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Question: What do people find appealing about Ready Player One? I'm a child of the eighties yet I had trouble getting through the first few chapters so I stoppe

Question: What do people find appealing about Ready Player One? I'm a child of the eighties yet I had trouble getting through the first few chapters so I stopped. Something I rarely do since I find it hard to stop reading a book once I start. What am I missing?

cocktailpeanuts 9y ago
I think the best explanation is that you missed rest of the chapters! :)
ars 9y ago
Just mentally filter out every reference to the 80's and enjoy it for the VR story that it is. Also, it has one of the worst opening chapters of any book I've every read. Skip the first chapter (or skim it), and then continue - it's a good story. Minus the opening chapter, and the 80's references it's actually a fun book.
- enobrev 9y ago
  That may have been my issue with it. I stopped reading somewhere within the first chapter because I couldn't bring myself to care. Maybe I'll give the book another shot with this in mind. Reminds me of the show Parks & Rec. I tried two episodes during the first season, disliked them, and moved on. A couple years later, I came across the recommendation to try again, but skip the first season. I gave it a shot and truly enjoyed most of the rest of the show.
SamReidHughes 9y ago
Nothing. It's basically, like, a decently told story, nothing special about it, and it resonated with some people who, I think, like to 'get the reference'.
udsloiwdaa 9y ago
I'm not sure what's so appealing about the novel. I did finish it though, it's not a very good book. It's fine. It hits the same nostalgia spots as something like Mr. Robot and Stranger Things, both overrated shows imo. The only positive thing i can say about this is that it's built to be a movie. It offers nothing beyond visuals, but thankfully it looks like Spielberg got that part oh so right.
- kaishiro 9y ago
  Just out of curiosity, what are your top shows of the past few years if you find those to be overrated?
  - udsloiwdaa 9y ago
    True Detective, Breaking Bad, Halt and Catch Fire, The Knick, The Leftovers, The Americans, The Young Pope, Patriot and Fargo.
    - kaishiro 9y ago
      Ah - have watched and enjoyed most of these. Haven't heard of The Knick though. Will check that one out. Thanks!
      - NosliwPilf 9y ago
        sly
clambodile 9y ago
I read the entire book, and I didn't like it that much either. I guess it's just a subjective thing. I did, however, think it would make a much better movie than book.
cvsh 9y ago
It was terrible. Just an endless avalanche of 80s pop culture references loosely strung together with a horribly cliche plot and characters. The references weren't even interesting either. It'll just be something like, "Then, I traveled to planet Bueller, where I played through the plot of Ferris Bueller's Day Off--", and then a page and a half literally describing various scenes from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That's it. It adds nothing. Unless the idea of scenes from 80s movies and TV shows and video games that you are familiar with being described back to you is inherently amusing, you will probably find that this gets old very fast. Then again - this might translate much better to the screen, in a way it didn't to the page, because A) film is a much better medium, I think, to delight the audience with familiarity than writing, and B) from the trailer it looks like the film will expand beyond just 80s pop culture, and intermix the references a little better than "I went to planet Star Wars and here are some scenes from Star Wars I played through". With Spielberg at the helm, I have pretty high hopes. Just don't expect, if you like the movie, to read the book and like it even more. If the film succeeds, this will be one of those very rare instances in which it's better than the material it's adapted from. If you want to read a good novel about VR, pick up Snow Crash instead.
- ezekg 9y ago
  I was actually planning to start Snow Crash tonight, so that's funny. I liked Ready Player One quite a bit, so hopefully I enjoy Snow Crash even more. Any other good VR books? I also picked up Armada by the author of RPO, being a sucker for alien invasion sci-fi.
  - eps 9y ago
    Neuromancer, but of course.
- WheelsAtLarge 9y ago
  Thanks for the tip. I'll give Snow Crash a try.
ghaff 9y ago
As a counterpoint, I wasn't really a child of the eighties but was familiar with a lot of the things in the book--wasn't hardcore into them because I was a young adult at the time. It wasn't a brilliantly written. But I found it more of "I'll just read one more chapter" than most things I've read for a while. Nostalgia I guess. Maybe I'm more of a sucker for that sort of thing than many. I did like it though.
lobster_johnson 9y ago
Isn't it a Young Adult book? That might explain why it didn't work for you. A lot of adult readers have commented (here and elsewhere) that they found it to be poorly written.
- eps 9y ago
  I am in my 40s and I thorouhly enjoyed the book. To each his own.
- JoBrad 9y ago
  It had a very limited vocabulary, and a fairly simplistic grammar style. But the basic idea was pretty cool. Hopefully this translates better in a movie.
gaius 9y ago
Right, it is basically Willy Wonka but without the charm or wit.

