Ready Player One

by Cline, Ernest
ISBN: 9781524763282
4.6 (13)
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Used - Mass Market Paperback - 9781524763282

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Overview

Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read

The bestselling cult classic--now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut--part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.

It's the year 2045, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?

  • Format: MassMarketPaperback
  • Author: Cline, Ernest
  • ISBN: 9781524763282
  • Condition: Used
  • Dimensions: 7.50 x 1.40
  • Number Of Pages: 608
  • Publication Year: 2017

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4.6
13 Ratings

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  • Get Ready To Be Amazed

    Marissa T. - 10 months ago

    The book is set in a possible future where fuel has run out, and humanity is clinging on to the only rope of hope they have: living in a virtual reality. If you grew up in the eighties, this book is one you should read and think back to the fond memories of playing the first Atari or singing along to the amazing soundtrack of a John Hughes film. The character development was slow, but eventually Wade learns not only does he have to survive in the game system, but he also has to fight for his survival in the real world. Hints of love give the sappy reader something to fight for, and the adventure-loving readers are not disappointed. Although this book starts off slow, once the first key is found, it is a riveting, page-turner and I highly recommend it. Many people will say it is a Harry Potter for grownups. Disregard it. Let this book stand tall in its own genre and in its own right. It certainly has got the power to do so.

    HPB Staff Review

  • No one in the world gets what they want and that is beautiful.

    Samantha C. - 1 year 5 months ago

    Ready Player One is a fascinating story of a young man in the year 2045, who has grown up in the midst of an energy crisis, in poverty, with no chance for a better life. His only escape is the Oasis - a virtual utopia where so much more is possible. His avatar is still bound by his social class, but things are not nearly so hopeless in the Oasis as they are in the real world. This is primarily because the creator of the Oasis, who has just died, states in his will that the first player to wind their way through a series of puzzles will inherit his entire fortune and the rights to the Oasis. There is lighthearted hilarity, fierce competition and lots of '80s nostalgia. This book didn't read so much like a sci-fi novel as it did a story of fighting for the ones you love, for your life and for the good of all humanity.

    HPB Staff Review

  • Similar to the Matrix but with tons of 80's reference!

    Marrong T. - 1 year 8 months ago

    For videogame, sci-fi, and 80's media enthusiasts. Ernest Cline paints a fantastic picture of Earth's future where the virtual world is more realistic to the main character, Wade Watts than the real one. In the virtual world of OASIS, its creator has set up a contest for whichever player to find his easter egg first, will win all of the creator's fortune. Wade and millions of other players set out on this daunting task to find this highly sought after prize. Funny, exciting, action packed, and nostalgic.

    HPB Staff Review

  • The search for the ultimate easter egg begins here.

    Robert B. - 2 years 2 months ago

    We live in a world where the internet inhabits every part of life. From banking to shopping, on our phones and our music, we are all connected. Flash forward 30 years, imagine that the internet has become a fully interactive, lived-in type of world, where from the comfort of your own home you have the ability to go anywhere, at any time, do anything. Add in some 80s nostalgia and a quirky underdog and you have "Ready Player One." This book will suck in any reader that grew up in the 1980s, played video games, or lives in todays world of the internet. An easy read and thrilling as well, this is a book you won't put down until you are finished. And with a 2017 Stephen Spielberg directed film coming soon, better to read it now before then. This is a book that any movie adaptation will lose a great deal of in context and subject matter, so read it before its too late and get your name on the high score board.

    HPB Staff Review

  • More than just video games, you're in for a surprise.

    James C. - 2 years 3 months ago

    A friend recommended this book to me giving me almost no details about it. "You love video games, so you'll love this book." I gave it a shot and was hooked within the first chapter. What my friend neglected to mention is that, while video games do play a large role in the story, this book is homage to all of the video games, comics, movies, books, TV shows and movies from the mid 70s on with a very large focus on the 80s. Seeing references to everything from Ultraman to ACDC, Star Wars to Lord Of the Rings, Adventure for the Atari 2600 to Kurt Vonnegut, Back to the Future to Spider-Man. Author Ernest Cline definitely shows his love of pop-culture from the past several decades in this book, and seeing such a fantastic sci-fi adventure unfold in a way that was exciting, engaging and entertaining, this guy has me interested to see his potential as an author. Unbelievably surprising and excellent first book, I'm excited to start his second book, Armada, next. This story is about a video game genius, James Halliday, who created the OASIS, an unbelievably real VR game that became the center for gaming, education, business, entertainment and, most importantly, an escape from the ever declining quality of life during the energy crisis in the not too distant future. Upon his death in the mid 21st century, his will was released stating that whoever found the, "Easter egg," (a set of three different keys which open three hidden gates leading to the egg,) would win control of his company, his vast fortune, and most importantly, control of the OASIS. Halliday left clues to find the egg, all of which are steeped in pop-culture from his favorite time period; the 1980s. Video games, books, movies, music, shows, all of it will help unravel the clues to the egg and all its glory. But when an evil corporation, Innovative Online Industries, wants to win so they can start charging for access to the free OASIS, they do everything from cheating, bribing, bullying and even murder in the real world to try to win the contest. The Egg Hunt goes from a friendly competition to the most dangerous video game ever made. Our hero, Wade (or Parzival as he is known inside of the OASIS,) and his friends are on the hunt for the egg trying to avoid IOI and win the contest to keep the OASIS safe and available to everyone.

    HPB Staff Review