Rating: 4/5

I enjoyed this book a lot. It is remarkably easy to read and very engaging.

Having grown up in the 80s (I was born in 1975), I really enjoyed all the references to classic arcade games and pop culture. It was a fun and nostalgic flashback, and it made me want to play some of the old games again. For this sentiment alone, I am ready to declare this book a big success. I am thankful to have been reminded of games and movies I would most likely never have revisited if I haden’t read Ready Player One.

The story is quite good, although very straightforward, some would say bordering on the banal. For me, the simple story and character development did not make the book any less enjoyable to read. I came for the video game references, and I was not disappointed.

A few things did slightly annoy me though. Somewhere in the middle of the book, the pacing of the storytelling seems to change drastically. It feels like the author is getting impatient, and scenes that would have been described in great detail earlier in the book now flash by quite briefly. I am unsure if this is intentional or not. It could be a conscious choice in an attempt to achieve a more dynamic writing style, but for me it just felt strange.

Apart from that, I enjoyed the writing style for the most part. A few passages were slightly cringeworthy though, for example when our team of heroes take turns delivering a line from a song and then shout the song’s title…in unison. This made me think back on bad movies from my early teens. Again, this may or may not be intentional, I don’t know.

In conclusion though, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone around my age who, like me, were fascinated by video games throughout their childhood. It is a simple, quick and very good read.

Also, I am very much looking forward to the movie. I think the book lends itself perfectly to a film adaptation.

For other opinions, check out the book page on Goodreads.