HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Loading...

Ready Player One (original 2011; edition 2011)

by Ernest Cline

Series: Ready Player One (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
18,3751270265 (4.07)4 / 955
"In the year 2044, 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"--Page 2 of cover.… (more)
Member:heidilove
Title:Ready Player One
Authors:Ernest Cline
Info:Crown (2011), Edition: 1, Kindle Edition, 386 pages
Collections:2012
Rating:*****
Tags:geek, 2012, kindle

Work Information

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (2011)

  1. 294
    Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2seven, whymaggiemay)
    whymaggiemay: Both about teens fighting back against the greater power using computers.
  2. 240
    Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (jbgryphon)
    jbgryphon: RPO's OASIS owes it's existence as much to Neil Stephenson's Metaverse as to the miriad of geek universes that are included in it.
  3. 200
    Neuromancer by William Gibson (jbgryphon)
    jbgryphon: Gibson's Matrix and Stephenson's Metaverse are as much the basis for OASIS as any of the geek universes that are included in it.
  4. 100
    Reamde by Neal Stephenson (Anonymous user)
  5. 112
    Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by Bryan Lee O'Malley (quenstalof)
    quenstalof: Both show classic video game inspiration
  6. 70
    Halting State by Charles Stross (ahstrick)
  7. 60
    Daemon by Daniel Suarez (bikeracer4487)
  8. 116
    Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (sturlington)
    sturlington: Ready Player One reminded me of a grown-up version of this classic.
  9. 50
    Armada by Ernest Cline (brakketh)
    brakketh: Both books focus on 1980s culture, similar narrative ark for isolated teen to hero.
  10. 50
    City of Golden Shadow by Tad Williams (infjsarah)
  11. 40
    Warcross by Marie Lu (deslivres5)
    deslivres5: dystopian society with virtual reality
  12. 20
    Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd by Holly Black (quenstalof)
  13. 20
    Erebos by Ursula Poznanski (aliklein)
  14. 20
    For the Win by Cory Doctorow (simon_carr)
  15. 20
    Constellation Games by Leonard Richardson (TomWaitsTables)
  16. 53
    The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks (GD2020)
  17. 20
    Wyrm by Mark Fabi (slagolas, slagolas, Cecrow)
    Cecrow: Players inserted into a virtual world with real world stakes, and littered with cultural references.
  18. 43
    Kiln People by David Brin (freddlerabbit)
  19. 10
    You by Austin Grossman (Anonymous user)
  20. 10
    Press Start to Play by Daniel H. Wilson (erikrebooted)
    erikrebooted: Similar subject matter -- where video games are more than they seem.

(see all 38 recommendations)

Florida (38)
2010s (99)
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

» See also 955 mentions

English (1,238)  Italian (5)  German (4)  French (4)  Spanish (4)  Finnish (2)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Norwegian (1)  Catalan (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (1,261)
Showing 1-5 of 1238 (next | show all)
Honestly, this book was okay. It was a quick read and although the experience wasn't a bad one, I felt very meh about it. The world was the strongest point by far. With the way the world is crumbling around us it makes a lot of sense that people want to escape into into a virtual one and surround themselves with nostalgia. The concept of the OASIS is a cool one as well. The plot was okay although it didn't always make sense so much happened because Wade is the main character and main characters are special even when they shouldn't succeed - it was interesting enough. But I didn't like the characters. Wade was annoying and uninteresting and everyone else existed to serve him. Art3mis was so much better (major spoiler: And deserved to win so much more) but ended up being reduced to being an object of Wade's affection. And as a somewhat related note?: I really don't like how that gotcha moment about Aech was handled. Very much felt like tokenism since it was revealed and then immediately pushed aside so Wade could keep doing his thing - if you want to do something like this you should ay least deal with it properly

