TMB Book Club Book 2: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Discussion in 'TMB Book Club' started by rut row, May 13, 2012.

  1. rut row

    rut row Well-Known Member
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsNew York YankeesBrooklyn NetsNew York Giants

    Just read the first chapter and am already kind of hooked. Can't wait to see how things unfold.
     
  2. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Thanks for starting this thread, rr. Been in Arkansas all weekend looking at houses with my wife. (Pray for me).
     
    Ogre likes this.
  3. bnob

    bnob Well-Known Member
    Donor
    Clemson TigersAtlanta BravesCarolina PanthersCarolina HurricanesEverton

    Went ahead and read this book last week. Enjoyed it more than 11/22/63.
     
  4. pennstate2012

    pennstate2012 Well-Known Whore
    Donor
    Pittsburgh SteelersPenn State Nittany LionsPittsburgh Penguins

    Read it today in one sitting and loved it. Will write about it tomorrow.
     
  5. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
    Donor TMB OG
    Indiana HoosiersNotre Dame Fighting IrishChicago CubsPittsburgh PenguinsReal MadridTool

    was worried that it might not go over very well, glad to hear people are enjoying it
     
  6. rut row

    rut row Well-Known Member
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsNew York YankeesBrooklyn NetsNew York Giants

    i read nearly 60% of it today and i'm loving it. i would have never read it had it not been selected.
     
  7. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    Was busy after work so I only got to read three chapters tonight but am already loving it. The premise is awesome, can't wait to see how it unfolds. And like rut row said, I never would have read this had it not been for the MB book club so it's already a success in my eyes.
     
  8. rut row

    rut row Well-Known Member
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsNew York YankeesBrooklyn NetsNew York Giants

    i just finished it today. i thought it was a fun, quick read and would definitely recommend it to friends.

    warner bros. bought the rights to the movie, but i really hope it doesnt wind up happening. movies like this always kind of suck (i.e. strange days, gamer, surrogates, etc).
     
  9. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    Really enjoying this right now. 23% in according to my Fire.
     
  10. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Fucking book rocks.

    Opening scene where Anorak opens the cave with all his loot (this is the Easley cover he mentions):
    [​IMG]
     
    Ogre likes this.
  11. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    Got yesterday, read 60%. Really good book. Can't wait to finish
     
  12. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    This book is
    mother
    fucking
    AWESOME

    Some pics from my personal collection of old AD&D modules, particularly "Tomb of Horrors", the location of the copper key:

    The cover:
    ToH001.jpg
    The Chapel of Evil:
    ChapoE.jpg
    The Ebony Throne where Wade finds Acererak:
    throne.jpg
     
    Ogre likes this.
  13. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    40% in, will start chapter 15 after the basketball game. Spoilered thoughts:
    Didn't expect his home to actually get blown up, thought they were bluffing. Going to be interesting to see how things go from here on out since he'll have to deal with them for the rest of the book
    Regular thoughts: I continue to really enjoy this book. Such an awesome premise. Love how everything is unfolding. Big <3 to whoever nominated it.
     
  14. Kevintensity

    Kevintensity Poster/Posting Game Coordinator
    Donor
    Florida State SeminolesAtlanta BravesTampa Bay BuccaneersNashville PredatorsCalgary FlamesPoker

    I'm going to start on this book tonight or tomorrow. I just finished Speaker for the Dead; wanted to finish that before I started this book.
    Going by the comments ITT, I'm pretty excite!
     
  15. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    Fantastic book, very enjoyable. Some things I didn't like, but I'll have to write it up sometime
     
  16. jorge

    jorge Founder of Post ITT if your team sucks
    Donor
    Penn State Nittany Lions

    This is the nerdiest thing I have ever read....

    Not that thats a problem...
     
  17. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    Just finished it. Really enjoyed it. Such an original story, was a ton of fun throughout.
     
