SciFi and Fantasy eBook Club discussion

I have my copy all ready to go but I haven't started it yet... I've heard great things about this book though so I'm looking forward to reading it .... in the interim, tell me all your thoughts ....

I finished at the end of June. Fast paced, easy read, enjoyable. Coming of age in the early 80s myself, I got the references: I suddenly had a recall to gaming in the Tomb of Horrors while reading. But it seriously lacks substance and developed characters. Then again, maybe the novel wasn't want to be anything deep or meaningful.

I finished the audiobook yesterday and absolutely loved the book. I thought it was total fun and no, definitely not deep or meaningful; I saw it described as "nostalgia porn" in a review--that cracked me up. I can see how people wouldn't like the book but I embraced it and enjoyed it the whole way through.

Wil Wheaton does an excellent job narrating if anyone is into audiobooks.

I've thrown a lot of eighties nostalgia novels out the window lately. They're all aging groovy-woos who regret losing the days when they were cool. Well, I never was cool, and this book seems to be nostalgic for the things that I actually did in the eighties. I just might love this book!

I enjoyed the book a lot! Ha, Donna, youre "nostalgia porn" reference is probably right on target. I did like idea of a world where almost everyone is totally absorbed in virtual reality and ignoring the real world. So many of the virtual things sounded incredible - I loved the classroom descriptions - and it is somewhat fun thinking about "Is this where society is headed?"

Nice reviews everyone, but sounds like I'll skip this one, I do prefer substance and need good characters to haul me through a book, and so many other good books to read...

I enjoyed it, but I would have loved more movie references. By the way, there is a Spotify playlist for the book that the author put up: http://open.spotify.com/user/ernestcl...

I read this a while back. It was a great read, good fun, and as a gamer, I have to respect the fact that he got that right too.

I scored an autographed one from recent fandomfest. Will read as soon as unpacked (hard copies slow my old fart eyes down after all the kindle reads).

Finished this last night and was in geek heaven. John Scalzi's quote was what hooked me, and it still fits the bill after reading: "Imagine that Dungeons and Dragons and an '80s video arcade made hot, sweet love, and their child was raised in Azeroth. If you're not already experiencing a nerdgasm at the thought, I don't want to know you."

The book also had more than it's fair share of weaknesses, though. The bad guys are utterly soulless, and the good guys are impossibly honorable. Parzival and company had an encyclopedic knowledge of even the most esoteric bits of '80s pop culture trivia (which got a tad annoying). Everyone prefers to play '80s arcade games despite inhabiting a limitless virtual simulator. The entire world was split up into über-geeks or corporate shills, with only trailer trash between those poles. I think the term "zettabyte" was thrown in just to serve as geek porn (because the data content in that section didn't sound big enough to require terabytes, let alone zettabytes). Same goes for the outlandish nod to Cory Doctorow and Will Wheaton.

The entire novel was a paint-by-number story, with the requisite story items slotted in as required. I would never classify this as sci-fi, even though it takes place in the future and has a love affair with advanced tech. And yet, despite a story that reads like a Level One default avatar skin, I lost count of the times that I totally geeked out.

This was total cotton candy fluff, but I took the geek bait hook, line and sinker, and wasn't disappointed by the results.

I went into this with some reservations, as I'm usually bothered by sci-fi where some character in the distant future just happens to be a fan of 60s rock and roll or late 20th Century TV shows. It usually pulls me out of the moment and feels like a cheap trick by the author.

In this case the author pretty much gets away with it, since it's not the distant future, and he has contrived to create a rationale for the characters' obsession. But for me it still lends a sense of gimmickry to the whole affair. That and the fact that it's essentially a young adult coming-of-age story means that for my tastes (as someone who is long past the coming-of-age stage), I didn't really get much out of it other than a reasonably enjoyable read with not much meat on the bones.

man, i couldnt put this book down. What a great read. I even went back and looked up all the easter egg stuff because i had no idea any of that was there when i was playing the games.

I read this last year, and while certainly tempted to re-read, I've been on a huge Peter Hamilton kick lately so........

But, I loved Ready Player One. Just loved it. With a couple of exceptions (the Japanese stuff, mainly) I got the all of the references. It's fun and it got me all nostalgic.

Here my 2 cents in a review:

Just plain fun from start to finish. A business man who make billions with an online simulated world puts it all up for grabs in his will to anyone who can solve all the puzzles in a game quest full of trivia about 80's culture and scenarios calling for skills in historical arcade and video games.

In this dystopic future, the planet is wrecked by the energy crisis and global warming, and the virtual world with thousands of diverse planets is a fair alternative for the disadvantaged of the world to excel, and even make a living in its virtual economy. With the improved realism of this innovation, regular schools give way to virtual ones very quickly. Our teen hero, Wade, when not in school, spends all his free time studying 80's culture, its movies, songs, and electronic games. After 5 years, he becomes the first one to pass the first level of the quest. With billions at stake, as well as control of this future Internet world, evil corporations with vast resources turn the game into a deadly serious competition. Wade has to team up with other teen wizards to keep up in the game and avoid discovery of their identities in the real world.

I couldn't put the book down and when it was over, I couldn't get it out of my mind. The story is so compelling and imaginative (and nostalgic in geekdom) that I readily forgive limitations in the book's prose, dialog, and character development.

This book made me love fiction again. For about a year prior to reading this, every time I found myself starting a 5-star genre novel I'd been told was amazing, I'd get frustrated partway through that I wasn't enjoying it. It got to the point where I was reading 2 non-fiction books for every novel I'd read, and I'd always enjoy the non-fiction more.

Then I came across Ready Player One and I was instantly hooked. Yes, I grew up in the 80's and I'm a gamer, but I don't think it's fair to say that's the whole story of what makes this book great. This is a great book because it tells a great story with great characters.

Some suggest the characters lack development. I would ask, compared to what? James Bond lacked character development for thirty years and some of those movies were outstanding. This book is an over-the-shoulder action thriller. Stylistically, it's Wargames, but it's also Die Hard and so many other stories. It's about David and Goliath.

No story can have everything or appeal to everyone. Like most good stories, this one focuses on its strengths and I have a special place in my heart for it.

I've read a lot of reviews of this book, and each time I waver between deciding I want to read it, and deciding that I don't. I hear it's clever and witty, but shallow. I'll probably skip, as nostalgia won't sink a hook in me though the virtual reality element is highly tempting.

I started reading the first book in the "Otherland" series and would say if you've read and liked that, you will probably like RP1. It's not shallow, it's just not "epic" like a 1000 page novel.

I think this is a great fun read whether or not you are interested in the 80s nostalgia or not. If you are then it definitely gives it an extra element but it was written in a way where if you 14 now you can love it without needing to get or be interested in the references.

I do find it a little odd that this book is a book of the month for discussion here and on another GR group because whilst I found it hugely enjoyable I cannot see any interesting discussion points to spring up from the book.

I would recommend Kenneth check it out, it is a quick and satisfying read - I just cannot dont see much to discuss.