Ready Player One
Year: 2011
Author: Ernest Cline
Length: 480 pages
When Ready Player One came out over a decade ago, I couldn’t wait to read it. A book full of pop culture references was right up my alley, and I enjoyed the connections and clues that fueled the Willy Wonka-style Easter egg hunt. I didn’t think they’d ever be able to make a movie out of it because of all the licenses they’d have to work with, but Steven Spielberg pulled it off in 2018. I’ve long held that this is one of my favorite books, so I decided to re-read it so I’d have a better memory of its events when I jumped into its sequel.
My only qualm that arose with this read-through was with the main character. There is some empathy for Wade’s situation, but he often comes across as arrogant and obnoxious. When the consequences of his actions come around to affect his life, it’s difficult to feel sorry for him when his sexism and other social awkwardness faults got him in this situation. Sure, he takes the self-sacrifice route to redeem himself, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of character growth other than to admit that he is wrong and others are right.
For the most part, I think Ready Player One still holds up. I had forgotten the specifics for some of the keys and gates, so re-reading the eureka moments felt fresh. Even remembering some twists made the foreshadowing pop even more than it had when I read it the first time. It’s a fun book and still has something to say about maintaining a free and open online space—something that hasn’t aged as well in the years since it was originally written.
A fun pop culture mash-up with a slightly annoying main character, I give Ready Player One 4.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
