Ready Player Two Review

Hello, all!

Oh, you guys, this one is gonna hurt. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is one of my favorite books, so I was very wary when I heard there was going to be a sequel. I went into Ready Player Two with low expectations because I honestly didn't think it could touch the first book, and yet the betrayal I felt when I finished was still so real.

Pub Date: 11-24-20
Adult - Sci-Fi

When Wade Watts won James Halliday's Easter egg hunt, his life changed forever. He went from a poor kid from the Stacks to a multibillionaire within moments. He and the rest of his friends in the High Five became co-owners of the OASIS, the virtual reality utopia where everyone spends their time. As we all know, with great power comes great responsibility, and Wade may not be up for the challenge. 

Days after the contest, Wade stumbles upon one of Halliday's personal vaults and makes a massive discovery. He not only finds a technological advancement that is sure to change their world forever but also another riddle that will once again send him questing through the OASIS. But this hunt is definitely unlike the first. Wade will soon discover this one is way more sinister and he'll have to face a dangerous rival who has no problem killing millions to get what he wants. It's not only the fate of the OASIS hanging in the balance, but the lives of Wade, everyone he loves, and the whole of humanity itself.

From the moment this book was announced, I knew there was no need for it, and I firmly stand by that. Ready Player One ended in such a great way that it was unnecessary to return to this world. Wade is like an entirely different character. He's no longer that loveable underdog you want to root for, but kind of a jerk who alienated himself from everyone he knew but acted like it was their fault. Besides the character issues, the plot itself was also very much like the first book. There was another scavenger hunt with another prize at the end, but this time with ten times as many pop culture references shoved down your throat. I'm normally a huge fan of pop culture references, but this time Cline went way too overboard so it felt like the story couldn't breathe on its own. Then you had the ending which was so cringe I thought my eyeballs were going to fall out of my head from how hard I was rolling them. The only reason I didn't rate this lower was that there were some fun bits, but ultimately, I'm going to pretend this doesn't exist. 

Rating: 3/5