Reviews
It was decent. A lot of filler in there but I enjoyed parts of it. Mostly the nostalgia
I wanted to like this more than I did. The basic premise was fascinating, and I did love all the puzzles and the whole idea of the game. It felt like a cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Westing Game, but geekier than both. The problem with it is that it is trying too hard to be relevant to old-school 80's geek culture. There were too many references, too many times where the character just happens to remember a strangely oblique reference to something that he had played years ago that honestly, even people living in the 80's had probably forgotten (and often for good reason). Yes, I understand that Wade devotes his life to the study of these things, but being able to retain the muscle memory to play all of these games (and 80's games, for those who have forgotten, were often very difficult to master) years after the last time he had played them, and to play them at such a level, stopped feeling lucky and started sliding into "...seriously?" territory pretty quickly. It started feeling less like he had studied and worked hard and more like he knew whatever the plot needed him to know, and that's always an uncomfortable feeling. In addition to that, the whole romance aspect was just awkwardly handled. Wade starts off as<spoiler>unattractive, but manages to slim down and become attractive just in time to meet this girl that he is interested in, and in addition to that, she is apparently the only character that looks like her (attractive) avatar. </spoiler>That just sort of smacks of wish fulfillment in an extreme way, and the objectification there feels awkwardly tacked on given the reality of a physical form doesn't really matter too much in the game. In the end I liked it in spite of these problems. It was a quick read with an interesting premise and some clever puzzles, and it would probably be an even better read for someone born a few years earlier than I was who would actually recognize more of the references than I did. It's worth a read if the premise sounds interesting, though probably not all the acclaim it is getting.
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.
Ready Player One serves as both a love letter to geek/nerd culture and a timely reminder about the allure of escapism. It is packed full of references to 80's pop culture and science fiction; managing to blend the two harmoniously and create a novel that is well worth reading.
A page turner. I saw the movie first and I think the movie was a great improvement on the book to be honest. I don't think the author is much of our time about. He just came up with a good concept and wrote it down and a lot of people read it.It is enjoyable. I'm not saying it isn't. But the film's better.
I don’t understand how people can be so harsh on the book. It was a fun read. If you grew up in the 80’s this book will be a walk down memory lane. Yes it’s true that Armada is just a rehashed idea under a different name but I don’t see why you have to rate the book less because of it. But I guess everyone had their opinion.
The movie was much different but I liked them both equally
This squeaks by a few points I thought made a bigger impact on the narrative that the movie somehow skips over for some reason. perfectly alright adventure. 3.5
I am so ashamed of not picking this up earlier. I have been reading this book for the past 5 hours and I have just finished it. I am overwhelmed with emotion and I believe I have found one of my new all-time favourite books. In true Elena fashion, I'm watching the movie tonight, Hope it doesn't let me down all that much (although I know it will it is a book-to-movie adaptation. Anyways now about the book.Although I started this in a very inappropriate timing seeing as exams week happened right after I was starting to get into the story. I couldn't pick it up for ages, I was so devastated but I also was so curious to see the story unfold I forced myself to stay up late every night and read at least a chapter. It worked. It kept me reading and I was getting deeper and deeper into the story.First things forts, it was a page-turner. Although all of the above happened I still couldn't find myself to put it down. I also realised I started losing track of time while reading this, something that rarely happens to me. I just fell in love with the characters and the story on the book just consumed me and my life entirely. It had some very intense scenes and it made me feel like I was part of the story myself! I enjoyed all aspects of it and, although rarely, I found myself catching some reference I knew and loved and laughing like a geek I am to myself. All in all fantastic book!