Ready Player One

By: Ernest Cline

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

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 Random House Audiobooks

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)

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!

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.

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 :)

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 :)

Best audio book yet!

Can't recommend this enough, flew through it in 3-4 days. Only disappointing thing is that the movie now pales in comparison! 🙈

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.

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.

Fun Concepts, Odd Character Responses

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

go watch a movie or don't bother at all

my expectations were low but jesus christ. no character development, weirdly sexist, the entire book is just 80s references and the story is slow and not interesting at all

Perfection

This was such an engaging book. I binged the first 9 hours from how amazing it was. I highly recommend it.

This Book Changed My Life 💙 New Hobbies Found 💜

I never read books.
Always thought ....

" pffft, Naaaaaaa. . This is for nerds " ... BORING! ..etc.

So just brought one of those alexa devices, set it up added some skills played some music and all the other stuff when you get something new etc..

Came across this audible app and how you get a free audible book on sign up, something free always sounds good so went for it, thought nothing off it just did it for the sake of it.. after sign up the first book I see is Ready Player One, so just thought yeah that will do as I planned to see the movie soon which a the time movies beat books any day was my way of thinking THEN!!

Man how I was so wrong, I went on to have the book play while I was preparing to sleep, thinking yeah this will make me doze right off ... 6 hours later I was now sat up with a drink and snacks excited to find out what happens next ! totally amazed !

so for the regular bookworms this book may not do much justice I guess, but for me it will be the first book I have read/listened from start to finish and what has now made me want to read or listen to more and more from here on out.. I have a new hobby and it is thanks to this amazing book. .. please guys give it a try .. especially non book readers... it may change your perspective on thins 😃😃😃

Surprisingly enjoyable!

On paper, I was not supposed to like this book. It's about a teenager who spends his entire life in an online virtual reality world playing a quest (reminds me of my weekly challenge to get my kids off their i-stuff and outside for a bit!) BUT - this story is actually all about paying homage to the 80s, plus a bit of rom-com for good measure!

Absolutely loved it!! Once I started, I couldn't put it down. If you're into your 40's/50's and enjoy a bit of '80s nostalgia, then this one's not to be missed!

Awful fan fiction

I was only about 10 minutes into listening to this audiobook when I got a bad feeling that I had just wasted my months credit on a terrible book. I stuck with it but unfortunately I was right... this is not a good book. At all.

Paper thin character with a dislikable hero. A silly concept taken way too seriously. Terrible dialogue. Poorly written. The amount of times Cline uses the word ‘perfectly’ is ridiculous (“such and such a thing fit perfectly”, “such and such a pop culture reference was recreated perfectly”, “I tried such and such and it worked perfectly”). The story is nerd wish fulfilment that obsessing over pop culture minutia will somehow make you the saviour of the world.

I listened to this because I was interested in the premise of a run down world where everyone spends their time in virtual reality, but the world building is really under-baked. Hardly any time is spent in the real world so you don’t really care why the character want to escape it in the Oasis, and the virtual world is just a mishmash of pop culture references. Cline spends so much time listing references or with mundane descriptions of old games and movies and it becomes very tedious. I can’t count the amount of times I rolled my eyes at how ham fisted the references became, and seriously this very silly concept was being taken. Listing references is not a substitute for world build, story and character, but that’s what this book is.

I’ve no problem with a good trashy book but this is basically dull fan fiction. Generally I don’t mind Wil Wheaton but his narration just added an extra layer of authenticity to the toxic nerd culture the main character live in and generally takes the ridiculous story way too seriously.

What I’m trying to say is this book is basically awful.

Radio, Video, Boogie in a Suitcase!

Oh what a ride this was! For sure it helps that I am precisely the target consumer for this having had my teenage years across the 80s. And yes I loved the video games of the time and of course have long lived in thrall to a certain Canadian Holy Trinity who feature so prominently.

Even so, having questioned the wider appeal of some other LitRPG-style books this one blows away any such doubts. While there are stats and game rules in this that's not at all the key feature. It's a wonderful space opera of a game within a story. The nostalgia of 80s pop culture, video games, music and all the rest of it is a massive bonus for me and those with interests in the decade but the story more than stands on its own considerable feet.

Cline imbues his dysfunctional geeks with warm character, gives them personality and even a certain twisted nobility as they battle corporate evils in an online quest that boils over with real-world implications. Towards the end I was willing them to succeed and genuinely enthralled with this curiously geeky adventure.

