Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - Paperback

One of the best books that I have read. I purchased this book because I liked Ready Player One movie. But I can say with surety that this book is 100 times better than the movie. The book is fast paced, more detailed, more instance and unputdownable.

My Thoughts: 1. Just like a real videogame, the plot had me addicted from the start. For me, being a medium gamer, I LOVED all the old classic 80's references. It's geeky, sci-fi and fun, all in one! 2. The author does an amazing job building such an intricate and yet simple, futuristic technological world. It felt like I was actually playing the game and experiencing virtual reality through the character. 3. Flawless. Is what I would describe the plot, the writing, and pacing. Cline's writing style seem so effortless and yet detailed enough for the reader to fully experience the story. 4. What I enjoyed most about the plot is that it has a realistic quality and believable element. Most dystopian or sci-fi novels I've read have far-fetched and over-the-top ideas that end up ruining the book. It's scary to think about how much time in our daily lives is spent on the internet and I wouldn't be surprised if in a few decades reality will be overruled by virtual technology. Cline does an amazing job with the plot by adding a few fun twists and turns which makes the journey much more adventurous and exciting. 5. I praise Cline for his ability to make so many connections from the 80's and incorporating them into oridinary clues and riddles. It amazing how every small detail plays such a crucial role in the hunt. I was so engrossed with the hunt that it felt like I was playing it myself. It was smart of Cline to get the reader involved and thinking along with the protagonist in solving the game. 6. I really admire Wade's character. He's just an ordinary, average-looking, slightly overweight teen who, like many of us, undergoes a virtual identity to escape reality (not to mention he has an adorable crush with a famous online blogger). Wade's character is much like James Halliday, the deceased multibillionaire, who never felt at home in the real world and is socially awkward. When Wade embarkes upon this new adventure, he soon realizes that not everyone is excited about his newfound discovery. I love how smart, determined, and calculating Wade is; he picks his battles rather than impulsively jumping into situations. Wade's journey was non-stop action and suspense and a total page-turner that kept me on my toes the entire time. 7. I had to pace myself and tell myself to slow down in order to enjoy the book or else I would have read it all in one sitting. Just like every amazing stand-alone book, I was so sad that it ended. I'm hoping Cline thinks about doing a sequel because there's so much more I want to know! 8. In all, if there's one thing I must say about Ready Player One is READ IT NOW!!

Ce livre est une tuerie. Je l'ai commandé en entendant parler d'une future adaptation de Spielberg en film, et je pense qu'on va se retrouver avec encore un chef d'oeuvre en puissance. Cette histoire de quète du graal pixelisée est palpitante. Et pour tous les enfants des années 80 comme moi, une vague de nostalgie assez rafraichissante. Le style est plutôt classique, mais les personnages sont attachants, les rebondissements nombreux et l'intrigue très bien ficelée. Au passage ces pages sont un vraie bouillon de pop culture qui ratissent large. Vivement le film !!!

ITA: Siete dei nerd? Intendo quelli veri, quelli "un po' derisi" ai tempi della scuola, con amicizie spesso relegate "ai propri simili", che quando si chiudono nella loro stanza con davanti a sé la loro grande passione (dal modellismo al collezionismo, dalla lettura ai videogame e ai film) finalmente si rivelano per quello che sono: persone troppo grandiose per un mondo troppo piccolo (inteso come "piccolo dentro..."). Wade, il protagonista del racconto, è uno di noi, e noi, nei suoi modi e pensieri, siamo lui: un nerd con davanti a sé l'opportunità della vita, quella di diventare qualcuno grazie alle proprie passioni, senza altri compromessi. Senza spoiler, la ricerca dell'easter egg defintivo è la ricerca di ognuno di noi. Un romanzo di formazione per chi è nell'età del protagonista, un romanzo di "mi sono formato bene" per chi quell'età l'ha già passata da più o meno tempo: per noi, ma solo (fieramente) per noi, un vero piccolo capolavoro! P.S.: anche se sono italiano, ho scelto di acquistare e leggere il romanzo in lingua originale, perché, come film e videogame, credo che la lingua originale esprima meglio il pensiero dell'autore. Se poi il tema è nerd... che ve lo dico a fare? ENG: Are you a nerd? I mean the real ones, those "a bit derided" at the time of school, with friendships often relegate "to their own kind", when they close in their room with their great passion in front of them (from modeling to collecting, from reading to videogames and movies) finally they reveal as they really are: great people for a world too small (understood as "small inside ..."). Wade, the protagonist of the story, is one of us, and we, in his ways and thoughts, are him: a nerd in front of his opportunity of life to become someone thanks to his passions, without other compromises. Without spoilers, the search for the easter egg is the search for each of us. A fiction novel for those in the age of the protagonist, a novel of "I grew up well" for those who have already passed that age for more or less time: for us, but only (fiercely) for us, a true little masterpiece! P.S .: even if I'm Italian, I chose to buy and read the novel in the original language, because, as film and videogame, I believe that the original language expresses the author's thought better. If then the theme is nerd ... what do I tell you to do?

“You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Kodan Armada.” The perfect score on Pac-Man is 3333360 There’s a way to get infinite lives on Tempest... Does any of this this mean anything to you? If not, this book might not be quite as good for you as it was for me... I imagine it’s a difficult thing to write a book with a teenage protagonist and aim the book at those in the forty to fifty age range, but in Ready Player One, Ernest Cline has done exactly that. The book centres around the idea that the whole world is jacked in and spends most of its time in a virtual world called The Oasis, rather than actually living in the real world. One day, James Halliday, the creator of the Oasis dies and with his death, calls into play the greatest competition in the world. Those who solve his riddle and find the key will inherit the entire Oasis... It’s the equivalent of Zuckerberg, Gates, Jobs, and Obama all handing over their power to the person who solves the riddle, and Wade Watts, a young man who grew up in the Oasis, wants to solve that Riddle... The story is set in 2044, and at the beginning of the story, Wade is in his late Teens but he’s spent a long time studying games and the history of games, playing on old games and generally hanging out in the Oasis. When the competition is announced, Wade manages to piece together the clues before anyone else does to get a headstart, and the story spirals from there. He gathers together a party of other like minded adventurers, all different races and creeds, all drawn from the ranks of the Oasis users he knows and trusts and they battle against the combined ranks of the Sixers, a corporation who are trying to get the power for themselves and have far more resources than the kids. There’s a lot of references to things that occurred around the time of my childhood, Xur and the Kodan armada are the bad guys in the film The Last Starfighter, a film I greatly enjoyed when I was a kid, but not one that stood the test of time well. References to other films like Wargames and original D&D Modules like The Tomb of Horrors were similarly well received and it was easy to draw some sort of kinship with the author as a person who liked similar things to me, which in turn made it easier to like the main character as they came up with the same things. The story needs suspension of disbelief on a number of levels. The information needed to win the various challenges isn’t hidden, and if a single person was up against a powerful corporation, it’s a sure bet that that corporation would hire a number of geeks to give up the answers. But that said, it’s an enjoyable run, Wade, Art3mis, Aech and the others are likable characters and they often act like kids, rather than being utterly focused on the win, they take time out to do other things and they’re very human in their outlook. If you’re a geek and you remember the 80’s well, this book will be a pleasant run down memory lane with a reasonable story to boot. If you’re neither of the above, you may still like the book, but it won’t have the resonance that it did for me.