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Ready Player One
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About the author
Ernest Cline
15 books28.2k followersERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists, and is set to be adapted into a motion picture by Warner Bros. and director Steven Spielberg. His second novel, ARMADA, debuted at #4 on the NYT Bestseller list and is being made into a film by Universal Pictures. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2025
I chose this novel because I had originally seen the movie directed by Steven Spielberg, not knowing that it was based on a book. I enjoyed the movie, so I decided to read the book it was based on. I had heard that the story had some changes, but I wasn't expecting many big ones. This intrigued me even more. I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading and getting deeper into the story.
This book takes place in a dystopian world where energy is limited and war rids the world; the only real escape people have is in a video game created by James Halliday called the OASIS. James Halliday makes billions on his game because being in the OASIS has become what it is; everything is done there: school, making friends, business, anything. When James Halliday dies, he leaves a trial for the world to inherit his fortune and total control of what is considered the most valuable asset in the world. To complete the trials and the egg hunt, as it became called, the world reverted to peak 80s culture because Halliday was infatuated with the times he grew up in. No one solves anything in the puzzle for almost 5 years. The main character, Wade, is a loser teenager who’s got nothing to lose. He’s a Halliday scholar and is shown to know every bit of 80s pop culture and obscure knowledge about Halliday in order to win the hunt. The story follows his journey of finding each key and gate needed to complete the Easter egg hunt. He makes friends, finds love, and goes up against an evil corporation, IOI, that stops at nothing to win control over the OASIS. The book reflects on how he isolates himself and the consequences of that; it shows his struggles when he finds dead ends that lead to nothing, and his learning that he needs to face what’s scariest to him, reality. In the end, it becomes a close and heated race to the finish, where he realizes that the only way to beat IOI is to rely on help from the community of egg hunters. It is through an epic battle and final series of trials that lead Wade through Halliday’s own journey of discovery to realize how he wants the world to truly be and how he will run the OASIS.
Many things worked well in Ready Player One; one big thing is shining a light on his struggle to balance finding the egg and his relationships, especially since everyone, including his friends, is competing against him. I thought the way Ernest does this in part two really makes you, the reader, feel just as isolated. But he doesn’t always fully out right say Wade is lonely, Ernest very skillfully shows and not tells. Also, In the story, Wade goes on little tangents about little details about pop culture, his real world and it’s problems (through these snippets you learn a little bit about what happened to cause all the chaos), and facts about Halliday. Through the tangents, you really see how much research he had put in before the book started and how obsessive and stalky Wade is. It shows Wade isn’t a perfect guy, he’s a bit weird and awkward. Another detail I like is that, you can tell how much research and memory searching Ernest Cline had to do; he was like Halliday and grew up in the 80s, but probably still had to do some soul-searching and web surfing to get all the good juicy references. Like again, I really liked how different the movie and book were from each other, all the challenges were different, and a good chunk of the book was taken out for the movie.
Ready Player One isn't perfect, at times it felt a little draggy or Ernest goes too long on tangents about little details. Also, some things like prizes and artifacts Wade gets don’t feel fully used to how much it feels like it could be used. I found myself at times finding some parts predictable as well. Going back to some parts being draggy, some scenes and descriptions of things are really vague and some are super detailed. There feels like a limited amount of imagination space you could use, but still not enough detail to properly imagine a scene like Wade’s apartment. Some parts also feel rushed, many of the side quests Wade goes on feels more summarized and not actually written.
In the end I did really enjoy reading this, the side commentary random obscure references that I did understand helped me stay engaged and entertained. I highly recommend reading this on a short vacation in-between activities, it’s easy to pick up and put down then pick up again and know exactly what’s going on. It’s definitely a very fun book.
This book takes place in a dystopian world where energy is limited and war rids the world; the only real escape people have is in a video game created by James Halliday called the OASIS. James Halliday makes billions on his game because being in the OASIS has become what it is; everything is done there: school, making friends, business, anything. When James Halliday dies, he leaves a trial for the world to inherit his fortune and total control of what is considered the most valuable asset in the world. To complete the trials and the egg hunt, as it became called, the world reverted to peak 80s culture because Halliday was infatuated with the times he grew up in. No one solves anything in the puzzle for almost 5 years. The main character, Wade, is a loser teenager who’s got nothing to lose. He’s a Halliday scholar and is shown to know every bit of 80s pop culture and obscure knowledge about Halliday in order to win the hunt. The story follows his journey of finding each key and gate needed to complete the Easter egg hunt. He makes friends, finds love, and goes up against an evil corporation, IOI, that stops at nothing to win control over the OASIS. The book reflects on how he isolates himself and the consequences of that; it shows his struggles when he finds dead ends that lead to nothing, and his learning that he needs to face what’s scariest to him, reality. In the end, it becomes a close and heated race to the finish, where he realizes that the only way to beat IOI is to rely on help from the community of egg hunters. It is through an epic battle and final series of trials that lead Wade through Halliday’s own journey of discovery to realize how he wants the world to truly be and how he will run the OASIS.
