Ready Player One in Turning Pages by Penguin Books NZ

Jan 29, 2017 Maddie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Holy shit this book is totally incredible!! The twists, the action, the complexity of it all! I loved the concept of the OASIS, the way that it was set up, all of the real games and real movies and books and songs and everything. I just wished I knew the 80s so that I could relate more. Finding out that (view spoiler) That was a totally jaw-dropping moment. And also the moment wh ...more

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Feb 21, 2016 Miz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club-reads, like-nothing-i-ve-ever-read, young-adult, screen-adaptations, dystopia

This is the second book I've read in the last few months that is totally nothing like I would normally read. Look at me branch out *smug*! SO on that note, while I remember if you liked this novel try Illuminae :)

I can't believe I enjoyed a book about a video game! I didn't understand all the references but the storyline trucked along with quests and relationships in such a way that was entertaining and readable. Very different and unique take on virtual reality, dystopian future and story-telli ...more

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Oct 04, 2017 Lauren (Bookworm Boutique) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My review (4.5/5 ★'s):
Disclaimer: I read this book as part of The Booklanders NZ book club and did not receive a review copy. All thoughts are my own and haven't been influenced by any outside sources.

When this book was chosen as a Booklanders NZ read I can honestly say that I was thrilled. It contained so many elements that I know and love that I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Although the book didn't disappoint Ready Player One was a little slow to start for me, I found myself putti My review (4.5/5 ★'s):
Disclaimer: I read this book as part of The Booklanders NZ book club and did not receive a review copy. All thoughts are my own and haven't been influenced by any outside sources.

When this book was chosen as a Booklanders NZ read I can honestly say that I was thrilled. It contained so many elements that I know and love that I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.

Although the book didn't disappoint Ready Player One was a little slow to start for me, I found myself putting it down and picking it up again a few times during the first 50 pages. Once the storyline got going, however, I couldn't put it down. With all the information that is thrown at you (especially if you didn't grow-up/experience 80's culture), it does kind of begin to feel like a history lesson, but Cline mixes the story with the history so well that I actually found myself looking up the music/TV shows/movies/games/etc that were referenced so I could be pulled further into the story.

About halfway through the book I worried that it would be a duology, the speed had picked up, sure, but I had this sneaking suspicion that we wouldn't reach the end by the end of the book. Luckily for me, who tends to favour standalone books, we did get an entire story in just 374 pages and I was extremely pleased with that outcome.

Something that did bother me about the book, however, was that there seemed to be no time between the 80's and when the book takes place in 2044, other than some technological advances. I understand completely that there's an obvious reason for this, the hunt for Halliday's egg centres around the 80's because that was all Halliday was obsessed with... BUT something about that bothered me. Yes, every 'gunter' would have to become obsessed with the 80's in order to win the competition but it felt sometimes that Cline could have thrown in some other references as well. When mentioning that there were 'planets' in the OASIS that were modelled off of literary/gaming locations the narrator only mentioned those that would have been recognizable to people who had knowledge of the 80's but didn't include anything from any other decade. Considering that the book was published in 2011 I felt some other references could have been made in order to make learning about a new decade less daunting for kids who had grown up in the 90's or 00's and were reading Ready Player One.

Regardless of this one tiny point, that is really me clutching at straws, I thoroughly enjoyed Ready Player One and if it's on your TBR then be sure to check it out sooner rather than later as it's to be made into a movie early 2018... and we all know it's better to read the book first... right?

The friendships in Ready Player One may be my favourite aspect of it. A lot of us live in a world where our closest friends can be thousands of miles away and could have a different first language than you do, but Ready Player One completely encourages these friendships and shows that they're just as real as friends that you make in "the real world". Not only that, but the friendships felt genuine and weren't just the same friendship repeated with different characters.

If you're considering picking up Ready Player One I'd definitely tell you to go for it. It'd been sitting on my TBR for the longest time and I regret not reading it sooner. If you're the kind of reader who loves a dystopian setting with lots of video game references and awesome technology then this is the read for you. ...more

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May 24, 2015 Bridget rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What a great book. Now I understand all the great ratings. A book about gaming, but a book that is so accessible for non-gamers like me. I loved the concept of an all-encompassing world, a visual utopia where you can travel to different worlds within the world. Loved all the references to TV shows and music from the past and I loved the quest. No wonder the boys are recommending this book to each other. This is full of cool, full of fun and even though in 2044 the world is a desolate place this ...more

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Sep 21, 2017 Victoria rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My inner 80's gamer geek is very, very happy 😊 ...more

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Oct 31, 2012 Kelly (Diva Booknerd) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Holy freaking crap, this book was beyond awesome. It was slow to start, but as soon as the contest kicked in, I couldn't put it down. I think I may be on the verge of a nerdgasm. Definitely recommended for gamers and kids of the eighties. ...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Penny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-favourites

I'm an 80s chick through and through...how I would love to meet Ernest Cline and share our freaky 80s geekiness. What a fabulous first novel Ernest! All that stunning fact packed into a stunning Sci-Fi read. I'm in writer's envy at the moment. I've always wondered how to tackle writing in a different time period well, but what you've done is taken that sublime period and given it a futuristic, nostalgic twist that delivers a massive kick out there into the universe. And John Hughes? I'm such a h ...more

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Sep 20, 2017 Allie // Kitasai rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-reads, 5-star, favorites, owned, audiobook-reads, 2020-reads, audible-reads

**2020 Re-read**
Forever my favourite book, I love all the references in this and it just makes me so happy. Glad I finally re-read this, a bit scared about reading Ready Player Two especially as I don't know what it's about... i'm also refusing to look at the synopsis.

**Original read**
I freaking love this book! So much nostalgia, references and general love for my favourite things in the world - Sci-fi, Fantasy and Gaming.

I can't believe it's taken me so long to finish this, but the audiobook i ...more

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Mar 31, 2018 Anjali (This Splendid Shambles) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ready Player One was so crazy good. I don’t think I had remembered from the reviews I’d read previously that it was so geeky. Halliday loved the 80s, so all the clues, pop culture references and little quips and nods towards things of a time gone by were geek central, and so wonderful. From Star Wars to Back to the Future, Pacman to Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams to Monty Python, there’s a little of everything 80s in this book, which, of course, made it that more entertaining to read.

Read the full ...more

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Jun 27, 2015 Nicole Magolan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, laugh-out-loud, 2015-favourites

Ready Player One blew me away. I didn't know much about the plot going in, only that it was nerdy and a lot of fun. And wow, it was SO MUCH FUN.
I had some small problems with it, most notably the romance (which I thought was extremely boring) and the writing got quite info-dumpy at times. Overall however, the writing was absolutely fantastic and I loved how full of nerdyness it was.
Thinking over the story, I found it interesting how when you look at it from different angles, it can be a very dif ...more

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