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A review by justjonsbooks
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
3.0
— • 3.5 • —
This is a very cool book but I’ll be honest it didn’t wow me as much as I thought it would. (Which is strange cause I’m a big gamer geek) Maybe it was the narration, maybe it was the fact that I’ve already seen the film or maybe it was simply down to the writing...
While I enjoyed the overall premise I found that many chapters were over descriptive and quite waffly, as though the author was trying too hard to sound cool. Way too much unnecessary information about random things that we gain nothing from knowing. I found myself zoning out on quite a few occasions and when I zoned back in I hadn’t really missed anything. It does have its fair share of relatable things, moments that make you think ‘ahh yeah I do that, or ahh yeah I hate it when that happens’. Things that gamers would understand completely. But then you unfortunately get these over exaggerated explanations and descriptions which just make you think ‘yeah okay, I get it, let’s move on.’
Granted this book originally came out in 2011, so gaming tech such as VR and even simple RPG games have come a long way irl. Proper VR simulated worlds like in this book are probably right around the corner now, whereas back when this was written it probably felt like a wildest fantasy. Because of this I think the author maybe overcompensates by describing everything in such deep detail to help build a better picture for those who are not well accustomed to video games, but also to try and please those who want to know all the small details. The gamers out there will know what I mean when I say it’s a bit like having to read all the notes you pick up in an RPG, they’re interesting at times and add a bit of context to the NPC’s and the world, but really they don’t have any impact on the overall story and most of them are forgettable. (Gosh I sound just like him now) Well there’s a lot of info like that thrown into this story, and I couldn’t tell you about any specific one because I simply don’t remember any!
As for the narration of the audiobook; it isn’t terrible, being in first person he sounds believable as though the character would actually speak that way. But at times he came across as a little condescending, like ‘Look at me, look at all the things I have and all the stuff I can do, my character is so cool.’ Idk, again maybe it was just the narrators voice that didn’t sit well with me but I probably wouldn’t want this character as a friend in real life.
As for the story, honestly I hoped for a bit more. Again maybe since I already watched the film I knew what was going to happen, but even then it wasn’t the most interesting of plots. Or rather the process of finding the keys was a little too over-complicated which caused a loss of interest around the second half. For example the beginning of part 2 felt too long and didn’t have any real story progression. At the time of writing this I actually don’t remember much of the second half apart from the real world stuff and the climactic ending. The romance had some interesting moments here and there but when they meet in the real world I felt the writing was pretty cringey.
I was however impressed with the end when Parzival is given the ability to switch off the Oasis entirely. It was an interesting cliffhanger of sorts to wonder if he would press the big red button or not, and also to wonder myself what I would choose if I was in his position.
Upon writing this review Ready Player Two has also been published and I don’t know anything about it. If it’s a direct sequel I’m not sure what the story could be about, the real world stuff could be interesting but otherwise Parzival has completed his mission in the Oasis so what more could occur there? It’s on my to-read list but I’m not sure If I can be bothered to care about it just yet.
Ps. I wasn’t a fan of the unusual chapter structure and names. It doesn’t make it easy when trying to refer back to a specific moment.
This is a very cool book but I’ll be honest it didn’t wow me as much as I thought it would. (Which is strange cause I’m a big gamer geek) Maybe it was the narration, maybe it was the fact that I’ve already seen the film or maybe it was simply down to the writing...
While I enjoyed the overall premise I found that many chapters were over descriptive and quite waffly, as though the author was trying too hard to sound cool. Way too much unnecessary information about random things that we gain nothing from knowing. I found myself zoning out on quite a few occasions and when I zoned back in I hadn’t really missed anything. It does have its fair share of relatable things, moments that make you think ‘ahh yeah I do that, or ahh yeah I hate it when that happens’. Things that gamers would understand completely. But then you unfortunately get these over exaggerated explanations and descriptions which just make you think ‘yeah okay, I get it, let’s move on.’
Granted this book originally came out in 2011, so gaming tech such as VR and even simple RPG games have come a long way irl. Proper VR simulated worlds like in this book are probably right around the corner now, whereas back when this was written it probably felt like a wildest fantasy. Because of this I think the author maybe overcompensates by describing everything in such deep detail to help build a better picture for those who are not well accustomed to video games, but also to try and please those who want to know all the small details. The gamers out there will know what I mean when I say it’s a bit like having to read all the notes you pick up in an RPG, they’re interesting at times and add a bit of context to the NPC’s and the world, but really they don’t have any impact on the overall story and most of them are forgettable. (Gosh I sound just like him now) Well there’s a lot of info like that thrown into this story, and I couldn’t tell you about any specific one because I simply don’t remember any!
As for the narration of the audiobook; it isn’t terrible, being in first person he sounds believable as though the character would actually speak that way. But at times he came across as a little condescending, like ‘Look at me, look at all the things I have and all the stuff I can do, my character is so cool.’ Idk, again maybe it was just the narrators voice that didn’t sit well with me but I probably wouldn’t want this character as a friend in real life.
As for the story, honestly I hoped for a bit more. Again maybe since I already watched the film I knew what was going to happen, but even then it wasn’t the most interesting of plots. Or rather the process of finding the keys was a little too over-complicated which caused a loss of interest around the second half. For example the beginning of part 2 felt too long and didn’t have any real story progression. At the time of writing this I actually don’t remember much of the second half apart from the real world stuff and the climactic ending. The romance had some interesting moments here and there but when they meet in the real world I felt the writing was pretty cringey.
I was however impressed with the end when Parzival is given the ability to switch off the Oasis entirely. It was an interesting cliffhanger of sorts to wonder if he would press the big red button or not, and also to wonder myself what I would choose if I was in his position.
Upon writing this review Ready Player Two has also been published and I don’t know anything about it. If it’s a direct sequel I’m not sure what the story could be about, the real world stuff could be interesting but otherwise Parzival has completed his mission in the Oasis so what more could occur there? It’s on my to-read list but I’m not sure If I can be bothered to care about it just yet.
Ps. I wasn’t a fan of the unusual chapter structure and names. It doesn’t make it easy when trying to refer back to a specific moment.