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Ready Player One

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  • Wee67
    Museum Correspondent
    • Apr 2, 2002
    • 10586

    Ready Player One

    I'm probably late to the party on this one, but has anyone read the Ernest Cline novel, Ready Player One?



    It's an absolute geekfest focused around the things geeks loved in the 1980's- D&D, video games, Monty Python, etc. It can be a bit overwritten at times, but it really is a celebration of all things nerdy leading up to our teen years. Ultraman even makes an appearance!


    I was going to ask if anyone knew if this was being made into a movie, but a quick google search shows it is. With Spielberg directing! I hope it makes it to the big screen. As I read, all i could think was what a great movie this would make.
    Last edited by Wee67; Aug 12, '15, 11:12 AM.
    WANTED - Solid-Boxed WGSH's, C.8 or better.
  • Donkey Hoatie
    Supporter of Silliness
    • Jun 20, 2007
    • 783

    #2
    Read it a couple of years ago. Liked it, but didn't love it to the extent that a number of other people I know did. Lots of cool and fun 80s references. It's definitely worth reading and I'm curious to see how Spielberg will handle the movie. It's going to take a LOT of licensing to get this thing done, but I can't think of anyone more capable of getting those licenses than he would be.

    Comment

    • Hedji
      Citizen of Gotham
      • Nov 17, 2012
      • 7246

      #3
      Yeah, It's sort of like Ernest Kline tried to throw EVERYTHING into it to have at least something for everyone. Some of the time it works, sometimes not.

      It's nice to see Spielberg sticking to a genre pic though. I couldn't make it through Lincoln, sadly.

      Comment

      • El Hombre Nuclear
        Museum Super Collector
        • Sep 5, 2014
        • 192

        #4
        I tend to stay away from things like this, because I'm too much of a geek for historical chronology and minute detail when it comes to my nostalgia. I just end up picking the whole thing apart until it's not fun any more.

        Comment

        • YoungOnce
          Career Member
          • Aug 29, 2007
          • 966

          #5
          It was a fun read, but it's been awhile now. Yeah... I would imagine licensing would be a logistical nightmare. It's got the kitchen sink in it.

          Comment

          • Hedji
            Citizen of Gotham
            • Nov 17, 2012
            • 7246

            #6
            The pop culture soup of it all far outweighed any dramatic narrative. It was a quest, but by the end, I sorta didn't care.

            Comment

            • Bionicfanboy66
              Career Member
              • Jul 30, 2012
              • 872

              #7
              Quick, fun read. IIRC, Cline started writing the screenplay for WB not long after the book was released. WB owns most of the properties mentioned in the book, so it probably won't be much of an issue. Safe bet some liberties will be taken for the feature film.

              Comment

              • Sideshow Spock
                valar morghulis
                • Mar 8, 2005
                • 2850

                #8
                A friend emailed me a copy of this a few months ago, finally made myself crack it open, and am halfway through it.

                Like many here, I'm a child of the '70s, but a teen of the '80s (and a D&D player), so of course I'm getting a kick out of the constant references to all this '80s pop culture. I don't think there's been a callback yet that wasn't also a part of my life (yes, even the TV show "Riptide" ).

                Originally posted by Hedji
                The pop culture soup of it all far outweighed any dramatic narrative. It was a quest, but by the end, I sorta didn't care.
                But I can see this is where I'm heading too. I've found myself rolling my eyes more and more at the dopey absurdity of it all. Initially I was devouring the pages but now I've slowed down considerably.

                I gotta re-focus and get going again

                Comment

                • sprytel
                  Talkative Member
                  • Jun 26, 2009
                  • 6539

                  #9
                  I think this book is overrated. It reads like an extended Chris Farley sketch: "Remember Mazinger Z? The big robot? Yeah... that was awesome..." Total geek wish fulfillment: it is Twilight for nerds.

                  Comment

                  • jimbutsu
                    Memory *is* RAM!
                    • Apr 11, 2002
                    • 4158

                    #10
                    The most amazing thing about this thread is that the first two posters are Wee and DonkeyHoatie. TIME TRAVEL!

