/lit/ - Literature

>>15839393
>Mary Sue
Stopped reading right there.
Don't use that term if you want people to take your critique seriously.

The book's garbage btw

>>15839393
>Almost everything written in the book is an allusion to pop culture (almost always the 1980s)
Sounds like he took "write what you know" a little too literally. And why would you waste your time reading something you know is garbage and that you won't like? Just to impress your fellow /lit/cels?

>>15839432
>just to impress your fellow /lit/cels
Yes.
>>15839427
Why?

>>15839442
Well since you've already wasted your time on this, post some of those juicy highlighted notes you've been keeping.

>>15839442
its a buzzword. describe your argument

>>15839466
Oh I get you. Thank you for the advice.
>>15839442
I've got little else that's better to do at the moment.

>>15839478
Meant to reply to >>15839464

>>15839442
When the term Mary Sue first emerged, it meant something very specific.
It's a composite term for character that has several specific traits, such as:
>is liked by everyone for little reason
>super powerful
>never loses
>does not have major flaws
>is a wish fulfillment self-insert for the author

But people have been using this term (like many other terms) way too frivolously, using them for characters that only fulfill ONE of these criteria.
Like a character who is just really powerful in the context of the universe, or good at anything, or is a self-insert, or any one. But not all.
Even if the character is not necessarily badly written, or if the story is constructed around the fact that a character is, say, not majorly flawed in personality. Even if the story demands it to be so, it's bad, because MARY SUE.
So yeah it's a buzzword.
It doesn't mean anything anymore.
When you say that protagonist is Mary Sue, which of the specific traits do you include in that? Like I haven't read the book and I'm reading your review.
I know he's knowledgeable in the 80s media stuff, but I don't know if he's a self insert, or if everyone except the bad guys instantly likes him, or if he has no personality flaws...
Use more words.

(to be clear, not defending the book in any way, its just my gripe with that term)

Read his other book too.

>>15839526
Stop posting this shit, I can't stop reading these cringy ass texts and I feel like the world is unfair and full of idiots or bugmen like Cline

>>15839508
so you want him to spoil the book to defend his argument?

>>15839585
Yes

>>15839526
Team America is late 90s not 80s. He doesn't even get his own book timeline right.

>>15839526
This is sarcastic and ironic holy shit. He's making fun of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKLF19TnH3A

>>15839508
I'm spending my time reading the book instead of screwing around here so much, man. I am going to go take a piss and make a pot of coffee now...

>>15839660
I mean, if it's between Ready Player One and /lit/ shitposts then maybe /lit/ isn't so bad all the time...

Please stop. You don't need to do this to yourself. Ready player One is simply another coonsomer nostalgie cash grab.

>>15839508
Please stop making up your own definitions.

Mar·y Sue
noun
noun: Mary Sue; plural noun: Mary Sues
(originally in fan fiction) a type of female character who is depicted as unrealistically lacking in flaws or weaknesses.
"she was not a ‘strong woman’ so much as an insufferable Mary Sue"
Origin
1970s: from the name of a character in A Trekkie's Tale (1973), a parody fan fiction story based on the US television series Star Trek .

>>15839705
I've had a bunch a books going at once for a while and yet I've only read one book this year. I needed a reason to read some gratuitous brain candy. I enjoy being irritated sometimes.

1/2
I slept for over twelve hours and missed school entirely. When I finally woke up, I rubbed my eyes and lay there in silence awhile, trying to convince myself that the events of the previous day had actually occurred. It all seemed like a dream to me now. Far too good to be real. Eventually, I grabbed my visor and got online to find out for sure. Every single newsfeed seemed to be showing a screenshot of the Scoreboard. And my avatar’s name was there at the top, in first place. Art3mis was still in second place, but the score beside her name had now increased to 109,000, just 1,000 points less than mine. And, like me, she had a copper-colored gate icon beside her score now too. So she’d done it. While I’d slept, she’d deciphered the inscription on the Copper Key. Then she’d gone to Middletown, located the gate, and made it all the way through WarGames, just a few hours after I had. I no longer felt quite so impressed with myself.

