Japanese Literary Awards

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Ernest Cline

アーネスト・クライン

Anesuto Kurain

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1972-03-29 （Ashland, Ohio, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
novelist, screenwriter, producer
Active Years
1996-

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ready Player One

2011 Science fiction 384 pages

Set in a near-future virtual-reality world called the OASIS, the novel follows a treasure hunt based on 1980s pop-culture knowledge. Themes include nostalgia and video-game culture.

nostalgiapop culturevirtual realityvideo games
Adaptations
  • [Film] Ready Player One / Steven Spielberg (2018)
Translations
  • Ready Player One

Armada

2015 Speculative fiction / Science fiction 352 pages

Follows a young gamer drawn into a real-world crisis on a global scale. Mixes video-game culture with military science-fiction elements.

video gamesheroic journeyalien threat
Translations
  • Armada

Ready Player Two

2020 Science fiction 336 pages

Sequel to Ready Player One. Deals with new technology within the OASIS and its ethical and social consequences.

virtual realitytechnology ethicspop culture
Translations
  • Ready Player Two

Atari: Game Over

2014 Documentary

Participated in and appeared in a documentary about the excavation of a video game 'graveyard' where unsold Atari cartridges were buried.

video game historycultural preservation

Bibliography

  • Ready Player One
  • Armada
  • Ready Player Two

Adaptations

  • Ready Player One (film, 2018)
  • Atari: Game Over (documentary involvement, 2014)

Translations of Works

  • Ready Player One (Japanese translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
heavy pop-culture referencesdialogue-driven, accessible narrativenostalgic tone
Recurring Motifs
1980s nostalgiavideo games and arcade culturevirtual worlds and escapism

Legacy

Known for works centered on pop culture and video games; achieved international recognition when Ready Player One was adapted into a major film. His novels helped popularize discussions of virtual reality and engaged younger, game-oriented readers.

In Popular Culture

  • Became widely known in the mainstream after the film adaptation of Ready Player One.
  • Has drawn attention to preservation and study of video game culture through documentary and excavation projects.

Quotes

  • I consider myself a hardcore geek.
    Source: Natalie (interview) (2018)

Trivia

  • Purchased and custom-decorated a DeLorean DMC-12 with income from film rights.
  • Married writer Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz in 2016.
  • A Japanophile who is knowledgeable about 1970s–80s Japanese robot anime and tokusatsu.