While the reading experience was pleasant enough I didn't actually like this book. I would love to see something more nuanced done with this idea, but I do get why others love it so much. ( )
  TheAceOfPages | Mar 23, 2024 |
This is a thrilling science fiction novel (dystopian obviously) where most of humanity escapes their grim reality by entering a virtual reality world called the OASIS. Creepy...The story follows Wade Watts, a teenager who embarks on a quest within the OASIS to find an Easter egg hidden by its creator, James Halliday, which promises immense wealth and control of the OASIS itself. The novel is littered with pop culture references from the 1980s, which is clever, adds depth to the story, and adds layers of nostalgia for readers familiar with that era. The pacing is fast and engaging, and kept me hooked through the night until I finished it in the morning. It’s a classic hero journey packed into a fun and entertaining read. ( )
  Andrew.Lafleche | Mar 13, 2024 |
A great recommendation from my friend José, this book started so strongly and kept bringing interesting ideas through the middle, but then sagged into a sort of Disney ending with too many retroactive fixes saving too much of the show. If your childhood overlapped the nerd culture of the 80's, you will find a lot to enjoy here. I look forward to reading more by Cline but I hope he takes more care with the conclusion of the next book. ( )
  mattbonner | Feb 25, 2024 |
5 stars for bingeworthy entertainment value and mentioning old text games, minus 1 star for a book that has main characters glorifying 24/7 consumption of old pop culture and memorizing stupid trivia without them trying to make something new and cool themselves. Boring!
TL;DR: Don’t just play video games, use your superiour taste to build something new. ( )
  jd7h | Feb 18, 2024 |
My review would have been higher if it weren't for two sections/chapters. There was a chapter on the main characters self-servicing (euphemism) in much greater detail than was necessary. Then there was an entire chapter that was nothing more than an LGBTQ soap-box. I get that not everybody shares my worldview, but it really felt forced and awkward and just broke the flow of the book for me.

That aside, the action was great. The 80s references were awesome, especially having grown up in the 80s. ( )
  jfranzone | Feb 14, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 1238 (next | show all)
Ready Player One borrows liberally from the same Joseph Campbell plot requirements as all the beloved franchises it references, but in such a loving, deferential way that it becomes endearing. There’s a high learning curve to all of the little details Wade throws out about the world, and for anyone who doesn’t understand or love the same sect of pop culture Halliday enjoyed, Ready Player One is a tough read. But for readers in line with Cline’s obsessions, this is a guaranteed pleasure.
 
"Cline is an ingenious conjurer talented at translating high concept into compelling storytelling."
added by bookfitz | editUSA Today, Don Oldenburg (Aug 21, 2011)
 
The breadth and cleverness of Mr. Cline’s imagination gets this daydream pretty far. But there comes a point when it’s clear that Wade lacks at least one dimension, and that gaming has overwhelmed everything else about this book.
added by zhejw | editNew York Times, Janet Maslin (Aug 14, 2011)
 
"Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles. "
added by bookfitz | editKirkus Reviews (May 1, 2011)
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Ernest Clineprimary authorall editionscalculated
Brand, ChristopherCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fowler, RalphDesignersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Funioková, NaďaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Massey, JimCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mäkelä, J. PekkaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mičkal, JiříCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Riffel, HannesTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Riffel, SaraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rothfuss, PatrickIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Spini, LauraTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wheaton, WilNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Whiskytree IncCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
For Susan and Libby
Because there is no map for where we are going
First words
Everyone my age remembers where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the contest.
Quotations
Like most gunters, I voted to reelect Cory Doctorow and Wil Wheaton (again). There were no term limits, and those two geezers had been doing a kick-ass job of protecting user rights for over a decade.
It was the dawn of a new era, one where most of the human race now spent all of their free time inside a videogame.
"No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful." [199]
And now the conditions at any schools had gotten so terrible that every kid with half a brain was being encouraged to stay at home and attend school online.
The Great Recession was now entering its third decade, and unemployment was still at a record high. (2045)
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

"In the year 2044, 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"--Page 2 of cover.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (4.07)
0.5 5
1 148
1.5 13
2 280
2.5 55
3 927
3.5 204
4 2138
4.5 315
5 2432

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,234,133 books! | Top bar: Always visible