Of course to be the real deal an audiobook needs a good narrator and for this book Wheaton strikes precisely the right tone and hits all the right notes.

Yeah, yeah, I know this isn't going to win any Booker prizes but it's pure entertainment on a stick!

Five Stars all the way.

GAME OVER

Ready Reader One

This is something of a gamer geek novel - so I preface all my views with the caveat that like Neal Stevenson's REAMDE it may appeal to those, like me, of a certain sub-culture. The story-line itself is not so remarkable, civilization in deep decline in the next few decades yada yada. What makes this story interesting is the alternative that the majority of the population turn to in order to escape and a challenge that arises therein.
It is fast paced story that never seemed to drag. It has a great 1980's sub-plot if you have fond memories of early games, TV, books, film and computers. I found the characters and their gamer-style issues with RL (real-life) accurate and engaging. I found myself looking forward to the drive to work in the mornings (when I get to listen to my audiobooks) which doesn't often happen to me!
The narration by Wil Wheaton (of ST:TNG fame and avid gamer) is excellent, a really good choice and nice kind of twist as you will find out if you choose to listen.
All in all I consider this one of my best ever spontaneous buys on Audible after being a member for many years - highly recommended.

Listened in 2 days.....

Best book I have listened to this year. I am not sure why the description did not really draw me to this book before but so glad I eventually gave in to curiosity. I am a big fan of online gaming, star trek, sci fi fantasy etc etc... so I am probably a bit nerdy I guess and I think it most definitely helps with this book. I enjoyed so much in this one, the 80's nostalgia mixed with the dystopian future just worked so well. Having Will Wheaton narrate this book was fantastic and made me smile a lot in certain places that it was him narrating, I am pretty sure he smiled himself at certain parts too whilst narrating. Aside from the fun part of him being narrator for obvious reasons he is actually a superb narrator and did such a good job with this, I would not hesitate to listen to him narrate anything. Love this story and everything about it.

great listen

I thought the movie was good I then soon noticed the book is a million times better and the movie is just based on the book and has pretty much no similarities in story. the book was a great listen and kept me entertained for hours

Are you ready to begin?

What made the experience of listening to Ready Player One the most enjoyable?

First and foremost, Wil Wheaton is a first-class narrator - he has absolutely the most perfect voice for audiobooks (not too bassy, not too nasally) and doesn't do too badly with accents either (unlike some other narrators which have caused me to return books!). Secondly, the world of Ready Player One is - as noted in the novel - everything any reader or gamer has ever dreamed of: essentially a 'holodeck' experience. It is the book's exploration of the pros and cons of this system that draws you in - in Star Trek we see people using the holodecks for recreation, essentially living out episodes in an ongoing drama; but as Ready Player One points out....why would you ever leave?

What other book might you compare Ready Player One to, and why?

I have desperately been searching for something else as engaging and exciting as RPO since I finished reading! My recommendations would probably be to read other books which effectively create alternative worlds - perhaps 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' by Patrick Ness, 'Peter and Max' by Bill Willingham and 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

As I mention above, Wil is an excellent reader. He has an obvious love for the subject matter and, having been an actor on Star Trek 'The Next Generation' and a teenager in the late 80s and early 90s, has a strong familiarity with many of the pop culture references. Wheaton sounds like he is having an absolute ball with this reading!

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

'What would you sacrifice to win the ultimate prize?'

Any additional comments?

Read (.....listen to). This. Book.

Good story, great reading, let down by a poor text

No spoilers, but the film bears only a passing resemblance to the book. I liked the book better overall. The story is richer, and the characters better realised. The film was pretty ordinary, so the bar is not high. Two things stand out. First - if, like me, you are on the cusp of a midlife crisis, the 80s references are a delight. Second, Wil Wheaton's reading is excellent. I'd quibble with a few pronunciations but that might be an American vs British thing. He doesn't go overboard with voices, his tone is warm and engaging and the whole thing is compellingly told without overacting. It is something of a surprise that he managed to deliver this because the text is awful. I can only imagine that the publisher chose to forgo the expense of an editor. Every sixth or seventh word is "then", and the prose is clunky and repetitious. If I'd had to read this myself I don't think I could have ploughed my way to the end. It would have gone into the pile of "great concept wrecked by poor execution".

Wheaton is the perfect voice.

Can’t recommend enough. Wil Wheaton is an inspired casting for the book, one of the best performances I’ve heard from a narrator. MTFBWYA