Ready Player Two
Year: 2020
Author: Ernest Cline
Length: 370 pages
I understand that most sequels that weren’t already planned as part of a larger series (or even a duology) are often just a cash grab for fans of the original work. Usually, I can forgive this if it allows me to spend more time in the world the author created in the first book. In the case of Ready Player Two, I think it goes so far into being a cash grab that it actually harms how I feel about the original Ready Player One.
While the internet and online culture has changed significantly in the nine years since the first book came out, there were only a few retroactive changes to the Oasis that recognized these shifts in modern technology. And while the main idea of the plot does take a natural next step from virtual reality to capturing a lived reality in digital space, none of the excitement of the original egg hunt is there because the ticking clock mechanic was mostly a consequence of the main character’s poor decision making abilities. This, of course, is a huge carry over from the first book.
The biggest fault Ready Player Two commits is changing the character of Halliday from the awkward but well-meaning nerd into a full-blown incel villain. When this is combined with the tone-deaf and at times totally misogynistic Wade Watts, there’s nothing in this book that makes me like the villain or the main character. And when solutions to dire circumstances don’t feel earned, I just don’t get the same magic out of this book like I did for the first one. Fortunately, if you’re really curious enough to try this book, I’ve seen it sold at huge discount at a few different bookstores if you want to pick it up.
An egregious cash grab that ruins characters from Ready Player One, I give Ready Player Two 2.5 stars out of 5.
1/2
