I vividly remember reading Ready Player One and being completely enthralled by what the book had to offer. I didn't understand a majority of the 80's references, and I wasn't nearly as much of a sci-fi fanatic, but Ernest Cline's ability to paint a colorfully nostalgic world is what was so captivating about RPO. In Ready Player Two, I get to enjoy those same evocative experiences with the turn of each page. That quality is what makes this series so childishly fun to read.
Ready Player Two takes off basically where Ready Player One finished, so it wastes no time catching you up. The strong, unfamiliar pop culture references were going to be a given, but that is what makes this series so unique. Every now and then, I would *insert Captain America meme* understand a reference, and it brought me back to how reading the first one felt. During both books, I kind of liked typing each referenced character and video game into Google to get a look of what it actually looks like. The fact that Cline is creating a totally imaginative world that is heavily based on real-life references is impressive in that Cline has to ensure those references are correct. Ensuring consistencies in his fantasy world AND in relating to actual stories created by someone else seems like a daunting task, but Cline nicely did so in RPO and RPT.
The love story between Parzival and Art3mis has a veil of realistic truth around it, in that in this day and age, this is exactly how I would believe an online relationship to feel, begin, and be executed. It's not hard to imagine Wade and Samantha as the geeky, awkward people that are transformed into immortals when online. The way the two act around each other, and the juxtapositions that are their lives (both on and offline, and when they are and aren't together), made their relationship always feel genuine and innocent to me. Most books have the love interests revolve their attractions around sex, money, or other motives that get overplayed. This one revolves around the experience of sharing adventures together, and I've always enjoyed that.
Now, there are parts to the plot that are a bit questionable. I won't go into detail about most of the plot, in order to avoid spoilers, but I will say that the entirety of the book takes place roughly in twelve hours. Considering how long it took Wade and his friends to complete the first Easter Egg quest in RPO, in seems a bit rushed and unbelievable that the "almighty Halladay" would create a second scavenger hunt that seemed nowhere near as difficult and time-consuming. The antagonists, too, seemed a little baffling. I don't feel there was too much effort put into developing new, exciting, and practical antagonists -- in fact, that was the area of RPT where I felt the least attached to. But with that said, the plot inconsistencies and lack of strong, sensible bad guys did not drive me away from liking the book.
I will admit, my adoration for RPO did play a part in making me a tiny bit biased, but in the end, Ready Player Two is enough like Ready Player One for my liking. It obviously doesn't feel like Cline was planning to write a sequel to RPO, and RPT seems much more brushed and prepared for a movie than its copywrite-infringing predecessor. With that said, Cline still did a good job at, again, capturing and maintaining the flavor that made RPO so enjoyable to experience.
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Reviews with images
I enjoyed this even more than Ready Player One!
I couldn’t put this book down. It was everything I wanted in a follow up to Ready Player One. I got chills throughout, tears at the end, was taken on many exciting adventures with lovable characters and wowed by the imagination behind the tech. Sure, there were a few “woke” references but was it too much? Absolutely not! He didn’t beat readers over the head with any moral high ground, just a few quick references that honestly felt modern and on point. Didn’t bother me or detract from the story... and boy what a story! If you loved the first book you will definitely appreciate this one as well.
Top reviews from other countries
Sebastian Kjaer Jensen
Great continuation of Ready Player One
Reviewed in Germany on May 1, 2024
