Ready Player One is one of my favorite books of all time, so when I heard that Ready Player Two was on the horizon, I couldn’t contain my excitement. I pre-ordered the title and within a couple of days of it releasing, I dove in. The big question: does it stand up to and/or compliment the original?
Without going into spoilers (since that is never my intention with book reviews; I want everyone to experience a book for themselves) I am going to look at this book from a high level view.
First off, the story kicks off right where the last one ends. Wade Watts is living life as the heir to James Halliday but definitely goes down the road of bad behavior and fragility. His actions remind me of the entitlement and pompous behavior of other tech billionaires (even though they are not so egregious that we know about it) and becomes pretty unlikeable as a character. To really get this story going though, a new technology is introduced that revolutionizes the Oasis: an interface that taps the minds of users directly into the Oasis and lets them fully experience it with every sense and sensation- think the Matrix. This technology spreads like wildfire and before you know it, a new quest kicks off.
From there we revisit a similar journey-theme as we had in the first book with nostalgic references, adventure, and, of course, lots of detailed explanations. While Ready Player Two was fun, it did not capture the magic of the first book. I did enjoy learning more about the original trio who created the Oasis (James, Kira, and Ogden) but outside of them, the pacing of the seven quests was off, with some being rushed and others going on for way too long. I also think the 80s references were too much this time around and felt forced with much more info dumping than Ready Player One.
Ultimately, if you liked Ready Player One, I say pick up Ready Player Two and give it a try. Just know going into it that the sequel is not the first book and that this story leaves something to be desired in places but, overall, it is still fun. The conclusion to the book does have some redemption as well.
Did you already read this book? I’d love to hear what you thought! Happy reading and thanks for stopping by my blog!
Chris Kauzlarich 