{"id":4566,"date":"2026-01-21T15:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T22:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2025-12-05T14:23:27","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T21:23:27","slug":"book-ready-player-two-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/book-ready-player-two-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"BOOK: Ready Player Two (2020)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ReadyReady Player Two
\n<\/u><\/strong>Year: 2020
\nAuthor: Ernest Cline
\nLength: 370 pages<\/p>\n

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<\/em>, I think it goes so far into being a cash grab that it actually harms how I feel about the original Ready Player One<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The biggest fault Ready Player Two<\/em> 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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

An egregious cash grab that ruins characters from Ready Player One<\/em>, I give Ready Player Two<\/i> 2.5 stars out of 5.<\/p>\n

\"255px-Five-pointed_star_svg\" \"255px-Five-pointed_star_svg\" 1\/2<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,54],"tags":[1371,2282,55,4377,57,2932,4376,2246,8,34,1372],"class_list":["post-4566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2-5-stars","category-book","tag-1980s","tag-2282","tag-book","tag-cash-grab","tag-ernest-cline","tag-men-writing-women","tag-ready-player-two","tag-retro","tag-review","tag-sequel","tag-video-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4571,"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions\/4571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benjamin-m-weilert.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}