Ready Player One

· Ready Player One Book 1 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Wil Wheaton
4.8
1.69K reviews
Audiobook
15 hr 40 min
Unabridged
Eligible
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About this audiobook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a major motion picture directed by Steven Spielberg.

“Enchanting . . . Willy Wonka meets The Matrix.”—USA Today • “As one adventure leads expertly to the next, time simply evaporates.”—Entertainment Weekly

A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.

When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself. 

Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly San Francisco Chronicle Village Voice Chicago Sun-Times iO9 The AV Club

“Delightful . . . the grown-up’s Harry Potter.”HuffPost

“An addictive read . . . part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.”—CNN

“A most excellent ride . . . Cline stuffs his novel with a cornucopia of pop culture, as if to wink to the reader.”Boston Globe

“Ridiculously fun and large-hearted . . . Cline is that rare writer who can translate his own dorky enthusiasms into prose that’s both hilarious and compassionate.”—NPR

“[A] fantastic page-turner . . . starts out like a simple bit of fun and winds up feeling like a rich and plausible picture of future friendships in a world not too distant from our own.”iO9

Ratings and reviews

4.8
1.69K reviews
Taylor T
March 2, 2021
Hell no- I'll tell you why- 15 minutes in I get BOMBARDED with this authors personal beliefs. God doesn't exist, global warming, ice caps melting, we came from apes. This author is SO BITTER about his beliefs he couldn't help but smash them into a random part of his book right off the bat. It wasn't even necessary? I'm not here to crdit or discredits anything, I believe in aliens for exp- but i'm also not going to support this dudes personal grudge against the world.
16 people found this review helpful
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Michael L
March 14, 2018
Really wanted to like the story, and will be one of the first to see it in the theater because of its interesting concepts. But, tried reading it and listening to the audiobook, and both times I could never get past the first four-five chapters despite being a fiction fan. A little too much telling instead of showing and/or references I had to look up which killed the reading flow. For instance, the first few chapters consist almost exclusively of exposition. Others seem to like the book so maybe I just gave up too early?
20 people found this review helpful
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Zach B
January 24, 2018
If, like me, you're an overgrown man-child who remembers the good old days of the 80's with extreme fondness, this book was written for you. Imperfect, but earnest in its homage to a bygone era, Cline makes it easy to immerse yourself in this world as he skillfully blends modern dystopian sci-fi with heaping spoonfuls of nostalgia for days long past.
84 people found this review helpful
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About the author

Ernest Cline is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and appeared on numerous “best of the year” lists. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.

Wil Wheaton's acting career began in 1986 with acclaimed roles in Stand By Me and Toy Soldiers. He continued acting through his teen years as series regular Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and opposite Robin Williams in Flubber. He is also an author, blogger, voice actor, widely followed original Twitter user, and a champion of geek culture.

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