>>15840157
2/3
I flipped past a few more channels before stopping on one of the major newsfeed networks, where I saw two men sitting in front of a screenshot of the Scoreboard. The man on the left, some middle-aged intellectual type billed as “Edgar Nash, Gunter Expert” appeared to be explaining the scores to the newsfeed anchor beside him. “—appears that the avatar named Parzival received slightly more points for being the first to find the Copper Key,” Nash said, pointing to the Scoreboard. “Then, early this morning, Parzival’s score increased another one hundred thousand points, and a Copper Gate icon appeared beside his score. The same change occurred to Art3mis’s score a few hours later. This seems to indicate that both of them have now completed the first of the three gates.”

>>15840163
“The famous Three Gates that James Halliday spoke of in the Anorak’s Invitation video?”the anchor said. “The very same.”“But Mr. Nash. After five years, how is it that two avatars accomplished this feat on the same day, within just a few hours of each other?”“Well, I think there’s only one plausible answer. These two people, Parzival and Art3mis, must be working together. They’re probably both members of what is known as a ‘gunter clan.’These are groups of egg hunters who—”I frowned and changed the channel, surfing the feeds until I saw an overly enthusiastic reporter interviewing Ogden Morrow via satellite. The Ogden Morrow. “—joining us live from his home in Oregon. Thanks for being with us today, Mr. Morrow!”“No problem,”Morrow replied. It had been almost six years since Morrow had last spoken to the media, but he didn’t seem to have aged a day. His wild gray hair and long beard made him look like a cross between Albert Einstein and Santa Claus. That comparison was also a pretty good description of his personality. The reporter cleared his throat, obviously a bit nervous. “Let me start off by asking what your reaction is to the events of the last twenty-four hours. Were you surprised to see those names appear on Halliday’s Scoreboard?”“Surprised? Yes, a little, I suppose. But ‘excited’is probably a better word. Like everyone else, I’ve been watching and waiting for this to happen. Of course, I wasn’t sure if I’d still be alive when it finally did! I’m glad that I am. It’s all very exciting, isn’t it?”“Do you think these two gunters, Parzival and Art3mis, are working together?”“I have no idea. I suppose it’s possible.”“As you know, Gregarious Simulation Systems keeps all OASIS user records confidential, so we have no way of knowing their true identities. Do you think either of them will come forward and reveal themselves to the public?”“Not if they’re smart, they won’t,”Morrow said, adjusting his wire-rimmed spectacles. “If I were in their shoes, I’d do everything possible to remain anonymous.”“Why do you say that?”“Because once the world discovers who they really are, they’ll never have a moment’s peace afterward. If people think you can help them find Halliday’s egg, they’ll never leave you alone. Trust me, I know from experience.”

