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)

SUCH A GREAT LISTEN

Having seen the movie first...figured I'd listen to the book. SO MUCH more detail.....and made me really dissapointed the movie didn't do a better job in movie version. Worth a download for sure!

Excellent! Exciting! Great story!

Excellent read amd it was even better than the movie. There was way more details and character development in the book than in the movie.

Wow! Far better than the movie

I listened to this audio title after having been a huge fan of the movie. I saw it first and I’ve seen it multiple times.
In my opinion, while vastly different from the film, this audiobook is amazing. I couldn’t stop listening. The book takes you deeper into the mind of the characters, their backstories and their relationships.
Kline’s writing and Will Wheaton’s adaptation of the dialogue kept me riveted to this title.
It is a WIN for any SyFy fans or 80’s trivia enthusiasts out there. It sure took me back.

Great movie, great book!!

Great book! I been playing video games since the late 70s and i can relate to alot of the video games mentioned in the book, brings back nostalgia! I've played World Of Warcraft since 2004 and Oasis sounds alot like my days in WOW. if your a gamer you need to read this book.

Will Wheaton Delivers

The skill, knowledge and situational awareness of Will in this performance made this a “can’t put down” audible. Highly recommend this to any fan of sci-fi or 80’s nostalgia.

I couldn't stop once I started!

Loved it! It's the first audio I listened to non-stop except a couple hours sleep. NOW, I'll watch the movie

great book

great book and will did an amazing job with the reading. loved the whole thing.

5 stars

I loved every aspect of this book! From the story to the narrator! It's one of the best I've ever read.

yes

Wheaton is the most appropriate narrator for this novel. Great performance and great novel. The narrative is frustrating sometimes but makes up for any shortcomings and predictability with fun.

Mega-Nostalgia

As someone who grew up in this era, this book was an amazing reminder of things I thought were lost and forgotten. Ernest Cline managed to capture all of the emotions an 80s child would have experienced and wrote it into an amazing nostalgia piece. To cap it off, Will Wheaton's narration was fantastic. I look forward to more of his narrations in the future.