Ready Player One

By: Ernest Cline

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

“Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly

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

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.

When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself.

Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • San Francisco Chronicle • Village Voice • Chicago Sun-Times • iO9 • The AV Club

“Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”—HuffPost

“An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN

“A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”—Boston Globe

“Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR

“[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”—iO9

©2011 Ernest Cline (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

2017, Laura Hillenbrand Outstanding Literary Award, Winner

“The science-fiction writer John Scalzi has aptly referred to Ready Player One as a ‘nerdgasm’ [and] there can be no better one-word description of this ardent fantasy artifact about fantasy culture. . . . But Mr. Cline is able to incorporate his favorite toys and games into a perfectly accessible narrative.” (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

“This non-gamer loved every page of Ready Player One.” (Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series)

Wow. Great story!

I get bored very easily and I struggle to finish many books. There were some parts of the book that dragged, especially when listing out the scoreboard, or when going into too much detail about certain things, but it was such a good story.

Loved it !!!

I enjoyed Ready Player One so much I listened to it twice. Then I seen the movie, sorry the book was a 💯 times better.

Fun story

I enjoyed listening to Will Wheaton's narrative... found myself looking for reasons to open Audible because this sorry was so engaging.

Outstanding.

Simply outstanding. conjured up so many memories and beloved pop culture/gaming moments. best book I have read/listened to possibly ever. Now.....Ready Player Two Wade.

Great story

Loved it. Very creative. I have never read a book like this before. Great characters and twists.

Amazing Read

This was a huge page turner, minus the pages of course. I didn't want to stop listening and just kept going. Great nostalgia feeling from my own childhood and gaming years. Great read, highly recommend.

Book is always better than the movie

If you enjoyed the movie, prepare for a completely different experience as it appears that the movie is loosely based upon it. While I did enjoy the movie, the book was hard to shut off so as I only listen to audible as I'm doing housework/yardwork, I found myself looking for extra work to do so I could continue to listen as players contended for control of Haliday's creation, the oasis, while fending off the corporation attempting to gain control for their own profit. Control that if gained, would completely change the Oasis into a commercial paradise unattainable for the common masses, reserved only for those who could afford the new & extremely high costs(kind of like Disney has become). A true gem that will be a pleasure to listen to again & again

First-time Sci-fi listen

I downloaded this title upon recommendation from a friend at work. Is sat in my library for over a month before I decided to give it a try. The premise behind the story is fabulous, and the book is very well written. This will not be my last sci-fi book.

Better in every way to the movie.

I had the great fortune to hear this book before seeing the movie. Most books are better than their movie but there is hardly any comparison with Ready Player One. If you grew up in the 80s and / or are a gamer you should love this story. I hated the movie so much, I had to re-listen to the book to help forget the lie that was created on the big screen. If you have already seen the movie you should still enjoy the book more. It is a better story.

Nothing Like The Movie!

This is one of the few books where I watched the movie before reading (listening) to the book. This is nothing like the movie! I see now, that they took many liberties with the movie. Most of the events were altered in some way or changed completely! And even the tone of the storyline has a different feel. I usually know going into a book after seeing the movie first that some things might be changed, but this one actually surprised me with how different it is. So if you're going into it thinking it'll be similar, be prepared.

There are many 80's pop culture and old school video game references, so anyone growing up in the 70's and 80's should get a kick at the throwbacks. Wil Wheaton does a decent enough job portraying the characters, though at times misses a couple moments of Japanese accents. All in all, it was worth a listen to if you're into the concept of the storyline. But I think the next time I find myself looking for a refresh on this story, I'll probably just watch the movie again.