/lit/ - Literature

>>7929528
It's actually awful.
It was just reference after reference that was s lammed together for a mediocre story.
If you were to take out all the references you would have a 20 page book and is awful.
There is not an original thought within

>>7929528
Shit desu senpai

>>7929528

Best fantasy/scifi book I've read in a long time. Fast paced, well written, great 80's references, and just plain fun. One of the few books I've read multiple times soon after finishing. It was an absolute blast. and it's not overly complicated or drawn out.

His second book, Armada, was fun as well, though it didn't quite capture the magic of RPO.

Wil Wheaton is in it.

The book reads as if the author went on reddit, asked them what their favorite things were, and fellated these things for a few hundred pages. One page is literally just a list of things from the 90s that are popular, with the protagonist asserting that nobody finds them cool but him in the future. The only people who could possibly enjoy this book are the ones that get triforce tattoos and cross-stitch megaman characters.

>>7929550
>>7929550
>>7929550
Is correct.

>>7929550

A typical /lit/ response to a book that isn't written by a meme author and filled with 1000 pages of description. Not every book needs to be that complicated to be good. The same way some movies are popcorn blockbusters while others are deep psychological dramas and character studies.

RPO had great characters and was filled with whimsy. Not to mention the fact that it portrays a future that could quite easily exist with the rise of VR tech.

It's not going to be Pynchon, Joyce, DFW, or anything similar. But it is loads of fun to read, especially if you grew up in the 80's or appreciate that culture, specifically gaming.

The Bing Bong Bazinga Theory of literature.

>>7929565
He also did the audiobook.
But yeah, it's probably the worst book I've read. I may have started worse ones but this is the worst I've finished. It's like reading a fat stack of really cringy reddit posts

>>7929580
No one is asserting that it has to be joyce. What people are saying is that it's devoid of anything that makes literature good in any way. The author can't write.
If it weren't filled with unending masturbatory references to things redditors love to throw money at, this book would have no fans.

my bro gave me this book. haven't read it yet but will probably give it a try. doesn't sound like my cup of tea but it'll be fine if it's fun.

>>7929612
Someone sounds butthurt that a simple, fun book and unknown author got famous. If you don't like the book for subject material, that's one thing, but to say it's poorly written is just plain wrong. I guess we have different definitions of "literature."

Is it going to last as long as other great works? No, it'll be forgotten in 10 years or less, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean it's bad. Same as many pop songs are fun and catchy, but don't have staying power.

>>7929565
this is all I ever need to know about this book

>>7929639
I like a simple fun book once in a while, especially to "wind down" after reading a really demanding one.
But RPO is utter shite from start to finish and it's neither fun nor funny.
It's pure cringe.

>>7929580
I think their point is precisely *that* this book is 1000 pages of description of reddit paraphernalia with no legitimate content.

>>7929580
>RPO had great characters
????????

>>7929564
>>7929580
>>7929639

>>7929528
I read this book.

Let me start off by saying that I've been posting on this board for quite a while, and a lot of the standard /lit/ snobbery has rubbed off on me. When information about this book began to spread, I shared everybody's understandable disdain. From where I was sitting it seemed to me like an embarrassing book designed to pander to nerds' nostalgia. As somebody whose reading time is mostly spent rereading my favorites by Joyce, Gaddis, and McElroy, I didn't think there was any chance that this book would be anything but pain for me to read.

Which is why I'm extremely surprised I'm about to give this book the assessment I'm about to give it. Honestly, I thought it was a staggeringly impressive debut that singles out Kline as *the* writer to watch right now. It's well-written, funny, ingeniously plotted and even (this is the big one) moving. As I was reading it, I couldn't believe my own reaction. And when I was finished, I was astonished at how powerfully the novel resonated.

I urge everyone who's skeptical to give this book a shot. You're bound to pleasantly surprised.

everyone should know by now that 98% of us hate it. stop making this thread every other day please.

Book for people who wish they were playing a video game or watching a movie and not reading a book

>>7929528
>>7929564
>>7929565
>>7929580
>>7929620
>>7929639
>>7929723

Please, just fucking please get the fuck off of this board. It's called /literature/ for a reason. Do you know what you'll find when you look up 'literature' in the dictionary? "written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit."

>of superior or lasting artistic merit

That means that content produced with the masses in mind such as ASOIAF, Harry Potter, and Ready Player One are NOT literature. They are just books.

So I suggest you fucking leave this board, and go back to /r/books, where you're welcomed with open, and intellectually inferior arms.

>>7929620
>my bro gave me this book
Same thing happened to me, with the same book.

>>7929723
This sounds like pasta.

I didn't like it, but I didn't hate it either. It didn't offend me, it didn't insult my intelligence, it didn't present itself as anything more than it really is, and best of all, it only took about two days to read. No harm, no foul.

The only part that bothered me at all was when the guy finds out his best friend is actually a fat black lesbian. Not only was it the most contrived case of tokenism I can imagine, but the guy instantly accepts that his friend has been essentially lying to him for years, and they hug and go kill the Big Bad together.

That shoehorned little "look how progressive I am" was bad, but other than that, the book was fine.

>>7929723
I recommend you read Armada too ;^)

>>7929724
I just started reading it and this is my first post on /lit/

I wanted to know if it's shit or not

It's a stupid faux-nostalgia 'I'm such a nerd' bullshit. If you like it, that's fine it's no big deal but don't pretend like it's anything close to resembling ANY form of good literature.

>>7929528
There seems to be some serious self insertion in that book. Also, I hate the way he writes.

>>7929758

>>7929773
Thanks for spoiling it asshole

>>7929773
You spoiling piece of shit.

>>7929528

>>7929528
I read the whole thing in a night. It was like some terrible, autistic fever dream. It was "fun" in that it went from start to finish and was generally a feel good book.

But it sucked. It was awful. It was fucking stupid. EVERYTHING about it was fucking stupid. The protagonist is the biggest sperg in the world and everything is pure stupid fucking wish fulfillment.

>>7929791
>first post on /lit/
>>>/v/

>>7929528
It's really funny and well written. /lit/ just wants to act pretentious by pretending to like big books but dissing this. Most of the people responding probably haven't read it but it's a blast. Probably the best book of the 21st Century if I do say so myself.

>>7929907
>>7930243
>spoiling
As if a pulpy piece of shit like with would end any other way than the Bad Guys losing and the Good Guys hugging each other.

>>7929528
Will probably be taught in high schools in 50 years. Kind of like a modern 1984. Extremely entry level fiction.

>>7930848
I tried to read it and it was like being forced to wear Ninja Turtles pajamas and eating Froot Loops and Cheetos at the same time while someone screamed at me about how awesome SuperMario Bros is in a house that smelled like cat pee and feet.
Just my opinion, yours may be different.

>>7929580
Someday you'll understand that a book without substance just isn't entertaining enough to spend time reading.

>>7930243
>>7929907
>revealing shoehorned agenda-pushing is spoiling a major plot point