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quixoticreads 's review for:
Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
*EDIT September 2018*
After having time to reflect and reading some other reviews, I'm editing this review a little because I've seen some really excellent points made. I always write my reviews right after reading the book, which can be both good and bad. Good because I can still remember everything. Bad because I'm still caught up in the emotions of the story and get blinded by my post-book highs. I think that's what happened here, so I knocked down my rating a bit. I might even knock it down more in the future, I don't know. I still love the story and the pop culture, but there's absolutely some questionable comments and behavior that can't be excused.
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The Laughing Listener
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Wil Wheaton *PERFECTION*
Length: 15 hours & 46 minutes
Story Rating: 4 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
*Mouth hanging open* I just... I don't... OH MY GOD. THAT WAS SO FREAKING AMAZE-BALLS. I loved this so much, I don't even know where to start. It's bitter, nerdy, sarcastic, jaded, funny, romantic, and heavily weighed down with 80's references. IT'S ME IN BOOK FORM. OH MY GOD. I'm speechless.
THE GOOD (a.k.a The Part Where I Get Really Rambly)
WHERE THE HELL DO I EVEN BEGIN?!?!
Okay, to help organize my thoughts, let's start with the obvious. This book has DOZENS upon DOZENS of references to 80's pop culture weaved into the story, which is a major reason why I love it so much. Since my pre-teen years, I've been a slave to everything involving the biggest hair decade in history and I loved seeing all my favorite things referenced so heavily. And it's not just 80's pop culture, but every nerd fandom you can think of. Star Trek, Firefly, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings—it's all in there. It made the book feel intimate in a unique way, making the reader part of an inside joke not everyone would understand. Since I'm (apparently) a huge nerd with too much time on my hands, I created an IMDB list of titles referenced in the book as I listened. There's over 130 and that's not even counting any of the music or video games mentioned.
What's really amazing about this though, is that Cline does an excellent job explaining everything if you haven't been studying up on your 80's trivia for the past decade like I have. There are entire scenes that revolve around movies like Blade Runner but you'll still understand what's happening if you haven't seen them. Of course, it's WAY more fun if you have, but not a necessary. I was SO into this book that I actually stopped reading in the middle just to watch WarGames, one of the few 80's films I never got around to, and I'm so happy I did. #WorthIt
Another aspect of this book that's both amazing and disturbing is how plausible this dystopian future really is. Everything about our society is the same in this fictional universe with just a little more thrown in—more people, more technology, more political problems, more poverty, and so on. It all seems so possible that it's terrifying. There's a section of the book where Wade has the opportunity to vote now that he's 18, but says he doesn't see the point since everyone just elects celebrities anyway. It gave me CHILLS. Is this my future? Because it feels like it's already happening and I don't like it one bit. Normally dystopia books are easy for me to brush off and laugh at, but not this one. I'm in awe that Cline was clever enough to write this as a young-adult novel that also appeals to an older audience so he could make his statements about the world better heard.
And can we all give a round of applause for diversity in books?! There's an underlying theme of acceptance and friendship that I am SO HERE FOR. I loved the main cast of characters that end up banning together to defeat the bad guys. There were very strong Stranger Things and Goonies vibes to them that I LOVED. It's kind of poetic that Steven Spielberg is directing the film because it all kind of plays out like one of his movies.
Big shout out out Wil Wheaton for being a freaking awesome narrator! He did such and excellent job and I can't think of anyone else more perfect to read this book. If this becomes a series, hopefully he'll narrate the others. *Crosses fingers* Totally worth the Audible credit I spent on this.
MOVIE RECS
If you want to have some extra fun with this book, here are some movies you should watch before reading this. They're the ones that play the biggest role in the story and are referenced the most heavily, though it's definitely not a requirement.
WarGames (1983) - Starring Matthew Broderick
Blade Runner (1982) - Starring Harrison Ford
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Starring Graham Chapman
Ladyhawke (1985) - Starring Matthew Broderick
Highlander (1986) - Starring Christopher Lambert
The entire Lord of the Rings universe, Star Wars universe, the band Rush, Dungeons & Dragons and the video games Zork, Black Tiger, Joust, Tempest, and Dungeons of Daggorath also play major roles, which seemed worth mentioning.
THE UGLY
I found this book to be near perfection, but I know not everyone will feel this way. If you're not a fan of any nerdy fandoms or a lover of 80's pop culture (or pop culture in general), this book is going to get old for you real quick. Most of the references happen towards the beginning too, so I could see how someone might get bored right off the bat. Plus, it takes Cline a long while to explain the details of this universe he's created and the first several chapters are devoted to setting the mood before diving into the action. This didn't bother me in the least because I was having too much fun with all of the pop culture being thrown at me, but this won't be everyone's cup of tea.
If you find yourself struggling, try to give it some time before calling it quits because it really does pick up after a while. But if you're not into science fiction, video games, or the 80's, then definitely skip this one.
FINAL WORD
I had so much fun reading this and following along with all the pop culture references! If you're a nerd like me, I definitely recommend this.