>>15840190
“Yes, I suppose you do.”The reporter flashed a fake smile. “However, this network has contacted both Parzival and Art3mis via e-mail, and we’ve extended generous monetary offers to each of them in return for an exclusive interview, either in the OASIS or here in the real world.”“I’m sure they’re receiving many such offers. But I doubt they’ll accept,”Morrow said. Then he looked straight into the camera, and I felt as if he was now speaking directly to me. “Anyone smart enough to accomplish what they have should know better than to risk everything by talking to the vultures in the media.”The reporter chuckled uncomfortably. “Ah, Mr. Morrow…I really don’t think that’s called for.”Morrow shrugged. “Too bad. I do.”The reporter cleared his throat again. “Well, moving on…Do you have any predictions about what changes we might see on the Scoreboard in the weeks to come?”“I’m betting that those other eight empty slots will fill up pretty quickly.”“What makes you think so?”“One person can keep a secret, but not two,”he replied, staring directly into the camera again. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. But I am sure of one thing. The Sixers are going to use every dirty trick at their disposal to learn the location of the Copper Key and the First Gate.”“You’re referring to the employees of Innovative Online Industries?”“Yes. IOI. The Sixers. Their sole purpose is to exploit loopholes in the contest rules and subvert the intention of Jim’s will. The very soul of the OASIS is at stake here. The last thing Jim would have wanted is for his creation to fall into the hands of a fascist multinational conglomerate like IOI.”“Mr. Morrow, IOI owns this network.…”“Of course they do!”Morrow shouted gleefully. “They own practically everything! Including you, pretty boy! I mean, did they tattoo a UPC code on your ass when they hired you to sit there and spout their corporate propaganda?”The reporter began to stutter, glancing nervously at something off camera. “Quick!”Morrow said. “You better cut me off before I say anything else!”He broke up into gales of laughter just as the network cut his satellite feed. The reporter took a few seconds to regroup, then said, “Thank you again for joining us today, Mr. Morrow. Unfortunately that’s all the time we have to speak with him. Now let’s go back to Judy, who is standing by with a panel of renowned Halliday scholars—”

I'm a literature professor at a HYPSM-caliber university. I live at academic conferences and post here when I'm not busy. I have sifted through the entire catalogue of Ernest Cline's works for the past 24 hours. In order to ensure proper vigilance and attention to detail, I consumed 200 mg of Adderall spaced out in a bi-hourly schedule. I also have been microdosing LSD for the past three years. I can unequivocally say that there is absolutely nothing profound in any of these Ready Player One threads. They are insubstantial at best, and outright exaggerations bordering on slander at worst. It would likely be in everyone's best interest to focus on more pertinent issues as opposed to getting lost in a web of obfuscation and resentment. Given the intense mental output of thorough investigation, it is essential that one rest to rejuvenate neural productivity. I suggest going to sleep and completing at least 3 REM cycles before reassessing any further literature.

>>15840309
Shut the fuck up before I take your lunch money, fucking nerd.

>>15840309
yeah its pretty sad that the guy who writes poetry on geek porn is the one whos book takes off and gets a movie deal

OP are you sure you didn't source this shit from a teenager's Wattpad

>>15839393
I found some pretty good readings of some of ernest clines poetry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF67Mm0l4Pw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKLF19TnH3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VogdofDmX74

these are not all of his poems. for whatever reason he took down the part of his website that has them so if anyone has some of his other ones link them please.

>the challenges boil down to (literally) autistically memorising exploits from shitty video games and every line of dialogue from bad-average movies, no enjoyment of the actual art, just repetition to pixel perfection with no true engagement

>PKD isn't in The List
>the second gate is a Voigt-Kampf test, and PKD is suddenly "one of Halliday's favorite authors"
WHICH IS IT, CLINE

>>15841614
forgot this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3f5lNRI8bg

Bro is he being ironic or isn't he I need to know

>>15839624
That bit did bug me. As a reference it doesn't really fit with the rest.

>>15839526
unironically a Gang Weed meme

>>15841700
>the holy trilogies

>>15839508
>using them for characters that only fulfill ONE of these criteria
hitting any of those criteria already makes it a shit character desu

>>15839526
DUDE

>>15841700

The ultimate consumer.

>>15839508
>>15839719
I'd argue you're both sort of right - the official definition is too broad, I think. Revealing my power level here: I've been reading and writing fanfic for over a decade now, so I have a very good idea of what constitutes a Sue and what doesn't. There are really two things when you boil it down:

1) Is a self-insert for the author to vicariously live out a fantasy life through the text.

2) Hijacks a pre-existing universe by becoming the most important character in that universe.

That second one is what differentiates stuff like Ready Player One and Twilight from proper Mary Sue fiction - the "hijacking someone else's work" is an integral part of what makes a Sue a Sue, so it only really applies when discussing fan fiction.

So no, Wade is not a Mary Sue - but he's every bit as contemptible as one.