tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post7298465453818641786..comments2024-03-22T19:07:21.790+00:00Comments on The Wertzone: Ready Player One by Ernest ClineAdam Whiteheadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11383677312079611311noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-53869361438906099572012-07-17T05:04:05.868+00:002012-07-17T05:04:05.868+00:00Oh, whoops. Guess I'm with Wastrel, not Wert. ...Oh, whoops. Guess I'm with Wastrel, not Wert. Misread his name the first time.Lukenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-62516397916484314822012-07-17T05:03:05.328+00:002012-07-17T05:03:05.328+00:00Larry, as an off-and-on fantasy fan who tends to e...Larry, as an off-and-on fantasy fan who tends to enjoy your more literary ramblings more than speculative ones--I'm with Wert here. Evaluating a book through it's predicted posterity is obtuse and pointless. <br /><br />I'll admit it's a fun game to play, predicting a book's place within the framework of a particular literary canon----but it has nothing to do with my enjoyment or assessment of the book as a reader, now. I have plenty of albums, novels, artists, etc that I will argue to the death (with what I think are critical, reasoned, fair arguments) who are no more than 'footnotes' in their respective forms.<br /><br />All that said--yeah, disposable fiction, not a fan. A fun read if you let yourself enjoy it, but that's about it. Reading this review a year after reading the book, none of the references even registered. Like trying to recall some vague incident from my childhood.Lukenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-2191817370751131482012-07-17T00:10:46.577+00:002012-07-17T00:10:46.577+00:00"In a generation, it'll be a footnote&quo..."In a generation, it'll be a footnote" - this point of view has always perplexed me.<br /><br />OK, in a generation it'll be a footnote. How are we defining generation? 20 years? 25? <br /><br />Because to me, "you can enjoy reading this book, and it may even be significant, for the next quarter of a century" is actually quite a GOOD thing. And that's assuming that once it's a footnote it'll stop being fun. But i've read Terry Pratchett. Footnotes can be fabulous things in their own right.<br /><br />What's more, if that's how you judge value, what value does anything have? In 25, 50, 100 years, everything you've done, seen, heard, experienced, said, though, will all be a footnote. 200 years from now it'll all be a footnote to a footnote if it's anything at all. 1000 years from now, it'll be nothing. Nothing, nothing at all, stands the test of time.<br /><br />So what is it like NOW? If it'll be a footnote in a generation because it's not even enjoyable NOW, that's a fair criticism. But if the problem is just that, like friends, life, and the stars themselves, it is 'disposable'... well, that's an argument I just don't understand.<br /><br />[I haven't read the book, so I don't know whether it's a good read or not. I'm just commenting on the idea of 'disposability vs longevity' as an important measure of a book]Wastrelhttp://vacuouswastrel.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-48183342523317024472012-07-17T00:00:30.200+00:002012-07-17T00:00:30.200+00:00I liked the book a lot, despite the '80s refer...I liked the book a lot, despite the '80s references. It was really fun and entertaining.<br /><br />And yeah, the tired Japanese stereotypes sucked. I didn't expect to read something as overt as that nowadays.Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-76492187790129006782012-07-16T18:17:42.640+00:002012-07-16T18:17:42.640+00:00If you grew up in the 80's this is a must read...If you grew up in the 80's this is a must read. I can see where younger readers would find this harder to enjoy, but those of us that are older geeks will really enjoy this book. - JeffJeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09634855781044533215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-84510887738242964392012-07-16T17:57:03.592+00:002012-07-16T17:57:03.592+00:00I have to agree with Larry, it's like self-ind...I have to agree with Larry, it's like self-indulgent fanfiction. I could imagine this kind of thing existing as a couple dozen livejournal posts around a decade ago. It is utterly disposable and quite naff.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11879320069286585895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703856341303488608.post-82560833421321373922012-07-16T15:25:17.852+00:002012-07-16T15:25:17.852+00:00I thought the entire premise was a fap-fest to all...I thought the entire premise was a fap-fest to all things geeky/nerdy. I'm old enough to recognize some of the references, but they just reminded me of things I had some disdain for growing up, which probably contributed to my low opinion of Cline's novel.<br /><br />It's disposable fiction. In a generation, it'll be a footnote, if that.Larry Nolenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.com