  18. Kevintensity

    Kevintensity Poster/Posting Game Coordinator
    Donor
    Florida State SeminolesAtlanta BravesTampa Bay BuccaneersNashville PredatorsCalgary FlamesPoker

    I literally just finished it about 3 minutes ago. Really enjoyed it. Brought back memories of a young lil kevintensity trying to play tempest on my familys first pc and sucking at it
     
  19. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
    Donor TMB OG
    Indiana HoosiersNotre Dame Fighting IrishChicago CubsPittsburgh PenguinsReal MadridTool

    about 2/3 of the way through and enjoying it a lot
     
  20. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Finished it over the weekend. Jumped in my top 5 3 favorite books ever.
     
    Ogre likes this.
  21. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    Yep, it was really, really good and would have never heard about it except from this group. Who recommended it? I want to shower you with likes.
     
    LKRFN88jp likes this.
  22. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    nexus11313 ?
     
    Ogre likes this.
  23. Dwight Schrute

    Dwight Schrute 7 out of every 10 attacks are from the rear.
    Florida GatorsTampa Bay RaysTampa Bay Lightning

    Was going to sit this book out, but based off everyone's reactions, will start reading tomorrow
     
  24. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Stay clear, then. Tomorrow starts open discussion and I am going to open discuss the fuck out of this book.
     
    rv12, You and LKRFN88jp like this.
  25. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    ****AFTER THIS POST THERE ARE UNHIDDEN SPOILERS. DO NOT READ FURTHER UNTIL BOOK IS FINISHED*******

    Full book thoughts:

    Fist off, my obsessions with things Wade is obsessed with is uncanny, although not to the extent he is. I love AD&D, arcade games and sci-fi movies. Going from Tomb of Horrors to Joust to WarGames had me feeling like a 15 year old again. This book is nostalgia porn. Throughout the entire book, I was just enthralled at all that old stuff. Really enjoyed all of it.

    But beyond that, I really cared for the characters. Wade was a great protagonist and the Sixers were great villains. I loved that, while there were setbacks, Wade wasn't constantly behind the 8 ball only to pull it off at the last second in some over-the-top, storybook way. He won because he was the best.

    Lastly, the ending was perfect. He finally sees the girl he loves and, even in her less-than-perfect appearance, Wade still loves her and tells her and everything works out.

    Aech being a fat, black, lesbian threw me for a loop, but I loved it. Did anyone think Og was an homage to Steve Wozniak? Og = Woz? And I'll admit, if OASIS existed, I'd be in that fucker all the goddam time.

    I hope they don't fuck up the eventual movie. Art3mis needs to be chubby with a port-wine stain (in the end). Wade needs to be a normal-looking everyman. And by God pay to get the rights to everything in the book so I can see Wade in WarGames and Blade Runner, listening to Rush and turning into MegaMan. Make it so, fucker.
     
    #25 Arkie Proud, May 21, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 31, 2016
    Sub-Zero, You, RonBurgundy and 3 others like this.
  26. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
    Donor TMB OG
    Indiana HoosiersNotre Dame Fighting IrishChicago CubsPittsburgh PenguinsReal MadridTool

    glad people enjoyed it, I wasn't 100% what to expect but I certainly enjoyed it a lot. Based on the ending do you think

    Wade ends up turning the OASIS off for good?
     
    rv12 and RonBurgundy like this.
  27. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Not a chance in Hell. I say he'll be back on that same day. Go on a date with Samantha, kiss her maybe make out, then log in again that night. He runs the motherfucker now. No matter how good it is in the real life, he's a motherfucking King of kings in OASIS.
     
    Ogre likes this.
  28. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    He definitely will play it again, but I would say he cuts down on the time significantly.
     
  29. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Also (in true meta style), there will be a sequel and you know he'll be in OASIS for that.:pray:
     
    Ogre likes this.
  30. Kevintensity

    Kevintensity Poster/Posting Game Coordinator
    Donor
    Florida State SeminolesAtlanta BravesTampa Bay BuccaneersNashville PredatorsCalgary FlamesPoker

    my image of Wade in the beginning of the book

    [​IMG]

    my image after he started exercising, the book said he now had muscles and shaved head

    [​IMG]
     
  31. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    My cast:

    Wade - Clark Duke
    [​IMG]

    Art3mis / Samantha - Mae Whitman
    [​IMG]

    Aech - Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
    [​IMG]
     
    Ogre and bnob like this.
  32. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    Fantastic choices all around, especially Wade.
     
