Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

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Ready Player One
Ernest Cline
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publication date: April 2nd 2013
by Poppy

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune–and remarkable power–to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved–that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt–among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life–and love–in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

–This novel was listened to via audiobook–

When you read dystopian after dystopian you realize that most of them are more or less the same, so it’s extremely refreshing to come upon one who truly stands out from all the rest. Ready Player One is probably one of the coolest dystopian/sci fi stories I’ve ever read, and it’s sure to amaze any pop culture fan, especially those who have lived through the 70s and 80s.

Ready Player One brings us into such a unique world that it’s hard to not become fascinated by it all. This world involves being able to live your life–school, work, etc–through a virtual universe where you decide what you look like, who you are. Think of it like suddenly living inside your favourite RPG game. This includes being able to travel from world to world, level your character, and farm for items. What’s the most exciting, though, is how for years and years, people have been looking for a certain easter egg–a key to billions! How’s that for a competition? When the novel begins we’re immediately thrown into this premise where we learn exactly what this world is, who is behind this hunt, why, and what’s at stake. Even though it’s a lot of information thrown at us, I never felt overwhelmed, my eyes simply grew wider and wider with each passing minute. As someone who has enjoyed her fair share of RPGs, it was a whole lot of fun to imagine this kind of life! You don’t need to have been a gamer to enjoy this novel, but if you are, and if you catch a lot of 80s references which have to be amongst the hundreds, then you’ll have just a little more appreciation for it.

The egg hunt revolves around a man obsessed with the 80s, thus we get unlimited mentions of 80s pop culture in this book. The sheer amount of it amazed me, actually, and I wonder just how many hours Mr Cline spent on research for just this one book. Even though I only really got maybe 50%, if that. of all the references, I was still lost in a 1980s nostalgia filled with movies, music, and video games. Built around these, the egg hunt lets us explore Oasis, a virtual universe that Cline builds until it comes alive before your eyes. I could not only see myself walking this world, but I was left pondering what exactly I would decide to look like. In a world where you can be anybody, would you change your appearance? Your size? Your race? Even your sex? It was a lot of fun to think about.

The best side to this book for me, however, was Wade itself. Narrated by Wil Wheaton who did a fantastic job tuning into this character and bringing him to life, Wade Watts is your average teenage outcast who likes to lose himself in obsessing over this game, while simultaneously escaping his pathetic trailer park life. Wade tells us the story of how he became a legend, and right from the start I found myself easily connecting with his witty personality. While he does make mistakes along the way, his perfectly flawed nature makes his character and this whole journey very compelling. He’s intelligent, no question, but he gets ahead of himself, learns a few life lessons, falls in love; showing us that he’s human above all else. This is character development at its best! He’s not alone through this process either, we meet characters who are, or become, Wade’s loyal friends in this hunt. Having a common enemy will bring people closer and I loved seeing the sincere integrity of some of these other players. In the end it shows how important it is to lean on others to help, instead of greedily trying to go through it alone. This is something we see during Wade’s transformation in this story. He starts off as an introvert with self esteem problems, and comes out a true hero.

Ready Player One is not a mindless read, it’s a book you read when you want a sharp, intelligent, and imaginative read. Ultimately. it’s a puzzle that will blow every pop culture fan’s mind!

4 Hot Espressos

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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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35 Responses to “Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline”

  1. Nick

    I’ve never heard of this book before and I have to admit that the cover is not working for me, but I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it. It definitely sounds like an original and creative world. Like you’ve mentioned, dystopians tend to be pretty much similar nowadays.
    The characters seem great too.
    Fab review, Giselle. Definitely adding this to my to-read list!

  2. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I adored this book. Of course, I’m a child of the 80’s, so it really spoke to me with all the references. And so well written! (But a seriously bleak world. No wonder everyone escaped into virtual reality.)

  4. Amy

    This sounds really awesome!! I hadn’t heard of it before, but it definitely seems like a book I would really enjoy. I love the premise of it and I’m glad that it was done well. I will have to see if my library has the audiobook of this. Fantastic review!

  6. Aleksandra

    I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂 It’s one of my fav reads, I’ve already read it 3 times, and I can’t get enough of it! I just love everything about it 🙂

  7. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    Man this one sounds like it has some great world building! It seems like it’s a pretty out there concept but the author made it come alive. The 80’s references would definitely be something that I would be a fan of. The 80’s were just so wonderful yet looking back incredibly tragic. I have heard a lot about this one but I have to admit that I have never thought of picking it up until now. You have sold me Giselle!

  8. Christianna Marks

    I keep hearing wonderful things about this book! It sounds like something that a whole group of my friends and I would read. And then we’d talk about it forever. Too bad we don’t all read books…

  9. Mel@Thedailyprophecy

    Based on the cover and the title, I would never suspect that this is a dystopia book. I’d probably wouldn’t have picked it up, but after seeing you review, I went to Goodreads right away. I always love it when an author finds something new in the Dystopia genre. It sounds like an exciting setting 😀

    • Courtney @ FCB

      I have to agree with Mel, I never would have thought this one was a dystopian book. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’ve seen it and brushed it off in a bad case of “judging a book by it’s cover.” But I’m glad I got to read your review, because now I’m thinking of reading it! Or, more likely, checking out the audiobook! 🙂

      Courtney @ Fuzzy.Coffee.Books

  10. Ali Ginger-Read

    This sounds like such a fun book. I love all things 80’s, so I’m sure I’d enjoy that bit of it. Besides, it just sounds like a fun idea. Will for sure be grabbing this one.

