Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is definitely a nostalgic journey specially for a 80’s kids. The book undoubtedly reflects that the author has done his part of all the research work of that time. Picking up this book from the shelf was never a mistake. Though the book is fairly predictable yet it’s an adventurous ride. I had heard a lot about this book previously from few of my friends. And since then have been waiting to get my hands on it. This is what I think about the book :
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Review
Genre : Science Fiction
If you have ever played a video game before from the late eighties and early nineties, you know there are certain tropes that most of these games use and how they are enjoyable in a silly and over the top way in which you suspend disbelief completely and immerse yourself in this strange world of sometimes great and sometime crude visuals.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is a book that expertly reconstructs this very familiar feeling for 80’s kids who grew up nerding out on video games, comics, movies and books. This is a book written by someone who loves all these and specifically for people who love all these things.
If you are not a gamer or not familiar with any of the eighties pop culture, you can still slightly enjoy this plot. It is just serviceable but its the little details that you would recognize and relate with, that elevates this book to a new experience. This book feels like catching up on all your old school friends and talking through the night about old cartoons and games and how awesome they were.
As a reader, you would recognize elements, characters and tropes from many books that you would have grown up reading. The authors and the creators referenced in this book are both numerous and instantly recognizable if you are an ardent reader, gamer and a general fan of pop culture.
For all the people who lived in the wonderful fantasy worlds that they have created in their own heads, Based on all that they have watched, played and read, this book is that one fellow friend who shares all your obsessions and weird interests and more importantly proudly indulges in all of them. This is a book that gets you.
Recommended for :
This one is definitely recommended for everybody who grew in the 80’s. If you haven’t read it, then drop everything right now, buy one and read it !
Also this would be a good read for the people for like meta humor and want a quick read.
About the Author :
Ernest Christy Cline is an American novelist, spoken-word artist, and screenwriter. He is mostly famous for his novels Ready Player One and Armada; he also co-wrote the screenplay of Ready Player One’s upcoming film adaptation by Steven Spielberg. Cline was born in Ashland, Ohio, the son of Faye Imogene (Williams) and Ernest Christy Cline. His younger brother, Eric, is a Major in United States Marine Corps, specializing as an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Technician. In 2016, he married poet/nonfiction writer Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, whom he met at the 1998 National Poetry Slam.
Reference : Ernest Christy Cline
Pros
- > Pop culture references
- > Meta humor
Cons
- > Hard for readers who are not into eighties pop culture to relate
- > A very conventional plot
