• Ready Player One

  • By: Ernest Cline
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (3,096 ratings)

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Ready Player One  By  cover art

Ready Player One

By: Ernest Cline
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Editorial reviews

Earth’s future is bleak in the gripping sci-fi fantasy audiobook Ready Player One, written by the brilliant Ernest Cline and narrated by American actor Wil Wheaton. Set in the near future, most of the human race have locked themselves into a virtual reality to escape the planet that the past generations had destroyed. Within this virtual existence lies the answer to infinite riches and Wade Watts spends every second on the treasure hunt. It is a frenzied race with countless players, all infected with desperation. The danger is intense and will affect them all.

Publisher's summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The book behind the major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

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

It's the year 2044 and the real world has become an ugly place. We're out of oil. We've wrecked the climate. Famine, poverty and disease are widespread.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes this depressing reality by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia where you can be anything you want to be, where you can live and play and fall in love on any of 10,000 planets. And like most of humanity, Wade is obsessed by the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this alternate reality: OASIS founder James Halliday, who dies with no heir, has promised that control of the OASIS - and his massive fortune - will go to the person who can solve the riddles he has left scattered throughout his creation.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that the riddles are based in the culture of the late 20th century. And then Wade stumbles onto the key to the first puzzle.

Suddenly, he finds himself pitted against thousands of competitors in a desperate race to claim the ultimate prize, a chase that soon takes on terrifying real-world dimensions - and that will leave both Wade and his world profoundly changed.

If you loved Ready Player One and can't wait for more, check out Armada, Ernest Cline's latest geek masterpiece!

©2011 Ernest Cline (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, Ready Player One is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut." (Independent)

"Part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart." (CNN)

"Ernest Cline’s novel deserves to be a modern classic." (SciFiNow)

What listeners say about Ready Player One

Average customer ratings
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Where's the sequel?!

This was an incredible book, with both the writing and performance being top-class. I have never read a book much like this, yet I was deeply thrown into the story and really felt for the characters and the world around them.

I would recommend this book to those of you have ever had any interest in computing, retro gaming and retro film. It really is a 80s pop-culture book with an incredible setting and back story.

To be honest, I was upset when the book ended. The only question that came to my mind was: Where is the sequel?!

Hopefully one might be made soon... I know Ernest Cline hasn't ruled it out yet!

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27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Recommended from The Martian - didn't disappoint

I don't think I would have chosen this book had it not been a recommendation from someone after I had read Andy Weir's 'The Martian'. While the setting is very different the heart of the story is similar with the main character struggling to solve problems.
Wil Wheaton gave a fantastic performance and while at the start I associated his voice as his own I quickly became to hear it as the characters'.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

WIL WHEATON IS THE WORST NARRATOR OF ALL TIME!!!

That was the worst narration performance I have ever heard. What a dork.
Stop saying the word "Then" like your whole existance depends on it, it does not fit the storyline.
"AND THEN I sat down" "THEEEEEN I opened the book" "AAAAAAND THEEEEEEEEEEEEN I put my suit on"

The book also sucked. It is like it was written by a elementary kid who got some help from one of his parents to make it have a little bit more substance.

This is one of the few instances where the film is way better than the book.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fun Concepts, Odd Character Responses

I reached a point where I got irritated with the main character (not the performance).

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fun but shallow

Would you try another book from Ernest Cline and/or Wil Wheaton?

Yeh I'd give them a shot but I wouldn't expect depth from Cline. Wheaton was a great narrator - he was perfect for the job.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The VR world was cool and the idea of being able to explore so many worlds.
The least interesting parts where the info dumps. So many info dumps!

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

He was really enthusiastic and got into the story a lot. Very good performance.

Do you think Ready Player One needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It would be good if it examined itself a bit more so if that were to happen I'd give a sequel a shot.

Any additional comments?

Definitely not self aware enough. I find it hard to believe that a few decades on from now we'd be so utterly obsessed with the 80s that we'd build and ENTIRE UNIVERSE dedicated to it. I get it that this book was meant to be a fun romp back into the 80s but it neglected the future aspect of the story a lot. The implications of a society SO stuck in the past - what about the present? What about all those NEW games, books, movies, music vidoes and TV shows?
-- side note - the author likes LISTS a LOT - it got mega irritating him saying "games, books, movies, music vidoes and TV shows" about a hundred times as if he was trying to meet a word count. Give it a rest already!

*cough*
Anywho...it felt like...this book used all the high tech stuff as just an excuse to go back to the 80s and have a giant nerd-gasm about 8bit arcade games 'faded Space Invaders tees'. While it was a fun adventure with some pretty good characters, I felt it ultimately too shallow for my tastes.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Raw nostalgia for a simpler, more offensive age.

I don't know why but audible deleted my last two reviews (they were civil) so I've going to keep this short.

This book is quietly and casually homophobic, sexist, racist and transphobic. The plot is a relentless love letter to the 80s, the last decade when you could be a bigot unchallenged.

For the uncritical mind there is a mediocre cyberpunk adventure to be enjoyed.

it's supposed to be a book for geeks, but if you know that d&d mages don't have healing spells then you know more than Ernest 'Cynical' Cline

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

amazing book!!! sooo much better than the film

i think ive read around 200-300 books (and probably 50-100 audiobooks) and i would honestly say this is by far the best audiobook ive read to date, and as a standalone book its the best ive read. (please note i may be a little biased due to me studying computer science and being a gamer\geek)

will's performance was amazing, i was so surprised at how well he brought the book to life. when it comes to an audiobook, the narrators job is to help bring the emotions, suspense, anxiety, and elation that the author is trying to portray, and he did that to perfection.

this is the first 5* review ive ever given, and its worth every one of them. i just wish the book had of been just 1 extra chapter, although in my heart i knew it was the right time to end the book... i just wanted more!!!

i would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, i dont know what more to say as i dont want to mention anything about the story, so just read this book :)

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The best book I have heard so far

Loved it :)
The best book I have heard so far, can only recommend it. Especially if you like computer and grew up in the 80s :)

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great narrative arc

I loved how this dystopian universe where everyone escapes from the dreary polluted world to enter the fantastic virtual world that has been created. The thrill and tensions between the players and the ones that control the system makes it all the more gripping.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Game adventure of note

The story takes you on journey of self discovery, strained friendships and bravery through a epic game quest. The gamers underdogs against a corporate machine that will cheat and stack all cards in their favour for the ultimate prize.

A good read, the well researched 80s facts brought back some memories and the flow was well maintained. If you like retro gaiming and RPGs and your up for an adventure then this book is for you.

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