as a young adult. Therefore, reading Ready Player One was like taking a meticulous journey through my childhood. It is so easy to mistreat this particular subject matter because you need to have lived it to fully understand the nuance. Ernest Cline nailed the narrative, to the point where I felt like a character myself. Ready Player One is a remarkable first effort and I look forward to exploring more of what Cline has to offer.
I really enjoyed this book, and especially found all the 80s references a lot of fun. I did listen to the audiobook, and some of the lists, text chats, etc. didn’t translate all that well to the audio format, but overall, I found it very enjoyable. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie now.
I thought this was fantastic. The future world was very believable and the use of 80’s trivia was great. Wasn’t sure what to expect and the book was a real page turner. Looking forward to more from this author.
A fun scavenger hunt adventure that should have no trouble appealing even to those that have not grown up in the eighties.
As a child of the 80’s and a self professed geek – I LOVE this book! It was everything the title implied and oh so much more.
For a long time, this book was on my “Maybe, or Maybe Not” shelf on Goodreads. This is the shelf where the books I’m really unsure about reading go and, usually, they stay on that shelf. But then I saw many positive reviews running around the internet and begin to think that I should give this book a try! And I am so glad that I did that!
This book has such an interesting concept, what made me so iffy about reading this book? I was originally really interested in this book because of the dystopian/video game aspect, but then I began seeing reviews that mentioned how much 80’s pop culture is in this book, which is a lot. This book does not just reference the 80’s, this book references the 80’s in every single paragraph. This entire book practically revolves around the 80’s. I have no problem with the 80’s, but my knowledge of the 80’s is very limited. See, I am not an 80’s child. I was not alive during the 80’s and most of my 80’s knowledge comes from conversations with my Mom, so I was afraid of reading a book made up of 80’s references since I figured that almost all of them would be completely lost on me and that I would be completely clueless as to what was going on in the book.
I, honestly, shouldn’t have worried so much because I absolutely loved this book. Sure, most of the references still went over my head, but I was still able to understand what was going on! And I actually ended up liking all the references, which is odd, since I usually hate it when a book has numerous references in it. But what I really liked was how all the 80’s pop culture was involved in all the video game challenges that Wade had to face. I found that so interesting!
This book was just so entertaining I was immersed in this video game world and I was undeniably interested in what would happen next! And the entire idea behind this book was completely unique and original!
Yes, there’s a lot of 80’s references, but that adds so much more to the book, and even if you’re knowledge of the 80’s is limited, you can still enjoy this book. It’s entertaining and unique!
And I’ve heard rumors that this will be made into a movie, you bet I’m going to go see that!
Ready Player One is a perfect encapsulation of nostalgia and charm. Ernest Cline takes all that was best of 1980s pop-culture and masterfully weaves it into a truly original piece of written work set in the near future.
I’m not a gamer or anything and I still loved this book and how it really immerses you in Wade’s world of the Oasis. Great storyline, great character development, and really neat dystopian world he’s put together.
If any a book is made for the big screen this book is it. This was just one of those fun and entertaining read that takes you back to your childhood (if you’re an 80’s kid that is). I loved the scavenger hunt aspect and all the references to the decade. Plus considering the times we live in it’s also a commentary on our dependence on technology and how it’s changed the way we connect/communicate with others.
People who like older games or are into 80’s nostalgia would love this book. And even if you don’t like these things, Cline’s storytelling pulls you along and makes it exciting anyway.
It hit all my 80’s geek girl feels. Loved this! From D&D to Star Wars AND Star Trek, Short Circuit, Atari, Back to the Future, Monti Python… it even threw in Firefly, which isn’t technically 80’s, but we all have a love affair with anyway.
(I have not seen the movie, and from what people have told me, the film adaptation didn’t do the book justice. Oh, well. Enjoy the book!)
I don’t often finish a book in one or two sittings, but this one was an exception. It hooked me right from the start and I read it in record time (I was on holidays, so that was a factor). Cline paints a very conceivable future and weaves in pop culture from the eighties that made me reminisce about my teenage years. He doesn’t make the technology overly complicated which is often the case with modern Sci-Fi writers.
I have read this book twice already and I will definitely read it again.