Many things worked well in Ready Player One; one big thing is shining a light on his struggle to balance finding the egg and his relationships, especially since everyone, including his friends, is competing against him. I thought the way Ernest does this in part two really makes you, the reader, feel just as isolated. But he doesn’t always fully out right say Wade is lonely, Ernest very skillfully shows and not tells. Also, In the story, Wade goes on little tangents about little details about pop culture, his real world and it’s problems (through these snippets you learn a little bit about what happened to cause all the chaos), and facts about Halliday. Through the tangents, you really see how much research he had put in before the book started and how obsessive and stalky Wade is. It shows Wade isn’t a perfect guy, he’s a bit weird and awkward. Another detail I like is that, you can tell how much research and memory searching Ernest Cline had to do; he was like Halliday and grew up in the 80s, but probably still had to do some soul-searching and web surfing to get all the good juicy references. Like again, I really liked how different the movie and book were from each other, all the challenges were different, and a good chunk of the book was taken out for the movie.
Ready Player One isn't perfect, at times it felt a little draggy or Ernest goes too long on tangents about little details. Also, some things like prizes and artifacts Wade gets don’t feel fully used to how much it feels like it could be used. I found myself at times finding some parts predictable as well. Going back to some parts being draggy, some scenes and descriptions of things are really vague and some are super detailed. There feels like a limited amount of imagination space you could use, but still not enough detail to properly imagine a scene like Wade’s apartment. Some parts also feel rushed, many of the side quests Wade goes on feels more summarized and not actually written.
In the end I did really enjoy reading this, the side commentary random obscure references that I did understand helped me stay engaged and entertained. I highly recommend reading this on a short vacation in-between activities, it’s easy to pick up and put down then pick up again and know exactly what’s going on. It’s definitely a very fun book.
December 8, 2025
loved it!
October 4, 2025
Ready Player One, a sci-fi book written by Author Ernest Cline, is a story that unveils how society can revolve around a virtual reality game. He introduces the protagonist named Wade Watts, who's an orphan teenager yet a intelligent OASIS (the famous virtual game within the story) player and a huge fan for Halliday, the creator of the OASIS. The setting takes place within a dystopian society in 2045, where the world has became a dark and environmentally ill place due to overpopulation, economic decline, and climate change. The Oasis was then made to become a shared virtual reality game, or a vast online universe where many individuals can come to play, work, go to school, and even work within this digital software. Though unfortunately, the owner, Halliday, had eventually passed away, leaving the Oasis as a vacuum without an owner to oversee it. From this, a hunt for easter eggs had been established following Halliday death, it was a scavenger event to search for clues and keys in order to find these easter eggs, thus being granted tremendous fortune and ownership of the entire OASIS. Hearing this news, Wade Watts a dedicated gamer and intellectual teenager, has sought to hunt for these easter eggs to claim the prize himself. Along with many other plays known as Gunters, who commit themselves to finding these fortunes as well. The author then introduces the Antagonist known as Nolan Sorrento, who is a CEO of the IOI industries (head of oology), a cunning business man who also seeks for these easter eggs to grow his companies wealth and control over the OASIS.
This novel of Ready Player One provides mix feelings of fictional dystopian, adventures from video games, and a pop cultural nostalgia. As this story centers a teenager, Wade Watts, it really displays the dedication of gamers throughout the globe. I would say that the biggest strength that this book offers is its world-building, the creation of the OASIS really enables the existences of two worlds between digital and reality. Futuristic software's have served as a way to escape from the real world, from which many gain true contentment from. Having the Halliday's easter egg hunt through clues based on pop cultures and references from classical movies, music's, and video games have demonstrated the authors love for that period. Though the plot may been fast paced, I personally still found excitement out of it, often finding interest for what adventures lies ahead after each moment of the story.
