Ready Player One (2011)

As someone not obsessed with the eighties or video games... I still enjoyed this book a good amount. It's entertaining, a quick read, and is self-aware of the cliches and tropes it uses. It doesn't need to be classic sci-fi to have an interesting premise and a fun take on the Hero's Journey and the Quest. ( )

I knew going into this that there was probably a lot I was going to be annoyed by. And it's such a shame because the underlying story and a lot of the writing is entertaining and good! But it just has such a saturation of the 'you must know this much to enter', gate-keepy nature of a lot of male-focused fandom that I kept having to look to camera and roll my eyes as I was reading. I would love a version of this that engages with what it means to love nerd things and geek culture without the rest of the baggage.
That and some of the dialogue really reads like Cline has never spoken to a human woman in his life. Maybe that was the point, because the main character is an anti-social, inept nerd boy? Doesn't make it good to read though. ( )

This was a bit tedious at first, but I grew into it and liked it. I really got into it as I was driving and lost my knowledge of my location on the rode.

First the cover: Fascinating and intriguing. I like it.

Now for the story:

This is a wonderful premise, and a story so unique (to me at least) that I couldn’t wait to get into it. This story starts strong, the reader being brought into the world at a smooth, steady pace. But for me that pace wasn’t kept. The engine blew and it sputtered to the point that I lost interest. So much happens in the story and it’s all so wonderful and new, but then (for me) it became a case of same ole same ole. It’s as though the story reached the mountain top far before it was supposed to.

I enjoyed the first person. I got a thrill from the world created by Cline, I really did so I urge you to read the story for yourself. Maybe you’ll reach the top of that mountain later than I do. I did buy the book, and even though I couldn’t finish it, I will one day. I got to get my moneys worth after all. Now, I know you’re thinking that I shouldn’t review the book if I don’t know how it ends. But you’re wrong and the reason being is that I don’t care how it ends. I reached the summit of my interest and I’m good. I’m comfortable. ( )

I have a lot of nits to pick on this one, from small (why is the Metaverse one of the virtual worlds inside the OASIS if it's just a generic virtual reality like the OASIS?) to large (how on Earth does a company with IOI's resources not crack the first and second riddle almost immediately?), and the constant cavalcade of references gets pretty old, but the story ended up being sufficiently fun and exciting that I didn't really mind. Cline's slipping-towards-barbarism, virtual reality-addicted United States is pretty interesting, and I'm hoping this is the first, slightly impure ore returned from a potentially rich vein. ( )