Ready Player One discussion

See I read Lucky Wander boy and dont see any similarities in it other than some video game references. and I didnt think it was really a better than avg book.
RPO takes place in a virtual world with treasure hunts and battles and fun sci-fi excitement...Lucky wander boy is about a guy writing a video game book and obsessed with an impossible to find game.

Michael R Underwood's Geekomancy is much closer to RPO's feel. Lucky wander boy felt like some weird independent film.

I wanted to mention that someone mentioned Sword Art Online simply as an Anime. UPDATE: As far as the Anime is concerned, it made it's gotten a Dub and made it's way onto Netflix.



This isn't just an anime. It's available in written form as both a Manga and a Novel.

And since I'm responding, I'll go ahead and reitterate:

Soda Pop Soldier by Nick Cole drops soon, a bit darker version of RPO. Also Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

Added yet another to this this thread:

Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer (and its sequel), Spell or High Water.

The first book was compared on Audible.com to Ready Player One. It has geek cultural references (pretty basic, Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings), and basics of computing (minor hacking sequences) and so forth. Again, involves (sorta) game worlds. The second book gets a little deeper with its pop references, and a little more complex and satirical of the nature of its universe.

So my current list of Ready Player One like books stands:

REAMDE by Neil Stephenson
Deamon & Freedom (TM) by Daniel Saurez
Snowcrash by Neil Stephenson
The Atopia Chronicles by Matthew Mather
Off To Be The Wizard & Spell Or High Water by Scott Meyer

And (while I didn't particularly enjoy it but enhanced my appreciation of the others): Neuromancer by William Gibson since all the above books have been greatly influenced by it.

Chris wrote: "I just finished "Heroes Die" by Matthew Stover and definitely think fans of Ready, Player One would also enjoy Heroes Die.

It is brutal though."

+1 for me for "heroes die"

I highly recommend Level Zero. It meets most of the categories Vince talks about. It had much more action than RP1. I hope everyone gives it a try. The sequel is pretty good too. I can't wait for the third book.

So my trifecta would be.
1. Ready Player One
2. Level Zero
3. Snowcrash

http://www.amazon.com/Level-Zero-Next...

The closest I can think of is Hobgoblin by John Coyne. It is an excellent read, but probably a bit hard to find. Instead of a virtual world, the story sits within a role playing game. I read it thirty years ago and haven't forgotten it ever.

As soon as I finished reading "Ready Player One," I too craved something else like it. I found a very similar vibe in the book "You" by Austin Grossman. Although it takes place back in the world of video game design in the 1990s, you have the nostalgic vibe and the video game feel. I've already hooked several of my friends on it.

I have a book that is really like RPO.
Soda Pop Soldier: A Novel

Just finished great book.

AlterWorld. Check it out. I jut started it and am enjoying it so far.

EDIT: Look, I'm coming back and updating this status as right after I finished Alterworld, I picked up the second in the series The Clan. I absolutely loved both of them!! If you enjoyed RPO, pick these books up and give them a shot. I really think you'll enjoy them.

When I was a kid, I read and re-read these which are kinda similar:

Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy is non-fiction but full of 80s references and video game revolution stuff.

Edited my previous comment to update my recommendation.

Check out Nexus!
Nexus

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Thank you all for the good suggestions. This is a very helpful discussion!

You might try Epic, by Connor Kostick. It has that real life/game life crossover that was such fun in RP1.

the game (the game is life book 1) by teary schott. you can get the first book free on Amazon. amazing series.

Tim wrote: "the game (the game is life book 1) by teary schott. you can get the first book free on Amazon. amazing series."

Thanks Tim! Just grabbed it. I'm not sure if anyone checked this out, but I'll rec it once again. Really good series.

http://www.amazon.com/AlterWorld-Play...

Play to Live series is incredible! Thanks for the recommendation!

David wrote: "Play to Live series is incredible! Thanks for the recommendation!"

Awesome, glad you enjoyed it! I really liked it as well. I don't recall how I found/learned of it, but am glad I came across it. There are several others in the series, but I think the author is still working on having them translated.

Not edited in any way. Probably many typos and misspells but a summary of everything referenced to date. Will be using it as a "to read" list and someone else may like. When time permits will tidy up (sorry).

Non-Fiction
• Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner
• Ghost in the Wires by Kevin Mitnick
• Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution by Steven Levy