  11. Bonnie R

    I loved this one so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it too! If I ever get the chance to do a re-read I’m definitely picking up the audio. Great review! 🙂

  13. Megan K.

    I’ve never heard of this book before, but – LOOK AT THAT COVER. Like Mel, I wouldn’t have guessed that it was a dystopian book either, so I’m fairly intrigued right now, and a positive review from you is promising! The author sounds like he put a lot of effort in researching the book, plus the main character sounds likable enough for a male, so I hope I’ll get to read this soon.

    Great review!

  14. Alexa Y.

    Whoa, this book sounds AWESOME. As a girl who enjoys a good RPG, I’m thinking I may just have to check this one out. So glad that it struck you as unique and interesting! That definitely bodes well for how I’m going to feel about it when I read it 😉

  15. Candace

    Oh wow! This does sound amazing! I think this is the first I’ve heard of it so it must not be getting a lot of press but it sounds like a must read to me! I love that it’s heavy on the 80’s nostalgia, that sounds fantastic!

  17. Kelley (Another Novel Read)

    Holy crap, this book sounds like it was written just for me! I’m a HUGE RPG fan and I often daydream about what it would be like to live inside my favorite ones. Excellent review, Giselle – I can’t WAIT to read this book now! And I think I’ll go for audio,too. 🙂

  18. Jessica@Booked Up!

    Like you, I have been reading dystopian after dystopian lately, and have started to struggle to find one that really jumps out at me, and is memorable. So it’s brilliant that Ready Player One is actually different and stood apart from the others.

    I love it when an author puts a large amount of research into their novel. It really comes across. 🙂 Thought-provoking books are great, and I would also spend ages wondering what I would change about my appearance.

    Thank you so much for sharing this lovely review with us, Giselle. This is definitely something I’ll be keeping a look out for! 🙂

  19. Nicola

    This sounds fascinating… I’m glad you reviewed it because honestly, I would not have glanced twice at this based on its cover! Great review Giselle 🙂

  20. Kimmy

    I love this book! I read the e-book but I’ve heard how over and over that Wil Wheaton makes a great narrator, so I think I should check out the audio book soon!

  23. Lauren

    I have this audiobook on hold at my library. I had no idea Wil Wheaton was the narrator! Now I’m 100X more excited. 🙂 I think I’m going to love this for the pop culture references (even though i doubt I’ll get them all). Wade sounds fantastic too. Wonderful review, I’m SO excited to read this now!

  24. Shooting Stars Mag

    Narrated by Wil Wheaton? That is awesome! Just another reason I really need to listen to audiobooks– the narrators can sometimes be just as exciting as the book. Regardless, I’ve been meaning to read this one for a long time. I don’t read much dystopia, but this one does stand out as being more unique and interesting for me. I also love pop culture references, so that’s awesome! I won’t get most of these, I’m sure, but it’s fun nonetheless.

    -Lauren

  25. Nina @ Death Books and Tea

    Ooh, you’ve changed the desktop theme. I like it. I loved this book, even though I only got about a quarter of the references (then again, I wasn’t alive during the time) and woah, narrated by Wheaton? I can only imagine the extra awesomeness that that must have brought to the book. Glad you enjoyed this!

  27. Christina

    Okay, I super loved this book and cannot believe you hadn’t read it already. I read the print copy, but I need to reread the audio, because Wil Wheaton is PERFECT for it, I am sure. You and everyone else has said it’s one of the best audiobooks.

    I don’t know too much about 80s pop culture, but I still loved all the references, and felt like a winner when I actually got one. Haha.

  28. Micheline D

    Oh brilliant review Giselle! If I hadn’t already added this book to my shelf yesterday when you mentioned it, I would have done so now after reading your review!! I love the sound of the unique premise, the 80’s nostalgia AND the cool gaming element!! And a dystopian with this much originality sounds like just what I need 😀

  29. Kat Balcombe

    For some reason, I always skip past this book, and I can’t for the life of me say why. 80’s nostalgia sounds amazing, it always makes me feel young again 😉

    Definitely going to try and track this down on audio!

  30. Amanda

    I agree with the sentiment that at a certain point dystopians – or any incredibly popular genre fiction – have the tendency to start to mesh together. I know it has to do with authors and publishers studying what is popular and trying to emulate it to bring in all the fans to this new work, but it definitely can be frustrating as a reader to see all these similar works. With that said, I am glad you felt as though Ready Player One is quite different from dystopians out there. I don’t dislike dystopians, but I haven’t been actively seeking any out to read. This, however, may be an exception. The premise sounds really interesting, and I love that it pays homage to the 80s culture and video games. Wonderful review, Giselle!