Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)

by Ernest Cline

[Quirky Cat]

Love it or hate it, the sequel for Ready Player One is here. Ernest Cline surprised all of his fans when he announced that Ready Player Two was on the way, though many were excited to head back to that fictional world.

The day that Wade Watts completed James Halliday's contest, his entire world changed. Not figuratively, but literally. More than that, the changes affected any and all out there who had a love or appreciation of the Oasis.

Especially after Wade made a couple of key discoveries. Unfortunately, the changes these bring about are not loved by all, and it caused a fair share of turbulence in Wade's life. If that was the extent of his problems though, that'd be okay. Unfortunately, it's not, and once again Wade is forced to save the day by solving problems and battling it out in his beloved virtual world.

As a fan of Ready Player One, I was excited about the news of a sequel in the world. However, I tend to always be skeptical of unplanned sequels (you can blame the movie industry for that), so I went into Ready Player Two with minimal expectations. Better safe than sorry, right?

Not even five pages in, and readers are bombarded with retro references. A familiar face for many. Honestly though, that has always been an element that fans will either love or hate about his writing. Personally, I enjoyed the break from the norm.

I was both surprised and impressed at Ernest Cline's attempt to broach a serious conversation over the course of this novel. It revolved around Wade's character, at least in part, but it also went so much deeper than that as well. Discussions about technology, humanity, and the concept of the self. Though I'll admit that part of me wishes he had taken this exploration a step or two further.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with what Cline tried to do here. He could have just coasted by with this novel (he certainly has the clout and money to do so at this point), but he didn't. Or at least, it doesn't appear to be the case for me. Some real risks were taken here, from the characters and their development to discussions and questions raised.

If I'm being honest, it's those very risks that took this from an okay novel (again, in my mind) to something a bit more. I still have some ethical concerns about the conclusion itself, as well as a wish that we had seen more concrete decisions and evidence surrounding some concerns/claims. Otherwise though, it was a solid read and I'm thrilled that I took the time to do so.

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