But in spite of that, there were some weaknesses and plot holes I notice from this novel. First was the antagonist Nolan Sorrento and his IOI company, I questioned towards the incompetence and lack of resources that he could have possibly used. The plot made it so that a bunch of teenagers could outsmart a major company and a businessman with unlimited resources he could've used. Theoretically, IOI could've maximize their resources and endless manpower to solve for its clues and most likely succeed in the hunt. I then also wonder about the hunt's difficulty when it came to being unknowned for about five years, then all of a sudden Wade Watts was able to discover the first clue/key, which became much easier right after. It just puzzles me if the first clue was meant to be the hardest to find, laying groundwork for making the rest easier. But then aside from its plot holes, I would criticize the population and individuals within the story. This novel showed that many people tend to care more about in-game situations rather than issues about the reality of their world. Such as overpopulation, global warming, and poverty, it felt like society had neglected these responsibilities of caring for their planet. I felt that maybe the author could have focused more on dealing with their crumpling reality, shifting more away from video games and instead rebuild as community.
All in All, the book Ready Player One turned out to be a sophisticated narrative towards the side of video games. Displaying the joyment of gaming and pop culture at the same time of having to warn us about the consequences from extreme use. I also come to understand how the story can anticipate the future of digital games, and how it can become enforced into our lives. I would recommend this story to many readers who are fond of video games, together with how cultures can come to make it more intriguing.
This novel of Ready Player One provides mix feelings of fictional dystopian, adventures from video games, and a pop cultural nostalgia. As this story centers a teenager, Wade Watts, it really displays the dedication of gamers throughout the globe. I would say that the biggest strength that this book offers is its world-building, the creation of the OASIS really enables the existences of two worlds between digital and reality. Futuristic software's have served as a way to escape from the real world, from which many gain true contentment from. Having the Halliday's easter egg hunt through clues based on pop cultures and references from classical movies, music's, and video games have demonstrated the authors love for that period. Though the plot may been fast paced, I personally still found excitement out of it, often finding interest for what adventures lies ahead after each moment of the story.
But in spite of that, there were some weaknesses and plot holes I notice from this novel. First was the antagonist Nolan Sorrento and his IOI company, I questioned towards the incompetence and lack of resources that he could have possibly used. The plot made it so that a bunch of teenagers could outsmart a major company and a businessman with unlimited resources he could've used. Theoretically, IOI could've maximize their resources and endless manpower to solve for its clues and most likely succeed in the hunt. I then also wonder about the hunt's difficulty when it came to being unknowned for about five years, then all of a sudden Wade Watts was able to discover the first clue/key, which became much easier right after. It just puzzles me if the first clue was meant to be the hardest to find, laying groundwork for making the rest easier. But then aside from its plot holes, I would criticize the population and individuals within the story. This novel showed that many people tend to care more about in-game situations rather than issues about the reality of their world. Such as overpopulation, global warming, and poverty, it felt like society had neglected these responsibilities of caring for their planet. I felt that maybe the author could have focused more on dealing with their crumpling reality, shifting more away from video games and instead rebuild as community.
All in All, the book Ready Player One turned out to be a sophisticated narrative towards the side of video games. Displaying the joyment of gaming and pop culture at the same time of having to warn us about the consequences from extreme use. I also come to understand how the story can anticipate the future of digital games, and how it can become enforced into our lives. I would recommend this story to many readers who are fond of video games, together with how cultures can come to make it more intriguing.
October 8, 2025
The story takes place in the future 2044 where everyone uses a virtual reality device to do everything. It was called the OASIS created by James Halliday, a brilliant but eccentric programmer. To win the prize in the OASIS you must gather the three keys to the gates. In his will it says once you unlock the gate you get a lot of money, and you inherit the OASIS. Wade Watts, a young Gunter (which means egg hunter in the book) goes on a quest to find the keys. He becomes the first person in 5 years to find the bronze key which catches the IOI's attention, and they place a hit on him.
The IOI are the main protagonist of the book, and they hire people to find the keys. The theme of the story is reality vs escapism. Oftentimes Wade Watts finds himself wanting to escape reality in order to not deal with his life in reality. The author emphasizes this by describing Wade Watts physique. He's described as overweight, so the author wants us to assume Watts got this physique by not caring about his real life health, and his overuse of the OASIS. Wade Watts eventually gets skinnier showing how he progresses as a character.
