Biggs' Zone

A Gamer Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Ernest Cline

Ready Player One Trailer

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On December 11, 2017

In Gaming, Geek Canon, Movies

First things first, here is the newest Ready Player One Trailer. Watch It! NOW!

Ok, so now that I have your heart beating wildly, lets consider what we just saw. If you haven’t read the book then SHAME ON YOU! It’s good. You need to go read it before March! I saw some references in there that I was a little skeptical on because this movie is supposed to be an homage to the 80’s. It was not only the inspiration for the “OASIS” but for the book in-and-of-itself. The references to the things I grew up loving is one of the things I love about the book.

Why Is Tracer There??

So, as I said, this book is supposed to be an homage to the 80’s so I was a little confused to see Tracer, from Overwatch. If you missed it, here is a screenshot I grabbed for you:

Tracer in Ready Player One Trailer

Now, I might be wrong, but I don’t think Tracer was around in the 80’s but perhaps this is Ernest Cline paying respect to Blizzard. However, to be fair, The Iron Giant was from the late 90’s and is mentioned in the book. Honestly, I am going to err on the side of caution and say I’m pretty excited for the movie. Far more excited than I was when the first trailer came out; and I know Ernest Cline has been involved with the production of the film. I should “hope” that he will veto anything that doesn’t meet the spirit and nostalgia of the book.

/cheers

film_reel“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.”
– Stanley Kubrick

 

Empire (In Her Name: Redemption)

Book Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

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On February 9, 2016

In Book Review, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Armada by Ernest ClineArmada by Ernest Cline
My rating: [rating=5]
(Click here to see this review on Goodreads.)

Another great, nerd-filled classic by the Ohio native. As most fans of Ready Player One, I was very excited when I heard about Armada. He does succeed, again, in stirring those nostalgic nerdy memories from my childhood with various references to games and movies I played/watched growing up. I will admit, however, perhaps the references were a little too prolific, especially at the beginning of the book, but I could tell Ernest Cline was writing a book that was fulfilling a childhood fantasy. The same childhood fantasy all of us had playing video games in the 90s and watching Star Wars and The Last Starfighter.

Despite the abundant movie references, and the teasing at the end which lead me to believe there would be a sequel, I still gave this book 5 Stars. Ender’s Game is one of my all time favorite books and Armada felt like a combination of Ender’s Game and The Last Starfighter and turned out to be an excellent juxtaposition.

When Zack learns what he is destined to do, the book becomes impossible to put down. I found myself sneaking in a page or two when the toddler and the wife were distracted; or I went an extra minute on the stationary bike just to keep reading. In fact there were a couple of nights where I was reading until 1 in the morning, allotting me only 4 hours of sleep for the night. There are, literally, only a handful of books where that has happened to me in the past.

Thank you, Ernest Cline, for another epic nerd-themed book. Thank you for taking me back, once again, to my childhood days and the games and movies of the 80’s and 90’s, and I’m looking forward to the next great novel!

View all my reviews

The Force. It calls to you. Just let it in.

Book Review: Ready Player One

By

On January 28, 2014

In Book Review, Geek Canon

Ready Player OneReady Player One by Ernest Cline

My Rating: [rating=5]
Click here to read the review on Goodreads.

The star ranking of “it was amazing” seems trite compared to how much I enjoyed this book. I knew within the first three chapters that this was going to be a top five book for me. The entire book was living my early childhood from the 80s. I grew up playing several of the games that were mentioned in the book. I still watch all of the movies that were mentioned in the book.

I am an avid gamer so the concept of the story had me completely immersed as if it were the OASIS itself. It’s also kind of humorous to think that I actually live fairly close to Middletown, Ohio. While I don’t think our MMO games will ever dominate our lives as the OASIS does, it’s still rather exciting to imagine the world Halliday created becoming real; although some of the concepts (i.e. attending school or performing a regular job in a virtual world) are not really that far fetched. In fact, in today’s world, I think it’s quite conceivable.

Ender’s Game is #1 on my list of non-classic literature. I haven’t decided if this book has dethroned Ender’s Game yet, I may have to read it again to decide; in the meantime, its definitely a tie.

If you are a product of the 80s and a gamer geek, this book is a priority 1 must-read.

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