Fantasy Aficionados discussion

Feel free to comment! Please mark spoilers!

Can I just say... I found a library digital copy read by Wil Wheaton. I squealed a little.

Carol wrote: "Can I just say... I found a library digital copy read by Wil Wheaton. I squealed a little."

:-D That's cool. Plus he uses the library...

Just ordered it for my Kindle.

I have the book from the library but I must make an admission...... from what I've read I am not really interested. I don’t play video games, never did. I lived through the 80s and feel absolutely zero nostalgia... (Yuck I hate the fashion and hair!)
So convinced me please why I might like this book!

It's just an old fashioned quest tale dressed up with scifi/geek trappings.

Young orphan fights the evil bad guy who is intent on dominating the world. Gathers a group of adventurers on his journey. Etc, etc.

It's a fun romp of a book that isn't really all that long.

Plus... Wil Wheaton. He's actually a great reader--it's like he's an actor or something.

;)

You don't have to know video games or 80's stuff to love it. I was born in 83 so I got a few references, but this went way beyond me. And I sort of hated the 80's anyway. But all of that is just extra icing on what's already a really awesome cake. In the end it's all about the quest and the characters.

Loved the book, btw :)

The book was great! I agree with Dawn on the fact that it's icing on an awesome cake... but I was born in 78, was influenced by some of the originals mentioned in the book and played a lot of D&D and video games as an adult... so maybe I'm not a good reference.

The whole story, once you really think about it, is not so far from today's reality.

Looking forward to hear from other members that finished it.

I'm into video games, but I came into the scene with Nintendo and Mario. I remember a little Atari, but most of the gaming references were way beyond me. But like I said... That didn't take away from the story at all. I still gave it 5 stars :)

I'm not very far (listening takes me longer than reading) but I'm surprised by the depth/detail Cline goes into in describing the Oasis, avatars and chatrooms. I'm wondering if anyone thought there was too much description/explanation, since by now most of it is common knowledge. Did this seem like an "I already know that!" or extraneous section to people?

I went & bought the book for when Hurricane Sandy hit me, but the power was only out for 17 hours or so here. After reading the comments posted on here, I cannot wait to start reading it. I am into games, but I am hoping he makes references to the cartoons of the 80s. There was a site I read once, where some kid stated there weren't many good cartoons, just anime. I felt old because my favorite cartoon of all time is Jem.
Anyhow, I will try and post on here after I finish if anyone is interested in my opinion. :D

Hehehe! Jem... now that brings back memories. Remember Space Pirate Captain Harlock?

I am listening to it as well and so far I really like it,I remember the 80's well so maybe that helps. The narrator is really good so far.

Carol wrote: but I'm surprised by the depth/detail Cline goes into in describing the Oasis, avatars and chatrooms. I'm wondering if anyone thought there..."

I feel that way too!
As I mentioned earlier, I never played video games so I am virtually clueless as to some of the things he is describing. I am having a hard time relating.

I do like the main character however.

@Carol - A lot of the description felt very exraneous to me, not only because I was already familiar with it, but also because, if the book is a sort of memoir, his audience would be very familiar with it.

Of course, I'm not fussed about this book, in general, but I'm clearly an outlier there. Shocking, I know... *sigh*

Not always greatly written, but one of the most additively fun page-turners I've read in awhile.

Great concepts, full of fun for someone who grew up in the 80s.

@Colleen: good point about the in-world audience probably knowing things the narrator spends time explaining in detail; but this is a narrative cheat many authors have to engage in to make a story sensible. They have to explain things characters would know because the reader may not necessarily have the same knowledge.

Colleen wrote: "@Carol - A lot of the description felt very exraneous to me, not only because I was already familiar with it, but also because, if the book is a sort of memoir, his audience would be very familiar with it...."

I dunno, that depends on when the audience is really. What about people born 20 or 30 years later? 100? Would they be very familiar with the situation? Probably not.

Dawn - I got the impression that it was more written for more contemporary people. A lot of memoirs have details of things people might not understand 100 years in the future, but they rarely go into great detail about such things.

And 20 or 30 years later, people would have the general idea. Like I said, I knew what he was talking about based on modern day computers and avatars and things, so it's not like technology seems to advance all that much in this future world of his. ;)

@Robert - I understand it's an author cheat. Still felt like he belabored it too much.

Especially in chapter 10 or so when he was listing authors, movies, etc. actually, I think I didn't know one.

Carol wrote: "Especially in chapter 10 or so when he was listing authors, movies, etc. actually, I think I didn't know one."

If I remember correctly - it's been a bit since I've read it - I recall there being a lot of Wiki-style info-dumps... like either he would just list things, like you said, or he would have a 'conversation' with Aech, or someone, just listing trivia.

I remember thinking I wished it could've been worked into the story more instead of info-dumping.

But, then, I dislike info-dumping in stories as a general rule. Especially in conversation form, where it often comes across as one of those infomercial type things.

I didn't find the info-dumping jarring in this book. For me it was very much in keeping with a story about minutia, trivia, and information.

If it had a weakness for me, it was that he did a better job bring the virtual worlds of the game to life than giving me much of a feel for the real world. It was pretty much "the real world sucks so everyone plays this game."

Up to chapter 20.

Book readers:
Twice now Wil has had to read the "Top 10" contestants and their scores. Is this written out in the text or is it a table?
He also read out a very long text chat dialogue earlier between Arty and Percy by saying "Artemis: blah blah," "Percival: blah blah." Does the book change font or anything to set this section apart?

Impressions: Quite honestly, most of the time it seems like he is describing something like World of Warcraft for non-players, and then imagining some futuristic equipment.

