Debby's Reviews > Ready Player One

First read: May 2014
Second read: August-October 2017, still love it :)
Third read: January 2021, still awesome

4.5 stars

At the beginning of the year, I made it one of my resolutions for 2014 to give audiobooks a shot. After discovering that Ready Player One - which I'd already heard plenty of GREAT things about - was narrated by Wil Freaking Wheaton, I decided this would be a great place for me to start. And it was. Great story + great performance = hours of great entertainment.

Ready Player One has been raved about, and for good reason. This book will appeal to anyone who enjoys gaming and 80's pop culture. Basically, it tells the story of Wade Watts, a teenage boy, who participates in a scavenger hunt set up by the late creator of OASIS - a virtual reality game, which became so popular that most people live and breathe in that world instead of the real one. The billionaire creator, Halliday, died, but in his will he stated that he hid "Easter eggs" in the game, and the person who can solve his puzzles will inherit everything. People have been hunting down the Easter eggs for years - to no avail - making a study of the creator's life and his obsessions, which mostly focus on '80s pop culture. There's just so much geeky fun here - for gamers and lovers of the '80s.

The geekery is what made Wil Wheaton's performance absolutely perfect. Anyone who knows of him will know of his great geeky personality, and as such, his voice fit Wade absolutely perfectly. But not only that - he has a great range of vocal inflection that makes the story super entertaining. He made the audiobook completely addictive to listen to, and I'm sad that he hasn't done more of these, because I WANT THEM.

But anyway, the world building here is completely amazing. I am such a fan of virtual reality type stories, but none have done it as well as Ready Player One. It's really everything you'd imagine virtual reality to be - and the way there's magic and technology in those worlds, leveling up and battling akin to an MMORPG, different planets based on different themes (i.e. Star Wars, Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons) - it's immerse, engaging, and presented in glorious detail. But the book also perfectly captures the societal aspect of having such virtual reality software: the real world has basically become completely run down, people choose OASIS over reality, schools are now attended online, people don't even really have to leave their houses anymore, and corporations are getting vicious over the hunt for the Easter eggs. The concept is really thorough, detailed, and well thought out - I absolutely loved it.

I dunno about you guys, but I'm a super fan of scavenger hunt type stories, so from page one, I was totally engaged. The story was excellent, and I loved following Wade as he pieced together clues, while also strategizing on how best to move forward with potential allies. The story even takes some turns to the dramatic, as they face the IOI corporation, who with their underhanded tactics pose a serious threat to them in real life. The latter half of the story suddenly became thrillingly action-packed, and I was on the edge of my seat. The only downside, really, to this story was that I feel like so much detail was put into the world and the story that the characters themselves were not as interesting.

Summing Up:

This is the virtual reality story that I was absolutely desperate for. I don't think anyone could top Ernest Cline's world building for this premise - it was just absolutely glorious. With tons of geeky references, '80s pop culture, and Wil Wheaton's glorious voice, this story delivered hours of entertainment and giggles. Would I trade OASIS for the real world? Probably yes. Great for geeks, gamers, sci-fi nerds, and adventure fans! And I would definitely suggest this as a great audiobook for anyone wanting to try out the format for the first time.

GIF it to me straight!



Recommended To:

Geeks, gamers, and fans of the '80s, dystopias, and science fiction.