  33. nexus

    nexus TMB’s TSO
    Donor TMB OG
    Indiana HoosiersNotre Dame Fighting IrishChicago CubsPittsburgh PenguinsReal MadridTool

    I was initially thinking that he'd shut it down but since his fortune is in OASIS credits wouldn't he essentially be forfitting his winnings if he did that?
     
    RonBurgundy likes this.
  34. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    I don't think he can shut it down. OASIS is a living entity now, it survives on it's own. Plus, if he could shut it down, and did so, the world would revolt against him. And yeah, I think he is basically an e-millionaire now, but he could easily convert most of it to real money. My take is the two are almost synonymous.
     
    Ogre likes this.
  35. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    YOU GET LIKES FOREVER

    Like I said, I really enjoyed the book. It was a great page turner. I'm a couple years too young to catch all of the references, since I didn't have Atari, etc. I was a NES starter.

    A couple of things made me mad, calling the avatars "Third Level" instead of level three just made me mad, since every game ever made uses Level __ instead of __ Level. Whatever.

    Also, unlike Arkie Proud , I didn't like that Aech was a fat, black, lesbian woman. Seriously, I understand the running joke about how any of these characters could be anybody IRL, but to have her be a triple minority (race, gender, homosexual) was too unbelievable. Just took me out of the story while I was reading it. Have her be a fat bull-dyke white chick and the plot still makes sense.

    The other thing that bothered me was if the First key was designed to be found by a school-aged kid (on the school planet) in a non-PVP zone, wouldn't the OASIS creator have more of his keys/gates in non-PVP zones? If the intent of the game was to pass OASIS on to someone who was an uber-geek like himself, it seemed unlikely that he'd put the majority of gates/keys in PVP areas where clans or Organizations would have the upper hand over Lone Gunters. JMO.

    I listened to an interview on Youtube from the author about the movie, basically how he will be assisting in writing the screen play so it represents the book well... but with all the licensing/trademarks that they'd have to jump through, he said they would have to alter the plot significantly, meaning they wouldn't be acting to Blade Runner, per se, but to a generic 80s movie most likely. He did specifically say that while he was writing it he thought to himself that in order to pay true justice to the era and homage to his favorite 80s stuff, he was writing the book in a way that he knew they could never make it into a movie, because of the royalties/trademarks/licensing, etc.

    No.

    Cast - You need good voice actors, other than Wade who needs to fit the role. For Aech, you'd need 2 characters, 1 male and 1 female.
     
    Arkie Proud likes this.
  36. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    You make a good point.

    Cline: I'm going to make Aech a Black character in real life.

    Editor: Oh, that's cool. I like that.

    Cline: And a female.

    Editor: Yeah? Ok, I can see that I guess.

    Cline: And a homosexual.

    Editor: Really?
     
    Ogre likes this.
  37. RonBurgundy

    RonBurgundy Well-Known Member

    Seriously though, I was reading the book, completely absorbed in the story building toward the final chapters, and who opens the RV to let Wade in? A fat black lesbian. I mean, the timing couldn't be worse. Then I was just thinking how improbable that was a WOMAN would be interested in 80s uber geek stuff, but not impossible, then how improbable that a BLACK WOMAN would be one of the biggest fans of OASIS/nerd culture, then how retarded it was that one of the world's leading experts on this Nerdy Guy's life, 80s culture, OASIS, and video games was a BLACK LESBIAN. Completely out of left field but completely ruined the moment for me
     
  38. stexraider

    stexraider Fire Everybody
    Donor
    Chicago CubsSan Antonio SpursKansas City ChiefsDallas StarsArsenalUnited States Men's National Soccer TeamTexas Tech Red Raiders alt

    Arkie Proud deserves some credit because he added it to the poll - and I didn't ask him to or anything - so all I can figure is that he either read where I pimped it pretty hard in the "Fiction Reading List" thread or the "Books" thread - because I posted about it in both of those threads in early April...

