03/29/2021
Just finished reading Ready Player Two, the sequel to Ready Player One (one of my favorite books I've ever read being an 80-90s pop culture and video games nerd). Anyone else read the second one yet?
REVIEW (SPOILERS):
Overall it felt like the author was clinging to the format of what made the first one successful. Not necessarily in a good way. While I loved the new technology added, and don't hate the new protagonist, it felt desperate in its story format. The inclusion of COMPLETELY unnecessary to the story social justice points felt like hardcore pandering. Don't get me wrong if those things had served a purpose to the driving force of the story I wouldn't take issue, but they had no effect at all. It felt included for no reason other than telling the statement that "even tho the subject matter is socially problematic as its centered around 50s to 90s pop culture when compared with today's social standards, I'm still woke". The overall story felt VERY much like a Hollywood sequel. What worked in the original? let's copy, paste and edit it. Making a new contest with high stakes doesn't feel nature at all this time and wouldn't even need to exist if the A.I. hadn't shown up. I will say the new world of experience introduced by the essentially haptic Oasis 2.0 system is amazing at creating new issues and adding a new level of emotional depth and integration to the characters experiences and journeys while in the Oasis. It just felt so much like a studio movie sequel. I still LOVE the first one and don't hate the second, it was just a total soulless sequel. What do you think?