                    I love you guys.
                    "If you take a dog which is starving and feed him and make him prosperous, that dog will not bite you. This is the primary difference between a dog and a man."

                    - Mark Twain

                    Comment

                    • Allie Fox
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jun 1, 2009
                      • 297

                      #11
                      I have not read the book. Several friends have and recommended it. However, I've found that the friends who are about my age (pushing 50) are not as impressed with it as those who are younger (35-40). It seems the guys (and gal) who are younger enjoyed the references to the things they seemed to have just missed out on, age-wise; and the older folks just read it as enjoyable nostalgia-buff bait. Younger folks-Can't wait for the movie. Older folks-Not interested in Spielberg's take.

                      Some of what I have heard about RPO brings to mind The Goldbergs. The Goldbergs is a fun show but it always seems like the 80s references are being shoehorned in just for the sake of the reference.
                      If I had only spent a tenth of the time studying Physics that I spent learning Star Wars and Baseball trivia, I would have won the Nobel Prize.

                      Comment

                      • SKotK
                        Career Member
                        • Mar 11, 2014
                        • 574

                        #12
                        I read Ready Player One electronically when it was only available as an e-book (which was very fitting, really). It was my first ever e-book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, I'm just the right age and demographic for all the references in it, so it definitely resonated with me.

                        I do have to admit it really rode the edge of being way over the top in terms of pop culture references. If there was one thing that made it hard to suspend my disbelief, it was that anybody could absorb ALL of the pop culture that was referenced and know it well enough to repeat it back verbatim at will...as well as having seen ALL the shows, beaten ALL the video games, read ALL the books and played ALL the role-playing adventures. NO ONE has that much time in their lifetime, let alone a kid the age of the main character. I should know: I'm still digesting things from my childhood to this very day, and I definitely can't recall all of it very clearly.

                        Anyway, despite the pop culture overload, it was a very enjoyable dystopian-style novel. I am excited for the upcoming film, but I can't imagine how they could possibly clear all the copyright involved to have all that cultural detritus under one roof. Only LEGO has managed to get away with that successfully so far. But if they can pull it off, more power to them.

                        --SKot
                        Look what happens when you aren't allowed to play with "dolls"...

                        WANTED: partly-unsealed or bubble-damaged carded Romulan + unbroken plant trap from Mission to Gamma VI

                        Comment

                        • Sideshow Spock
                          valar morghulis
                          • Mar 8, 2005
                          • 2850

                          #13
                          Trailer!

                          I do not remember a car chase in the book.

                          Comment

                          • emeraldknight47
                            Talkative Member
                            • Jun 20, 2011
                            • 5212

                            #14
                            THIS is a Spielberg film?!? This, IMHO, looks like utter visual trash rather than candy. It's like Spielberg decided to indulge not only his inner Michael Bay, but also his inner "I won't direct a comic book movie, but I'll come thisclose" persona with heaping helpings of Mad Max and Zack Snyder thrown in. I've never read the book, but, for a man with Spielberg's talents, this looks like he decided to slum it...
                            sigpic Oh then, what's this? Big flashy lighty thing, that's what brought me here! Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually. But give me time. And a crayon.

                            Comment

                            • EMCE Hammer
                              Moderation Engineer
                              • Aug 14, 2003
                              • 25679

                              #15
                              Originally posted by emeraldknight47
                              THIS is a Spielberg film?!? This, IMHO, looks like utter visual trash rather than candy. It's like Spielberg decided to indulge not only his inner Michael Bay, but also his inner "I won't direct a comic book movie, but I'll come thisclose" persona with heaping helpings of Mad Max and Zack Snyder thrown in. I've never read the book, but, for a man with Spielberg's talents, this looks like he decided to slum it...
                              I've gotta ask, did you get all that from the trailer in the previous post? I didn't get a Mad Max vibe at all. It's hard to do a movie like this without a hint of Bay and Snyder at this point, but from the trailer alone I'm not turned off. FWIW I haven't read the book either.

                              Comment

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