Fiction
• Tad Williams' Otherland or William Gibson's Neuromancer.
• Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age.
• Neal Stephenson's REAMDE
• Hannu Rajaniemi's The Quantum Thief. T
• Daemon by Daniel Suarez.
• Cory Doctorow - For the Win
• Cory Doctorow - Little Brother
• Dennis McKiernan's book - Caverns of Socrates
• Dream Park Series by Niven & Pournelle
• The Barsoom Project
• California Voodoo Game.
• Terry Pratchett book Only You Can Save Mankind
• 'The Holy Machine',
• The Scott Pilgrim series,
• Lauren Beukes' Moxyland.
• Snow Crash.
• One Con Glory by Sarah Kuhn
• The Blue Adept (Anthony),
• Conqueror (S. Baxter),
• Robopocalypse,
• Idlewild
• The Barsoom Project
• California Voodoo Game.
• Massively Multiplayer.
• Charles Stross' Halting State and Rule 34
• Halting State
• Altered Carbon
• Lucifer's Dragon
• Deamon & Freedom (TM) by Daniel Saurez
• The Atopia Chronicles by Matthew Mather
• Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb.
• Dharma Bums by Kerouac
• Breakfast of Champions
• Insignia
• Ender's Game.
• The Equations Of Life' - The Metrozone Trilogy
• "Heroes Die" by Matthew Stover
• The Amber Series by Roger Zelazny.
• Dennis L McKiernan Caverns of Socrates
• Demons Don't Dream
• Mither Mages trilogy
• "Multiplayer" by John C. Brewer
• Metagame by Sam Landstrom
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
• Upload
• "Unincorporated Man" by Dani Kollin
• Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson
• KIlobyte
• David Louis Edelman's Infoquake trilogy
• Lev Grossman's Magicians series
• Mogworld - Yahtzee Croshaw.
• Scalzi's Redshirts
• Supercenter
• Armchair Safari.
• Constellation Games, by Leonard Richardson.
• Lucky Wander Boy by D.B. Weiss
• The Postmortal by Drew Magary
• Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
• A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
• The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
• The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
• READ EREBOS by Ursula Polanski,
• EYE OF MINDS by James Dashner
• Brain Jack by Brian Falkner
• Epic for Connor Korstick (and Saga
• Lauren Beukes' Moxyland.
• Half the Day is Night by McHugh.
• New Model Army by Adam Roberts
• Lucky Wander Boy
• Douglas Coupland,- JPod or Microserfs.
• Michael R Underwood's Geekomancy
• Soda Pop Soldier by Nick Cole
• Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer and Spell or High Water.
• Level Zero
• Hobgoblin by John Coyne.
• "You" by Austin Grossman.
• Soda Pop Soldier: A Novel
• AlterWorld.
• The Clan.
• Robert Pérez Books
• James Dashner: The Eye of Minds.
• Erebos.
• Space Demons The Trilogy by Gillian Rubinstein
• Nexus
• Epic, by Connor Kostick. It has that real life/game life crossover that was such fun in RP1.
• Play to Live series
• The Game (the game is life book 1) by Teary Schott

David wrote: "Not edited in any way. Probably many typos and misspells but a summary of everything referenced to date. Will be using it as a "to read" list and someone else may like. When time permits will tidy ..."

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!

The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor is another one. It can be read online here:

http://royalroadweed.blogspot.co.il/2...

Do some research on it. It hasn't been professionally translated but the link I posted does a fantastic job and with the authors consent since he hasn't been able to have it translated to English as of yet.

Also, Ender's Game? Really? I can't compare that to RPO in the least.

David by the way, thanks for summarizing everyone's suggestions! You're awesome!!

This is great, thanks to everyone who contributed and you for editing. Just printed out my list of things to think about at the bookstore / library.

Jesus David very nice list I read like 1/4 only from it ;-)

Greg wrote: "Added yet another to this this thread:

Off To Be The Wizard by Scott Meyer (and its sequel), Spell or High Water.

The first book was compared on Audible.com to Ready Player One. It has geek cult..."

Read the entire thread hoping someone would recommend the Magic 2.0 series. The 3rd book comes out next month, and all 3 are available on Kindle Lending or Unlimited. The 1st 2 were great reads and I can't wait for #3.

I had never heard of the Magic 2.0 series. Checked it out and am purchasing the first in the series. Thanks for the rec. looks good.

Reamde by Neal Stephenson might tickle your fancy.

Jim Munroe's Action Figure Comes with Gas Mask
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

I literally just finished RPO 6 (wink) minutes ago.

I felt the theme of very powerful and evil corporation against a bunch of teenagers closely paralleling the Inner Movement trilogy by Brandt Legg. Enjoy!

I really loved Ready Player One, and have been looking for something similar. Maybe not the same theme, but something on the same level. People have suggested Snow Crash, so I gave it a go... and it is IMO the worst book I have ever read. I have finished every book I have started for the last 15 years or so, and as much as it pained me to leave a book unfinished, I could not complete this. I left it about 2/3 of the way through. I have seen a few people here suggest a book that sounds great, but then suggest a Neal Stephenson book, which makes me question their suggestions. Does anyone share my opinion and maybe have some suggestions for a reader that loved Ready Player One but hated Snow Crash? Thanks

Mark wrote: "I really loved Ready Player One, and have been looking for something similar. Maybe not the same theme, but something on the same level. People have suggested Snow Crash, so I gave it a go... and i..."

I didn't hate Snow Crash, but I didn't love it either. I nearly quit on it too but stubbornly stuck it out and eventually rated it 3 stars. I can empathize. Give the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer a try. It doesn't have the depth of RPO but they're easy, fun reads.

Play To Live series is really good and the fourth book (English Translation) will be available in June/July of this year. I loved RPO and really like this series too. Let me know what you think if you read it.

