Ready Player One by Ernest Cline [Family Reads]

Why we chose Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One

Dad selected this book because he read something about the movie and was intrigued by the premise because that’s when he grew up. I had the option of reading this for my young adult literature class earlier in the term, but I chose to read a different book 😛 Turns out I couldn’t resist this one for much longer!

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade’s devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world’s digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator’s obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade’s going to survive, he’ll have to win—and confront the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

Our Discussion

Dad gives this book ★★★½ and I give it ★★½. Dad had a better connection to this book, having grown up in the 80s and engaged with a lot of the culture featured in the book.

After we finished the book and checked out Goodreads reviews, we noticed many people liked this book, but also a decent number disliked it. Dad noted reviewers who said it was shallow and there wasn’t any character development. I agree with those points, but we (Dad and I) also don’t think that was the purpose of the book.

Dad had trouble getting past the first 100 pages or so because of the info dumping. Wade has to spend a lot of time explaining how the Oasis worked. In general, though, Dad thought Cline did a good job at detailing what he wanted the reader to know. I agreed with that point. Even though I don’t understand the details of many of the references, there was enough explanation that I understood what was happening and what was the context for it.

Dad, on the other hand, understood a lot better what was going on with the challenges and references because he lived through that decade! For him, the book brought back lots of memories of stuff that he hadn’t thought about for decades, especially some of the games that Wade plays. Dad played a lot of video games as teen. He recalled how he would go downtown to an arcade full of video games and pinballs and play  on Saturday mornings before heading across the street to  work.  Ready Player One  brought back a lot of smiles and good memories. Personally, I like some aspects of the 80s but not the kind to be found in this book (although I appreciate the New Order and Peter Gabriel references). I like to play old-school styled platformer games but I didn’t know any of the games actually referenced in the book. My gaming has been heavily PC based – Dad and I both fondly recalled playing games like Commander Keen and Sam from floppy disks in the 90s. Anyway, we thought there was a good balance between common and obscure references. If 80s nostalgia appeals to you, you should definitely check out this book.

Sometimes we would forget that Wade’s just in a game when he’s in the Oasis. Dad had to remind himself that the Oasis wasn’t actually real and I had to remind myself that Wade couldn’t be physically hurt by what happened there. I found the plot pretty basic (especially the romance subplot). Some of the challenges Wade overcomes seem too easy, like it was hard to believe that he was the only one to ever figure it out or that he just had ‘eureka’ moments and put together so much obscure knowledge. There were some time gaps but I never felt concerned about Wade’s progress.

The next paragraphs contains spoilers in the form of a book vs. movie discussion.

 

Dad also had the opportunity to see the film last Monday! A lot of significant changes were made to the movie, though it kept the same general atmosphere and themes. Dad noted stuff that movie entirely left out,  like Wade’s arrest and the school system. The first challenge consisted of a race rather than the riddles, dungeon, and gaming face off that Wade does in the book. That comparison made me think about how a lot of the stuff that happens in the book wouldn’t translate well into a film (like Wade acting out a movie), so maybe that’s why some of the changes were made.

Neither of us found Ready Player One compelling enough to want to read more of Cline’s work. We appreciated the book for what is – nothing pretentious or deep, just a fun 80s fuelled adventure. Dad didn’t think about the negatives of the book until he heard other people commenting on them, to which he shrugged and thought “Well, true, but that’s not what the book’s about.”(But Dad also acknowledge that’s probably why I didn’t find it an exceptional read and don’t feel like reading more.) I discovered the book’s not really that bad; it’s just a particular type of story.  We noted that lack of elaboration on anything outside of the Oasis was another reason some people would find the book less compelling.

 Final Thoughts

Ready Player One can be a fun and easy read, if you don’t ask too much of it and you can appreciate it’s love for the 80s.  What decade are you nostalgic for?