• Ready Player One

  • By: Ernest Cline
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (3,104 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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Great story with excellent narrator

Excellent narration and great story, very entertaining and easy listening. If you love video games and their history you'll love this book.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Awesome book..

Awesome book... Nicely narrated ..... Deserves all the praise it gets... Although at the characters are black and white... No grey area in any of them.... Hard to relate or believe that....

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Good story, but too much nostalgia

Love the story and the narration done by the narrator, but the plot depends too much on member berries for my liking. Overall it's a good story.

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Wow never thought I would enjoy this type of book

I loved it all. Wil Wheaton is great. The story was fantastic. Maybe a little long but great

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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A fun exploration of a very new technology

Where does Ready Player One rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was an easy listen and hard to put down. Some of the characters got a bit annoying and the overly energetic performance by the narrator didn't help much. But a fun ride all in all.

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  • 03-18-21

Great narration of a good story.

It's a good story, if a little petulant and self-indulgent. a narrator so well-suited that he's referenced in the author's universe.

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So much better than the movie

The book is very different from the movie. Still a blast from the past. Will was great too.

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Amazing amazing amazing

A delight for your ears and as immersive as how the OASIS probably was!

What else could I have expected from Will Wheaton reading RP1? :-)

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Just buy download and have a fantastic time

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

Yes yes yes, it's a great sifi story with ideas about a dark future and of course some young heros

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

The brilliant story and fantastic narration

What about Wil Wheaton’s performance did you like?

He's just very very good as doing this I hope he's well paid and I hope more he continues

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

I laughed frequently and there were sad parts as well

Any additional comments?

Thanks more please like this i would hadv paid 2 credits for this much enjoyment

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Pleasantly surprised and thoroughly satisfied

Loved it... Not normally my thing but had me hook, line and sinker! Blast from the past!

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