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)

Wil Wheaton for President

I am not sure if it was by design or by chance, but Wil Wheaton as a cameo character and being the Narrator is great fun! this book satisfies my inner geek as well as my nostalgic heart!

every mans dream....!!!!

Why i delayed listen to this book i will never know, i loved it! the book starts
you out in a post, worldwide, natural disaster. But you quickly come to realize
that the story is not just some predictable apocalyptic themed book, but is more
about the world of the virtual reality in games. unfortunately I couldn't give Wil
Wheaton 5 stars. Now don't get me wrong he has a very nice voice to listen to,
and does a great job of showing emotion in his charterers (when it needs to be).
The only problem i found, was when he would read a female voice it was hard to
distinguish for a male voice, so they both sounded exactly the same.

The story for sure deserves the 5 stars given to it. it was flawlessly written and
always had me on the edge of my seat. Ernest Cline was clearly a deep thinking
writer.

If your any cine of gamer, geek, or nerd you will love it, or if you grew up in the
80s you will especially love it. it talks a lot about video games and the history of
video games in the 80s, witch i fond very interesting.

This story will definitely be moved to my top 3 stores in my library. only one
credit for over 15 hours of escape into an awesome story? very worth it!!!

My new favorite author!

I am a certified nerd girl! I love anything to do with pop culture, movies, music, comics and most importantly, video games, espically if they have to do with the 80's. So I was excited to say the least for this book to come out and I was NOT disapointed! This book totally spoke my lanuage, it took all my favorite things and mashed them up into one book. There was an early scene where the main character describes the feeling of playing videogames that made my hand fidget and start looking for the nearest controller. You could definatly feel the authors love for the subject matter in every chapter. Also, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention Wil Wheaton's narroration, which made the book a blast to listen to! This was by far my favorite book I've listened to this year. So please Ernest Cline, from the bottom of my nerdie heart, write another book and soon!

Pulse-pounding, Addictive, and Delightful!

I love this book on so many levels. I have 470+ audible books. Written less than 10 reviews. I considered getting this one about 6 times before I finally used a credit and boy am I glad I did.

I LOVE this book in at least the following ways :
(1) good characters – like all of the best books, it becomes easy to root for the protagonists and characters. The main protagonist is smart but young. He’s imperfect, easy to root for, but also very skilled. He also has opportunities to take an easy path or do the right thing several times and his choices seem human and believable to me.

(2) good world building – this story takes place in a world that is so much like our own, but not far off from where could end up within a few years. What you get is a sense of the direction we may be heading technologically, socially, governmentally, and economically. This makes the “world” created in the story feel possible, and almost realistic, at the same time it is a fantastical alternate reality that is cleverly built.

(3) plot, tension, and captivating story – this story MOVED for me. It was so engaging. The dual levels of the characters “searching” for the easter egg and doing so with competition drives this along, thanks to excellent pacing by the author in terms of when to speed up time, or focus in on event.

(4) cultural references – a lot of great references to the 80s, as others have written. The juxtaposition of the 80s which seems this time of purity, family values, and prosperity, with now and with the alternate reality created in the book is skillfully done.

In short, get this story.

NARRATION: I will say for me that as opposed to other books, I was a bit neutral on the narrator. What was great, is that there was not a lot to complain about. I didn’t “notice” the narration like I did in those books/narrators who can become annoying. But for me at least, it didn’t stand out as a reason to get this book either. This is in fact, why I put off getting this audiobook for so long. PLEASE learn from my mistake! Get this delightful story, which is so fully enthralling, that I actually sped up the narration speed some times just to try to know what happened next even more quickly.

What a great story! I look forward to listening to this story again and again. There is no greater compliment than that!

Scintillating Nostalgia and a Cracking Good Story

Wil Wheaton's enthusiastic presentation is energized because these characters are his people and The Oasis--the total immersion game world in which the story mostly occurs--is a world to which he completely relates. Ernie Cline has lovingly created two worlds--the Oasis and the real world of the mid-21st century. His characters are engaging and the story moves quickly with enough twists and turns to carry the listener along even though the happy ending seems inevitable. Very impressive are the multitude of references to the video game, music, film and television culture of the 80s. You don't have to be a gamer to relate to the story, but undoubtedly it will enhance the experience. Consider this, in part, an entertaining 80s cultural time capsule that just happens to take place thirty years in the future and in a virtual universe.

Across the board 5-star book!!

This book was the most fun and engaging listen I can remember! I loved everything about it--the story, the character development, the ending, and the narrator. I found nothing lacking. And--I am not an 80's trivia junkie either. It was just a really enjoyable ride!

An Unexpected Delight!

For the life of me I can't figure out how I learned about "Ready Player One." I think I went through one of those lulls where I couldn't find a story I was interested in and said to hell with it and tried something from totally out in left field.

I am so glad I did. This story by Cline is outstanding. This is particularly surprising because the story is about an Oklahoma City nerd who lives in a dystopian future where the only thing he has going for him is that he loves the "Oasis" video game that the whole world plays and he is committed to finding the treasure hidden in the game by its eccentric developer - who made everything revolve around 1980's trivia. Even though I am not a gamer and I do not identify with nerds or the 1980's, I loved this story. Who would have known that someone could listen hour after hour about absurd developments in the "Oasis" and be so captured. So inventive, clever, and funny. The narration is very well done.

Take a risk - you won't be disappointed - this one is an unexpected delight!

Great Fun

I liked this for the same reason I enjoy Terry Brooks... it was entertaining. Sometimes we just need to be brainless and have a good ride.

Excellent nostalgia with a great sci-fi story

EW placed this book as one of the best books published in 2011, so I went in search of it. After reading the premise I was intrigued. But when I found out that Wil Wheaton was the narrator, I had to listen to the audio book. Ernest Cline creates a character driven story that just happens to take place in the Oasis -- a virtual reality internet type place where you can do anything -- a sort of proto-Holodeck. Motivated by connections - albeit cyber and not necessarily personal, Cline builds a bildungsroman in a cyber-world of competition, infatuation, and ultimately an adventure. Wil Wheaton is the perfect guide to this world via audio and his performance needs to be lauded.

An 80's nerdgasm

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would. I would especially recommend it to anyone born in the late 70s or 80s. The author's love of the 80s is apparent and enjoyable too.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ready Player One?

There are so many good moments in the book from an allusion to the movie "Heathers" to the happy and warm way the book ended (as well as the parts leading up to it). I love Wade's perfect playing of pac-man as well.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

The fact that Wil Wheaton is narrating. No-one more perfect exists to read this. He's a kid of the 80s as well as a star of one of the most important 80s television shows that exists. Also, he has to make a joke about himself in the book which was just pure awesomeness.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The very ending.

Any additional comments?

Read this. Just read this. Just don't if you're not into 80s pop-culture.