On to the actual review, Ready Player One is a gold mine of 80s pop culture, despite the story taking place sixty years in the future. The world building is fantastic there's so many places due to that vastness of the OASIS. I really like the strong connection the book has with real life. It really highlights the ongoing problem of kids, or just people in general overusing technology instead of enjoying outside things. There is a problem I have though, in the book you'd assume the main cooperate master in IOI has to have some kind of education in technology, but he gets outsmarted by a fat kid who lives in the slums. I do know that Wadd Watts is a genius but there is no way he should be outsmarting adults who have lived longer and have full college degrees.
I'd like to touch on how long it took for the first person to find the first clue to James Haliday's challenge. Your telling me it took a full 5 years to find a clue in a game. I do know the game is very big, but James Halliday gives you clues in his memories in order to help guide you. There's no way Wade Watts is the only James Haliday mega fan to know what games he liked playing as a kid there's just no way. It shouldn't take 5 years to find three clues let alone one. People in real life with today's technology can find clues in a new game within a week, and you're telling me it took 5 years for almost the whole world to find one clue. I get that people eventually started giving up, but come on it shouldn't have taken you so long to find one clue when you can access memories of the owner.
Overall the world building and the themes of the book are top tier. It relates to the targeted audience and I really like it, but there's just that one thing that makes me question the brains of the people in Ready Player One.
The IOI are the main protagonist of the book, and they hire people to find the keys. The theme of the story is reality vs escapism. Oftentimes Wade Watts finds himself wanting to escape reality in order to not deal with his life in reality. The author emphasizes this by describing Wade Watts physique. He's described as overweight, so the author wants us to assume Watts got this physique by not caring about his real life health, and his overuse of the OASIS. Wade Watts eventually gets skinnier showing how he progresses as a character.
On to the actual review, Ready Player One is a gold mine of 80s pop culture, despite the story taking place sixty years in the future. The world building is fantastic there's so many places due to that vastness of the OASIS. I really like the strong connection the book has with real life. It really highlights the ongoing problem of kids, or just people in general overusing technology instead of enjoying outside things. There is a problem I have though, in the book you'd assume the main cooperate master in IOI has to have some kind of education in technology, but he gets outsmarted by a fat kid who lives in the slums. I do know that Wadd Watts is a genius but there is no way he should be outsmarting adults who have lived longer and have full college degrees.
I'd like to touch on how long it took for the first person to find the first clue to James Haliday's challenge. Your telling me it took a full 5 years to find a clue in a game. I do know the game is very big, but James Halliday gives you clues in his memories in order to help guide you. There's no way Wade Watts is the only James Haliday mega fan to know what games he liked playing as a kid there's just no way. It shouldn't take 5 years to find three clues let alone one. People in real life with today's technology can find clues in a new game within a week, and you're telling me it took 5 years for almost the whole world to find one clue. I get that people eventually started giving up, but come on it shouldn't have taken you so long to find one clue when you can access memories of the owner.
Overall the world building and the themes of the book are top tier. It relates to the targeted audience and I really like it, but there's just that one thing that makes me question the brains of the people in Ready Player One.
November 6, 2025
Ready Player One is a book that has received numerous awards. The author of the book is Ernest Cline. The book takes place in a dystopian future where a billionaire named James Haliday created a contest for his will after he died. This contest takes place in an impoverished world that is obsessed with a virtual world called the Oasis, which was created by James Haliday, the contest host. What happens is a poor teenager named Wade Watts is obsessed with finding the keys to the contest, and millions of people are, during the book, with the help of his online friends, they win the contest by defeating an evil corporation. The major idea of the book is not to let technology control you. Ready Player One is an enjoyable book with lots of descriptive detail and an interesting storyline.
A major point about Ready Player One is that the intent of the author when writing this story was to show how over-reliance can negatively impact a society. This is shown throughout the entire book, shown by this quote, "Sometime later, she leaned over and kissed me... It felt wonderful. It occurred to me that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the oasis" (Cline 372). This quote shows that the author expressed his own feelings through the character that real-world experiences are better than virtual ones, which supports the point of not over-relying on technology. Another major point is that the book is that the protagonist, Wade Watts, has a bleak view of the world. This is supported by the quote, "Human civilization is in 'decline'... what happens when you die... nothing happens... there's no evidence of heaven and the never was" (Cline 18). This is Wade Watts' negative outlook on life, and how he does not see any good in the world, and how he has no faith in God to support him.