This book is so close to what it’s like living in my head. I laughed and cheered all the way through it, and Parzival is probably one of the best book heroes I’ve come across in YEARS. Any 80’s buff will love it.
“Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline is the journey of Wade Watts, better known as Parzival, as he navigates life in 2045. I would not usually pick a book in this category, but I was looking for an audio book at the library, and it was available. Despite all the “sci-fi” hype, this is just a wonderful classic adventure story, albeit set in 2024. It has all the elements: an ardent adventure- seeker, valiant sidekicks, evil pursuers, outrageous weapons, mortal combat, and most importantly a daunting quest for fame and fortune.
Wade’s quest takes place in the virtual world of “The Oasis,” where pretty much everything else takes place in 2045 including school, shopping, and socialization. Parziva, as Wade is known in the Oasis, searches for the ultimate treasure hidden. The clues to find the “egg” were delineated in the will of a wealthy game designer, and the one who finds the egg will inherit the designer’s immense estate.
The adventure is not only compelling for the participants, it is fascinating for readers because the clues are part of video games, movies, and pop culture events from the 1970s, and 1980s. Even if readers did not actually play the computer games, watch the movies, or obsess over the video arcade scores, most will recognize the tasks and references as Percival and crew navigate through the virtual maze.
Wil Wheaton did a superb job with the narration. He was able to deliver the enormous variety of voices, computer interactions, and emotional encounters with flawless elocution. His delivery absolutely made the book come alive. I recommend this book, and specifically the audio book to those who love science fiction and to those who never thought a science fiction book would appear in their “books read” list. No video game experience needed.
The USA Today cover blurb, “Willy Wonka meets the Matrix,” is not a bad quick description of this book. Told from the viewpoint of Wade, an 18-year-old social recluse, Ready Player One is set in 2044, mostly in a virtual reality called the OASIS. Wade and countless others, including a powerful corporation, race to solve a puzzle created by OASIS’s recently deceased creator. The prize? Everything the man owned (worth billions of dollars), and control of the OASIS.
Ready Player One starts slow and is full of infodumps. But the protagonist’s voice is so compelling, and the world so richly drawn, that this is a minor flaw. And the plot picks up once Wade solves the first puzzle. If you were alive during the 80’s, you’ll also appreciate the extensive pop culture references and throwbacks to classic arcade games. Cline gets bonus points for character diversity, once you find out who the people behind the avatars are.
Author/oracle Ernest Cline has pulled off a riveting and dead-on glimpse into the virtual/real future, and a nostalgic and entertaining journey through the past all at the same time. Like I wrote when I was in the middle of this book, “Ready Player One” is a virtual voyage through a museum that spans from the earliest computers and video games all the way to 2045. This is one of those books you never want to put down, and Steven Spielberg did an amazing job adapting it for the big screen. There are so many fun allusions and references, especially to the stuff of the 1980s, that it’s hard not to smile and laugh along the way. Cline gets extra credit for weaving Dungeons & Dragons, Rush’s “2112” album and Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” into the fabric of this tale. To me, that makes it worth at least 6 stars.
I used to be not much of a reader and I received this book in one of my Loot Crate boxes and it sat with me for about a year before I actually picked it up and started reading it.
I would also listen to the book while driving and how can you resist when you have Wesley Crusher himself A.K.A Wil Wheaton reading this 80’s to 90’s filled Post Apocalyptic Fantasy to you!
This is definitely worth the read if you are a fan of all things geek and like the idea of living in a full immersion, rig to get away from a reality that is shattered and dank.
As a kid who grew up in the 80’s, it was amazing to read about all the stuff that I was immersed in as a teen. I think I was THE target audience for this story. Do yourself a favor and listen to the audio-book as read by Wil Weaton, you will thank me later.
Are you a gamer? Have you ever played a game for hours on end? Have you ever wanted to be in that game? If you answered yes to all these questions then read this book.
Its about a contest inside a game that involves the whole world. The characters are great and the world is well thought out. Its full of pop culture references and old game references. Anyone that grew up in the 90s and considers themselves a gamer will love this book.
With the upcoming movie release, re-read the author’s version of the story, especially if you enjoyed pop culture in the 80s.
Quick, fun read…