cocktailpeanuts 9y ago

I think the best explanation is that you missed rest of the chapters! :)

ars 9y ago

Just mentally filter out every reference to the 80's and enjoy it for the VR story that it is. Also, it has one of the worst opening chapters of any book I've every read. Skip the first chapter (or skim it), and then continue - it's a good story. Minus the opening chapter, and the 80's references it's actually a fun book.

enobrev 9y ago
That may have been my issue with it. I stopped reading somewhere within the first chapter because I couldn't bring myself to care. Maybe I'll give the book another shot with this in mind. Reminds me of the show Parks & Rec. I tried two episodes during the first season, disliked them, and moved on. A couple years later, I came across the recommendation to try again, but skip the first season. I gave it a shot and truly enjoyed most of the rest of the show.

SamReidHughes 9y ago

Nothing. It's basically, like, a decently told story, nothing special about it, and it resonated with some people who, I think, like to 'get the reference'.

udsloiwdaa 9y ago

I'm not sure what's so appealing about the novel. I did finish it though, it's not a very good book. It's fine. It hits the same nostalgia spots as something like Mr. Robot and Stranger Things, both overrated shows imo. The only positive thing i can say about this is that it's built to be a movie. It offers nothing beyond visuals, but thankfully it looks like Spielberg got that part oh so right.

kaishiro 9y ago
Just out of curiosity, what are your top shows of the past few years if you find those to be overrated?
- udsloiwdaa 9y ago
  True Detective, Breaking Bad, Halt and Catch Fire, The Knick, The Leftovers, The Americans, The Young Pope, Patriot and Fargo.
  - kaishiro 9y ago
    Ah - have watched and enjoyed most of these. Haven't heard of The Knick though. Will check that one out. Thanks!
    - NosliwPilf 9y ago
      sly

clambodile 9y ago

I read the entire book, and I didn't like it that much either. I guess it's just a subjective thing. I did, however, think it would make a much better movie than book.

cvsh 9y ago

It was terrible. Just an endless avalanche of 80s pop culture references loosely strung together with a horribly cliche plot and characters. The references weren't even interesting either. It'll just be something like, "Then, I traveled to planet Bueller, where I played through the plot of Ferris Bueller's Day Off--", and then a page and a half literally describing various scenes from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That's it. It adds nothing. Unless the idea of scenes from 80s movies and TV shows and video games that you are familiar with being described back to you is inherently amusing, you will probably find that this gets old very fast. Then again - this might translate much better to the screen, in a way it didn't to the page, because A) film is a much better medium, I think, to delight the audience with familiarity than writing, and B) from the trailer it looks like the film will expand beyond just 80s pop culture, and intermix the references a little better than "I went to planet Star Wars and here are some scenes from Star Wars I played through". With Spielberg at the helm, I have pretty high hopes. Just don't expect, if you like the movie, to read the book and like it even more. If the film succeeds, this will be one of those very rare instances in which it's better than the material it's adapted from. If you want to read a good novel about VR, pick up Snow Crash instead.

ezekg 9y ago
I was actually planning to start Snow Crash tonight, so that's funny. I liked Ready Player One quite a bit, so hopefully I enjoy Snow Crash even more. Any other good VR books? I also picked up Armada by the author of RPO, being a sucker for alien invasion sci-fi.
- eps 9y ago
  Neuromancer, but of course.
WheelsAtLarge 9y ago
Thanks for the tip. I'll give Snow Crash a try.

ghaff 9y ago

As a counterpoint, I wasn't really a child of the eighties but was familiar with a lot of the things in the book--wasn't hardcore into them because I was a young adult at the time. It wasn't a brilliantly written. But I found it more of "I'll just read one more chapter" than most things I've read for a while. Nostalgia I guess. Maybe I'm more of a sucker for that sort of thing than many. I did like it though.

lobster_johnson 9y ago

Isn't it a Young Adult book? That might explain why it didn't work for you. A lot of adult readers have commented (here and elsewhere) that they found it to be poorly written.

eps 9y ago
I am in my 40s and I thorouhly enjoyed the book. To each his own.
JoBrad 9y ago
It had a very limited vocabulary, and a fairly simplistic grammar style. But the basic idea was pretty cool. Hopefully this translates better in a movie.

gaius 9y ago

Right, it is basically Willy Wonka but without the charm or wit.