Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

The worldwide bestseller—now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

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Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

(Ready Player One #1)

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

Hardcover, 374 pages

Published August 16th 2011

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

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Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

CORINA’S REVIEW

Audiobook

4.25 stars

Sometimes reading a book at the right time makes all the difference in the world.

I’ve tried listening to Ready Player One a couple years ago and didn’t care for it – in plain English I DNFed it. Then two month ago, over Christmas, I watched the movie on TV and I was immediately intrigued by it – and wondering how different the book might be. Suddenly it made me want to pick it up again. And I’m so glad I did.

Of course, and this shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore, the book is so much better than the movie.

Not only is the story more detailed, it’s also nothing like the movie. Besides the characters and the overall plot line, the book differs in many aspects and the sheer amount of 80s references is staggering. Although I’m not a gamer and didn’t recognize 90% of the computer games that were mentioned, the movie and music references made me smile – the 80s shaped my life.

I think what makes this book so stellar is the unique plot line. It’s truly original in every way that counts. Often books feel like shadows and pale copies of tropes and plots that have already been done in numerous ways. Ready Player One is refreshingly distinctive compared to other books, and has an authentic and entertaining voice.

The novel felt like one of those old quest movies, where a hero has to accomplish a number of tricky and challenging undertakings and adventures to win the ultimate price – it was just a modern version of it.

I really enjoyed this audiobook from beginning to end.

The idea. The characters and the plot – it all worked for me.

However, sometimes the detailed descriptions of games clearly went over my non-gamer head. The author went into great details concerning games, creators and other historical background that wasn’t as interesting for me as it might be for gaming enthusiasts. But all of that paled in comparison to how much fun I had listening to this book.

I can only recommend it to anyone who loves a unique storyline and grew up in the 80s and 90s.

Ready Player One – Ernest Cline

BLURB

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

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Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

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ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists, and is set to be adapted into a motion picture by Warner Bros. and director Steven Spielberg. His second novel, ARMADA, debuted at #4 on the NYT Bestseller list and is being made into a film by Universal Pictures. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.