    Now he could have had the idea independently - I'm not saying I'm the only one that read this book before it was mentioned by anyone else...

    Anyhow - glad you guys enjoyed it - I found it to be completely original - completely accurate in every 80s detail - and just a flat out fun read - I was looking for something different since I read a lot of murder mystery/thriller type books - and this book moved right into my top two or three books of all time right after I read it - so I'm pretty stoked you guys like it as well

    I did some further looking into the guy - he wrote a movie about some guys that travel to a Star Wars convention - it's mentioned at the author's wikipedia page - but I haven't made the effort to watch that yet
     
    RonBurgundy likes this.
  39. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    Just looked it up, Fanboys. I remember when that came out. Never got around to seeing it even though I wanted to. Will have to make an effort to check it out.
     
    stexraider likes this.
  40. NCHusker

    NCHusker We named our yam Pam. It rhymed.
    Donor TMB OG
    Nebraska CornhuskersChicago CubsDenver NuggetsKansas City ChiefsAvengersUnited States Men's National Soccer TeamUSA BasketballBig 8 ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceNebraska Cornhuskers alt

    Just finished the book and really enjoyed it. I lost my shit when the second part of gate 3 was Monty Python and the Holy Grail
     
  41. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
    Donor
    South Carolina GamecocksCarolina PanthersCarolina Hurricanes

    *************Lalalalalalalala can't hear the other posts in this topic**************

    Just started this. Holy fuck it's going to be good. 40 pages in
     
    LKRFN88jp likes this.
  42. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
    Donor
    South Carolina GamecocksCarolina PanthersCarolina Hurricanes

    I loved this book :clap:
     
    Arkie Proud likes this.
  43. TC

    TC Peter, 53, from Toxteth
    Donor
    South Carolina GamecocksCarolina PanthersCarolina Hurricanes

    -I was cool with Aech being the minority triple threat. Unrealistic yeah, but I think it was done symbolically just to play up the "you can be anything in the game" thing, and also the concept that if you're a white male things are just easier for you. Plus 30 years in the future cultural lines will be further blurred so it's much more possible that a black girl could grow up being into white boy things. I have seen a few black punk rock lesbian type chicks that look like they could definitely be into 80s video games and music.

    -One thing he could have definitely improved is the dialogue. Every time they tried to talk trash it was mega cheesy. Replies like that on TMB would be presumed to be from the toilet store

    -Things went really smoothly in the story for the most part, which was a relief after reading 11/22/63. At first I was waiting for all the plans to fuck up and there to be major setbacks, but most things went according to plan for Wade. Guess that's why this book was 400 pages and not 800

    -It almost felt like the quest was too short. Three keys and three gates? I sorta wanted more. Book may have gotten too long though

    -Wade's plan to infiltrate IOI hq and hack from behind their firewall was really tight; liked that part a lot

    -Ending was super storybook, but what are you gonna do? I'd have been really pissed if they hadn't won
     
  44. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG

    This was probably my only gripe tbqh. The "Suxorz" and some of the other stuff that was said was just :facepalm: worthy.
     
    dcon79 likes this.
  45. stexraider

    stexraider Fire Everybody
    Donor
    Chicago CubsSan Antonio SpursKansas City ChiefsDallas StarsArsenalUnited States Men's National Soccer TeamTexas Tech Red Raiders alt

  46. rut row

    rut row Well-Known Member
    Rutgers Scarlet KnightsNew York YankeesBrooklyn NetsNew York Giants

    HOLY. SHIT.
     
  47. Arkie Proud

    Arkie Proud The Dungeon Master
    Staff

    Gotta buy the paperback. Chalk one up for Team real-book.
     
    Ogre likes this.
  48. NCHusker

    NCHusker We named our yam Pam. It rhymed.
    Donor TMB OG
    Nebraska CornhuskersChicago CubsDenver NuggetsKansas City ChiefsAvengersUnited States Men's National Soccer TeamUSA BasketballBig 8 ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceNebraska Cornhuskers alt

    welp definitely buying the paperback.
     
  49. Lorne Malvo

    Lorne Malvo Aces!
    Staff Donor TMB OG