The first point was that the author uses the protagonist's experiences to express the idea that real-life experiences are more valuable the virtual ones, and that humans should not become overly dependent on technology. Another point is that Wade Watts has a melancholy view of the world because he does not have faith that life is better after death and believes in no God, and because he does not see any good in the world. Ready Player One is a terrific book because of its extreme detail and interesting plot development. I would give it 10/10 stars.
A major point about Ready Player One is that the intent of the author when writing this story was to show how over-reliance can negatively impact a society. This is shown throughout the entire book, shown by this quote, "Sometime later, she leaned over and kissed me... It felt wonderful. It occurred to me that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the oasis" (Cline 372). This quote shows that the author expressed his own feelings through the character that real-world experiences are better than virtual ones, which supports the point of not over-relying on technology. Another major point is that the book is that the protagonist, Wade Watts, has a bleak view of the world. This is supported by the quote, "Human civilization is in 'decline'... what happens when you die... nothing happens... there's no evidence of heaven and the never was" (Cline 18). This is Wade Watts' negative outlook on life, and how he does not see any good in the world, and how he has no faith in God to support him.
The first point was that the author uses the protagonist's experiences to express the idea that real-life experiences are more valuable the virtual ones, and that humans should not become overly dependent on technology. Another point is that Wade Watts has a melancholy view of the world because he does not have faith that life is better after death and believes in no God, and because he does not see any good in the world. Ready Player One is a terrific book because of its extreme detail and interesting plot development. I would give it 10/10 stars.
December 8, 2025
James valles
Mr.Hart
English 3
12/5/25
Firstly, In the Novel “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, I like the theme of Isolation. For instance when Wade was thinking about his childhood, “Luckily, I had access to OASIS, which was like having an escape hatch into a better reality.” (Cline 18). This shows that Wade has been isolated from his harsh reality compared to the utopia that is the OASIS.
Secondly, the use of crisis is excellent. For example when Wade had made a decision against the IOI. “They sure as hell weren’t going to give me five million dollars, or leave me alive to tell the media how IOI had blackmailed me. Especially if there really was a remote-control bomb planted in my trailer to serve as evidence. No.” (cline 144) This shows that Wade chose to make a decision that would have consequences.
Furthermore, I am impressed by the characterization. For example, when Wade had got out of the immersion bay, “It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the OASIS.” (Cline 368) This shows that Wade is dynamic since Wade had changed to not having a desire for the OASIS.
Likewise, When Sorrento had tried to bribe Wade “there are billions of dollars at stake here, along with control of one of the world’s most profitable corporations, and of the OASIS itself.” (Cline 144) This shows that Sorrento is static since he continued to be manipulated.
Lastly, the use of imagery is outstanding. For example, when Wade had gotten the Excalibur guitar in a cave. “I reached out with my right hand, grasped the neck of the guitar, and pulled. The guitar came free of the stone with a prolonged metallic shhingggg!” (Cline 263)
Mr.Hart
English 3
12/5/25
Firstly, In the Novel “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, I like the theme of Isolation. For instance when Wade was thinking about his childhood, “Luckily, I had access to OASIS, which was like having an escape hatch into a better reality.” (Cline 18). This shows that Wade has been isolated from his harsh reality compared to the utopia that is the OASIS.
Secondly, the use of crisis is excellent. For example when Wade had made a decision against the IOI. “They sure as hell weren’t going to give me five million dollars, or leave me alive to tell the media how IOI had blackmailed me. Especially if there really was a remote-control bomb planted in my trailer to serve as evidence. No.” (cline 144) This shows that Wade chose to make a decision that would have consequences.
Furthermore, I am impressed by the characterization. For example, when Wade had got out of the immersion bay, “It occurred to me then that for the first time in as long as I could remember, I had absolutely no desire to log back into the OASIS.” (Cline 368) This shows that Wade is dynamic since Wade had changed to not having a desire for the OASIS.
Likewise, When Sorrento had tried to bribe Wade “there are billions of dollars at stake here, along with control of one of the world’s most profitable corporations, and of the OASIS itself.” (Cline 144) This shows that Sorrento is static since he continued to be manipulated.
Lastly, the use of imagery is outstanding. For example, when Wade had gotten the Excalibur guitar in a cave. “I reached out with my right hand, grasped the neck of the guitar, and pulled. The guitar came free of the stone with a prolonged metallic shhingggg!” (Cline 263)
January 3, 2026
Fun story. But I struggled with suspending belief, even if it is science fiction.
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