I just started reading over lunch. I got through the Prologue and Chapter One. Here are my impressions so far:

1. It seems like a stretch to call this book a fantasy. A framed story set in a fantasy video game in a distopian future is still Sci-Fi, in my opinion.

2. Hallidy's story is straining my suspension of disbelief. OASIS seems to be a complete internet redesign combined with an MMO. And it was programmed by one guy? And that one guy got all the money? In the real world, there would be a team of programmers who got paid jack while a CEO rakes in the profits. I'm hoping that this is just a sticking point regarding the premise and I'll get over it as the story moves along.

3. I have a certain nega-nostalgia for the 1980s, but I'll try to put that aside.

We'll see how it goes.

Steve--can't say I disagree. Doesn't it feel like a jacked-up world of warcraft?

I think it's portrayal of how corporations and, as @Steve pointed out, software development works is where is this blurs into the realm of science "fantasy" rather than sci-fi.

Still and all, I found the story carried me along even if some of the futurism falls apart under too much scrutiny.

Carol wrote: "Steve--can't say I disagree. Doesn't it feel like a jacked-up world of warcraft?"

Yeah, there's definitely a resemblance.

I read this a while back...and would like to re-read it but frankly I'm in the middle of 3 books and backed up (again) on group reads...I never seem to learn. I liked this one. I thought the political commentary was a bit heavy handed but the story was good and really appeals to nerds. And I'm not a child of the '80s...my kids are "kids of the '80s", LOL.

Well, I just finished it. I'll have to give it a while to settle, but a lot of it just didn't work for me. So much of it just seemed preposterous. Most of the world-building, both inside and outside the OASIS just felt poorly thought out. The OASIS didn't feel like a real game and it's mechanics didn't really make sense. The 80s trivia often felt like references meant to induce nostalgia, but didn't really seem relevant to the plot except that the plot was designed around making 80s references. Where's the symbolism? Why those particular references? The only explanation offered in the book seems to be that Hallidy thought these things were cool. I'd be curious to hear what other people thought. Maybe I'm missing something deeper.

Then we get to the end, and (view spoiler)[it's just invoking the stereotype that videogames and having a girlfriend are mutually exclusive. (hide spoiler)]

On the other hand, it was an enjoyable enough read if you just went with it. It kept me interested, even despite having issues with it.

You are right, Steve, there didn't seem to be a lot of rationale for the references except that Hallidy enjoyed them. I don't remember anything being particularly deep, except when he could turn it into a larger computer reference occasionally, like the box of (I think) Cap'n Crunch that had the piece that could be used to hack phones. I disliked that the references often turned into lists.

I loved this book. Such great fun! It brought back a lot of memories of growing up in the 80's. I listened to it on Audible and Wil Wheaton reading it was an added bonus!

I commented earlier...but I'll drop by and say I liked the book. I didn't grow up in the '80s but I'd gone back to college at that time and I was also into arcade games "and such" so I connected on a lot of levels. I had "gripes" with the book but on the whole I like it.

agree on Wil, Heather!

Carol wrote: "Feel free to comment! Please mark spoilers!"

There is a major mistake here. Ready Player One is science fiction. It has nothing to do with fantasy. So whoever nominated it made a mistake. Whoever seconded it made a mistake. Whoever in charge that approved it make a mistake. Finally, whoever voted for it made a mistake.

It is a very good book well worth reading, just not appropriate for a fantasy book group.

Jon. This is from 2012. By my last check we are currently in 2013.

MrsJoseph wrote: "Jon. This is from 2012. By my last check we are currently in 2013."

It's sort of a reminder to check the genre before allowing a book's nomination to go through.

JSWolf wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "Jon. This is from 2012. By my last check we are currently in 2013."

It's sort of a reminder to check the genre before allowing a book's nomination to go through."

Jon. If you have a problem with the moderation, I suggest you send me a PM.

But then I couldn't come on and poke fun, I'm sitting here biting my tongue....or my typing fingers.

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "But then I couldn't come on and poke fun, I'm sitting here biting my tongue....or my typing fingers."

:-)

Well, for you Sensei.

;) I'll be good....really.

Gosh, how fabulous that our ignorance has been corrected! Because, you know, we never debate categories here.

I loved the book. And, I loved Wil Wheaton.

And, while I would certainly classify this as Science Fiction, I would argue that Science Fiction could almost always be considered fantasy of some sort.

Ya know, just to argue. ;)

Snarktastic Sonja wrote: "Ya know, just to argue. ;) "

But WE would never do something like that, would we? *wink, wink*

I refrained from mentioning the science-fantasy "sub-category" as parts of this book are clearly fantasy, but then as Carol pointed out that got..."discussed with gusto" (not argued of course MrsJ) when this was the selection.

:-D

I have and will forever argue that the science fiction genre as a whole is a subcategory of the fantasy genre. I pestered a local bookstore incessantly over this until they finally renamed their science fiction section the fantasy section :) Win.

Anyways, I too loved this book. I was a bit apprehensive at first but ended being very pleased. It reminded me as a much simpler more fun play on Tad Williams Otherland series. For those that enjoyed the idea of a cybernetic world that has basically taken over society, I would highly recommend this series as a followup to Ready Player one

Another series I've meant to read for years.

I'm impressed that this one started in July 2k12 and was still going in Aug 2k13

I've ordered the CD audio. When I get it, I'll return with my views.

Sounds good, Carly!

I loved this book and gave it to a college freshman in our family who is a dedicated games player. I hope he likes it as much as I did.