After having time to reflect and reading some other reviews, I'm editing this review a little because I've seen some really excellent points made. I always write my reviews right after reading the book, which can be both good and bad. Good because I can still remember everything. Bad because I'm still caught up in the emotions of the story and get blinded by my post-book highs. I think that's what happened here, so I knocked down my rating a bit. I might even knock it down more in the future, I don't know. I still love the story and the pop culture, but there's absolutely some questionable comments and behavior that can't be excused.
------------------------------
The Laughing Listener
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Wil Wheaton *PERFECTION*
Length: 15 hours & 46 minutes
Story Rating: 4 Stars
Performance Rating: 5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
*Mouth hanging open* I just... I don't... OH MY GOD. THAT WAS SO FREAKING AMAZE-BALLS. I loved this so much, I don't even know where to start. It's bitter, nerdy, sarcastic, jaded, funny, romantic, and heavily weighed down with 80's references. IT'S ME IN BOOK FORM. OH MY GOD. I'm speechless.
THE GOOD (a.k.a The Part Where I Get Really Rambly)
WHERE THE HELL DO I EVEN BEGIN?!?!
Okay, to help organize my thoughts, let's start with the obvious. This book has DOZENS upon DOZENS of references to 80's pop culture weaved into the story, which is a major reason why I love it so much. Since my pre-teen years, I've been a slave to everything involving the biggest hair decade in history and I loved seeing all my favorite things referenced so heavily. And it's not just 80's pop culture, but every nerd fandom you can think of. Star Trek, Firefly, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings—it's all in there. It made the book feel intimate in a unique way, making the reader part of an inside joke not everyone would understand. Since I'm (apparently) a huge nerd with too much time on my hands, I created an IMDB list of titles referenced in the book as I listened. There's over 130 and that's not even counting any of the music or video games mentioned.
What's really amazing about this though, is that Cline does an excellent job explaining everything if you haven't been studying up on your 80's trivia for the past decade like I have. There are entire scenes that revolve around movies like Blade Runner but you'll still understand what's happening if you haven't seen them. Of course, it's WAY more fun if you have, but not a necessary. I was SO into this book that I actually stopped reading in the middle just to watch WarGames, one of the few 80's films I never got around to, and I'm so happy I did. #WorthIt
Another aspect of this book that's both amazing and disturbing is how plausible this dystopian future really is. Everything about our society is the same in this fictional universe with just a little more thrown in—more people, more technology, more political problems, more poverty, and so on. It all seems so possible that it's terrifying. There's a section of the book where Wade has the opportunity to vote now that he's 18, but says he doesn't see the point since everyone just elects celebrities anyway. It gave me CHILLS. Is this my future? Because it feels like it's already happening and I don't like it one bit. Normally dystopia books are easy for me to brush off and laugh at, but not this one. I'm in awe that Cline was clever enough to write this as a young-adult novel that also appeals to an older audience so he could make his statements about the world better heard.
And can we all give a round of applause for diversity in books?! There's an underlying theme of acceptance and friendship that I am SO HERE FOR. I loved the main cast of characters that end up banning together to defeat the bad guys. There were very strong Stranger Things and Goonies vibes to them that I LOVED. It's kind of poetic that Steven Spielberg is directing the film because it all kind of plays out like one of his movies.
Big shout out out Wil Wheaton for being a freaking awesome narrator! He did such and excellent job and I can't think of anyone else more perfect to read this book. If this becomes a series, hopefully he'll narrate the others. *Crosses fingers* Totally worth the Audible credit I spent on this.
MOVIE RECS
If you want to have some extra fun with this book, here are some movies you should watch before reading this. They're the ones that play the biggest role in the story and are referenced the most heavily, though it's definitely not a requirement.
WarGames (1983) - Starring Matthew Broderick
Blade Runner (1982) - Starring Harrison Ford
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - Starring Graham Chapman
Ladyhawke (1985) - Starring Matthew Broderick
Highlander (1986) - Starring Christopher Lambert
The entire Lord of the Rings universe, Star Wars universe, the band Rush, Dungeons & Dragons and the video games Zork, Black Tiger, Joust, Tempest, and Dungeons of Daggorath also play major roles, which seemed worth mentioning.
THE UGLY
I found this book to be near perfection, but I know not everyone will feel this way. If you're not a fan of any nerdy fandoms or a lover of 80's pop culture (or pop culture in general), this book is going to get old for you real quick. Most of the references happen towards the beginning too, so I could see how someone might get bored right off the bat. Plus, it takes Cline a long while to explain the details of this universe he's created and the first several chapters are devoted to setting the mood before diving into the action. This didn't bother me in the least because I was having too much fun with all of the pop culture being thrown at me, but this won't be everyone's cup of tea.
If you find yourself struggling, try to give it some time before calling it quits because it really does pick up after a while. But if you're not into science fiction, video games, or the 80's, then definitely skip this one.
FINAL WORD
I had so much fun reading this and following along with all the pop culture references! If you're a nerd like me, I definitely recommend this.