Ready Player One

By: Ernest Cline

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

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)

a masterpiece!

the story is amazing, well written and well read by "Will Wheaton!!".
thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook

Hard to put down

Fantastic book. The first book in a long time that I just couldn't put down. The Narration was also excellent and pacing, perfect.
My only gripe is that it wasn't a bit longer and that some of the more interesting parts of the world were not fully fleshed out.

plain awesome, the best audio/book ever. Awesome.

Amazing, awesome the best. I really loved the story and the narration, it was reay great.

Wow, what a great find!

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

Yes... definitely brought out the geek in me :)

Who was your favorite character and why?

Wade was a well crafted character that will resonate with so many readers.

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

Wheaton was perfect for the role. It was obvious that he really identified with the protagonist, which made the reading that much more enjoyable. A great performance delivered with real empathy.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Even before I finished, I was back on line looking for sequels. Best book I have found in months.

Any additional comments?

Whether you're a closet geek yourself, or just someone that has fondness for eighties pop culture and the resulting video game revolution, you are sure to find this book a fun, enjoyable read.

Nr 1!

The best book in this genre! The whole family loved this book, we listened to it on the drive home for Christmas, it was half the book, the problem here was more that everyone wanted to go home pretty quickly to continue with the book

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.

Best audiobook yet

Hands down, this is by far the best audiobook I have ever heard.. . .

Maybe better than the movies.

I did mot enjoy the second 20 minutes. It feels like random rant over live

Much better than the film

Loved the book, more so than the film. pity that it wasn't made into a series.

This is now my favourite book of all time!

Would you listen to Ready Player One again? Why?

Absolutely, it's a story I've been able to relate to more than any other book I've ever read (and there's been quite a lot of them). Having just listened to all 3 of Peter Clines' major novels (Ex-Heroes, Ex-Patriots and 14), I was a little hesitant to start another book thinking that I'd only be disappointed.. thankfully I couldn't have been more wrong - I powered through Ready Player One faster than I'd ever listened to any other book, it was an incredibly compelling read and I just couldn't put it down. The characters, the setting, the virtual themes, all the puzzles and gaming is just so well written and paced.

I'll be giving it another listen after Christmas most definitely, and having found that Ernest Cline is drafting the outline for a sequel, that has me in extremely high hopes that there's going to be yet another mind blowing book from the genius that is Cline!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I can probably most directly identify with H, as I myself am an FPS centric (former pro) gamer, so H's passion for that genre and just action in general and the way H talks to Z is just all stuff I can relate to. That's not to say that Wade/Perzival, Art3mis or Shoto are any less than amazing characters though (and of course Daito). Every character in the book is so wonderfully crafted that it's difficult to pick a direct favourite.

Have you listened to any of Wil Wheaton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first Wil Wheaton performance i've heard (aside from having TNG on with my eyes closed at night and hearing him on Big Bang Theory in a different room of my house). He did a great job and I think that being that he can most likely relate heavily to the characters of the book, he really connected with them and gave a great performance. He puts some strange emphasis on certain words but that's probably more of a difference in our accents than anything else, as I'm Australian! Never the less, brilliant effort by Wheaton and it was a pleasure to have him narrate such a great story.

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

Numerous moments in the book moved me, but if i'm picking just one specific moment.. it would have to be when Z and H meet in person for the first time. That was a really great scene and was very touching. It put real emphasis on the fact that if you share a connection with a person online, you're sharing a CONNECTION with a PERSON.. not just some random game character with no personality. They are the person you have had all the good times with, no matter how they turn out to look or be when/if you meet in person.

Any additional comments?

Buy it! Right now! The movie will be the greatest movie ever! Fanboy mode *ACTIVE*

Can't wait for a sequel too!