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)

Amazing performance and story

If you've seen the movie, you have to read the book! The nostalgia is on a whole other level! The puzzles are more intrinsic and the book definitely keeps you on your toes.

very well narrated, storyline entertaining

I wanted to listen to the book before watching the movie, best decision ever. I loved the narration too.

Great telling of a modern classic!

Will Wheaton brought this beloved book to life. His reading made the book even more gripping and exciting. Highly recommend!

Thumbs up to that geezer Wil Wheaton

I made sure I read this book before the movie was released, and listened to it after the movie to wash that bad taste out of my mouth. Initially I was skeptical about the Audio Book because I thought Wil Wheaton as a narrator would be a distraction. I was wrong. He knocks this out of the park. Great book and great narration.

Great story, reads better with the pages.

I do a lot of driving/commuting for work which is why i listened to the audio book version. However i believe the flow of the story is better when read yourself rather than listened too. Don't get me wrong, the story was great and I was able to get lost in it toward the end, but it reads better than listened to.

The author goes through great lengths in his story to mention alot of 80's-90's nerd trivia, but when listening to the lists rather than skimming through it, it seems rather excessive and more so disrupts the flow of the story. Whereas if you were reading it you would probably skim over alot if it and it would pass quicker. Same thing goes for a rather integral part of the writing which is the scoreboard at the beginning of each chapter.

Also Wil Wheaton, though he does a great job narrating. He has a voice that once recognized cannot be forgotten. And often i found myself falling back and thinking "huh. It's Wil Wheaton"

Those are my few minor complaints to an overall good story and entertaining listen

fun

fun but long book, wheaton was great. looking forward to other cline works and the movie

Top 20

I was riveted to my Audible App like no other time in recent memory. I mean, it's difficult to get into my top 20 but Ready Player One did it on the first listen. I was enamored immediately by the story, following a future time individual through a nostalgic fantasy world of video games, old computers, giant robots, and romance. Any gamer that has grown up with a keyboard and monitor in front of them will love this title.
Landing at number 13, Ready Player One is my first Audible Sci-Fi selection, so possibly more Sci-Fi titles will make my top 20.
1. Moby Dick – Narrated by: Frank Muller
2. East of Eden – Narrated by: Richard Poe
3. An American Tragedy – Narrated by: Dan John Miller
4. The Goldfinch – Narrated by: David Pittu
5. The Things They Carried – Narrated by: Bryan Cranston
6. Sometimes a Great Notion – Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
7. The Maltese Falcon – Narrated by: Eric Meyers
8. The Good Earth – Narrated by: Anthony Heald
9. Lonesome Dove – Narrated by: Lee Horsley
10. Ironweed – Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
11. Comanche Moon – Narrated by: Frank Muller
12. Suttree – Narrated by: Richard Poe
13. Ready Player One – Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
14. All the Light We Cannot See – Narrated by: Zach Appelman
15. No Country for Old Men – Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
16. The Caine Mutiny – Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau
17. Gone with the Wind – Narrated by: Linda Stephens
18. Angela's Ashes – Narrated by: Frank McCourt, Jeannette Walls – introduction
19. The American – Narrated by: Robin Lawson
20. Oliver Twist – Narrated by: Simon Vance

fantasy/wish fulfilment for nerds

this is like a nerds fanfic, it's fantastic. wish I lived in that world instead of this one

Way better than the Movie.

of course the movie drastically changed the events of the original in this book. sadly I really liked the movie and knew when I listened to this book the movie wouldn't be nearly as good as I used to feel about it. ohh well. I will always have the book too :-)

So. Much. Better. Than. The. Movie.

To start off, I absolutely LOVED the movie. I had no idea it was also a book. When I discovered that it was and that the audiobook was narrated by none other than Will Wheaton. I knew that I HAD to listen to it. And I was not disappointed. I’m a huge Dungeons and Dragons player as well, so finding out that almost the entire first 10 chapters have all sorts of references to that very subject I was beyond excited. The story kept me captivated and I found myself wanting to listen to it every chance I got. This is a must read/listen. If you’re a nerd that loves all things 80s, video games, movies, anime, romance, all of it. You gotta give this book a try! You won’t be disappointed!