Metawars by Jeff Norton was a direct homage to ready player one.

I could not finish show crash but loved Reamde

I'm partway through Soda Pop Soldier: A Novel, definitely getting the RPO vibe from it.

Anant wrote: "I really loved Ready Player One, and have been looking for something similar. Maybe not the same theme, but something on the same level. People have suggested Snow Crash, so I gave it a go... and it is IMO the worst book I have ever read.

The thing about Snowcrash its a parody of cyberpunk, its meant to be the genre's silliest characteristics turned to 11 as its set the backdrop 80s view of what a dystopia looks like in the early 90s: a corporatocracy of wanton unabated free market worship where lives are cheap but guns are expensive, and the people who resist are punk rock outcasts waring within the system using illegal technology as their weapon. The problem with cyber punk was clear by the early 90s as cyberpunk assumed elite technology would be out of reach for the few but somehow failed to visualize the democratization technology. This advent allowed everyone to be equal players (as seen in the online Metaverse universe Stephenson cleverly constructed), which sorta invalidated a lot of the genre's key tenants. However, in light of recent developments we may still see a technocratic elite.

It helped I had some exposure to the genre so soon as I read it, I realized after several chapters that it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, and thus greatly enhanced my appreciation. If you read it straight, I can easily see that. Its not a book for everyone. The big takeaways is it invented the concept of having a digital avatar, believe or not, this was an idea that conceptualized by Stephenson, same with the online world being a mix of information, game and social outlet. The book is pretty prophetic in that sense, and the freely accessible internet from anywhere wasn't in the public lexicon yet in 1992. Plus, it always more or less predicted the idea of Google earth. Lastly the core ideal (without getting into plot give aways) was rather creative.

That said, the frantic pacing is rough and meant to follow the even harsher pacing of William Gibson. Anyhow, these are just my compiled thoughts on the subject, I could be totally wrong :)

nice analyze of it but is just the style was not pleasant, didn't enjoy reading the damn thing :)

but i can appreciate a writer that can write books in so many completely different styles!

Breakfast of Champions, if you are referring to Vonnegut's novel, does not belong on this list (but it is VERY good). Same with Kafka on the Shore. Thanks for putting that list together.

Funny, I loved Snow Crash, but I gave up on REAMDE when it turned into a international spy/mercenary potboiler. It kinda threw away the fun VR elements.

Agrimorfee wrote: "...
Funny, I loved Snow Crash, but I gave up on REAMDE when it turned into a international spy/mercenary potboiler. It kinda threw away the fun VR elements. "

Yeah man that was weird, that is my main complain : it is a mash up and it doesn't fit so good, the VR was to short and forgotten :) Still I liked the action bit.

Raemde was more Robert Ludlum than Gibson, and while imaginative it has one trait that I've found some of Stephenson's books is detail for the sake of detail. The online world mostly doesn't mean much if anything in context of the story, especially the politics about the writers clashing. I liked it as it was still a good thriller but could have been several hundred pages shorter. It's probably a bit of a stretch.

Raemde was more Robert Ludlum than Gibson, and while imaginative it has one trait that I've found some of Stephenson's books is detail for the sake of detail. The online world mostly doesn't mean much if anything in context of the story, especially the politics about the writers clashing. I liked it as it was still a good thriller but could have been several hundred pages shorter. It's probably a bit of a stretch.

I found myself clamoring for another book I could enjoy as much as Ready Player One, and by-golly I found one. It's not remotely like Ready Player One, but the video game references, and the things that people can do with a rare power called "'mancy" is just wonderful. This book is entirely it's own beast, and the video game references are mostly later than the 80's, but it is very well done.

Brendon wrote: "I found myself clamoring for another book I could enjoy as much as Ready Player One, and by-golly I found one. It's not remotely like Ready Player One, but the video game references, and the things..."

What book was it then?;o

My bad! The book is called Flex, by Ferrett Steinmetz. I can't really explain why I recommend it in terms of Ready Player One, but feel it should be mentioned for the video game references, powers, and the quasi-quest-like structure. I really liked the characters as well. If anyone reads it, please let me know what you think. It was published about a month ago, and is the author's debut novel.

I'm surprised no one mentioned The Android's Dream yet. It's a very geeky & funny Sci-Fi book set in the future. It also has a personal intelligent agent like Max Headroom was in Ready Player One, but it has a much larger role in this story.

Brendon, thanks very much for recommending Flex, powered through it in a single session, couldn't put it down! Loved the video game elements and the slightly darker elements interwoven throughout. Great read!

Excellent, David! Makes me happy to see that someone was able to appreciate it! I believe there is a sequel coming in a few months called The Flux.

Richard wrote: "I happened to read READY PLAYER ONE and Neal Stephenson's latest book REAMDE right after it. I was struck by how similar in theme the two books are, and how in-game actions and real world meshed in..."

At this stage, Stephenson is a better writer than Cline, but I'll say READY PLAYER ONE is superior to REAMDE, the main thrust of which is diluted by the inferior RV/terrorist subplot.