Just saw this. I'm in. First book definitely has its flaws, but it's one hell of a fun nostalgic read for a kid who grew up in the 80's-90's.
Probably something like Highlander 2 where they skip forward and see that things are worse somehow or some new threat emerges and blah blah blah...
The highly anticipated sequel to the beloved worldwide best seller Ready Player One, the near-future adventure that inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film. An unexpected quest. Two worlds at stake. Are you ready? Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS 1,000 times more wondrous - and addictive - than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest - a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants. Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance. Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.
I'm going to guess the new foe is some being in the Oasis that gained sentience and will be able to kill everyone in the Oasis by destroying their mind in the Oasis Matrix style, if he gets the "easter egg." I'll still read it but sounds like a variation on the same book.
Got an email from my local bookstore Friday that my copy was already available for pickup. Got it this morning. Ended up being a signed copy. Read the prologue, will dive into more of it tomorrow.
I’m 4 chapters in. It’s just random nostalgia references so far and a little bit of plot. It’s not a long book so I’ll finish it but it’s pretty meh early on.
Totally missed it was releasing. Will start it next. See a lot of pretentious assholes on twitter though
It’s not like it’s ASOIAF but so far it’s not as abysmal as social media is trying to make it. not as good as the original so far. I’m like ~10% through.
About half done. There are good chapters, and then there’s chapter 0015. Woof. this is book is kinda like the season after GoT ran out of book content. Like, it’s still somewhat on the rails of the good first book, but is clearly a steaming pile of shit under the surface.
chapter 22-23? Spoiler the prince chapters are about the most boring thing I’ve read in months. Wow, just fucking fast forward through this. Chapter 0024ish Spoiler hey remember that super fucking boring book Tolkien wrote? Yeah, let’s make a pivotal endgame quest about that boring book that no one will be able to relate with. Dumb. chapter 0026 Spoiler what a shitty fucking climax scene taking back the robes. Wow. That’s the boss fight? A deus ex machina plot device??????
0029 Spoiler oh god just make it stop, this is so poorly written, it reads like the work-in-profess novel I’m too embarrassed to ever let another human read.
Finished. 6.5/10. Last chapter and prologue is my favorite part of the book. (because it's over! HI HO) Spoiler Honestly, the idea of the Oasis being a place of eternal life where the mind lives on and families can reconnect is brilliant use of his worldbuilding is 100% more interesting than what this book ended up being. The missions were lifeless. I just plowed through the book in 2 days and the shard quests were so shallow and meaningless they just made me want to skip to the end. RP1 at least had some kind of suspense, this book was clearly preordained and had almost no element of surprise and wonder. It felt like week old leftovers. Just meh. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good. Just meh. Ready Player 1 remains such a fun and enjoyable read (while obviously not some amazing work of literature was a very fun piece of fiction) and RP2 is completely forgettable in almost every way. Oh well, at least it was a short book, and for me it was free, thanks audible deal!
Regrets I didn't post as I was reading/listening on night 1, but was multitasking and didn't think to do it until I had time this afternoon.
I’m close to 100 pages in and am definitely enjoying it more than the early parts. Really ready for the group to get back together, if only so there can be some actual dialogue.
i went from eye rolling To hmmm not bad not bad To I might actually enjoy this To wtf this is really dumb To ok I’m bored and ready to be done To ok this is bad To hmmm not good, not bad
Especially since Wade comes off as incredibly unlikeable. I’m sure it’s setting up for redemption, but his monologues to himself suck.
Spoiler I laughed when he took that shot at himself w the Tolkien chapters. Saying Simarillion was basically a user manual for a table top game
Finished. 6.5/10. I didn’t have the distain for it that some of you guys did. It wasnt good but not awful either. I had relatively low expectations so maybe that helped how I viewed it. Just an empty calories book that fell a little flat. It didn’t have any retcon in it that ruined RPO. So at least he didn’t pull a Harper Lee. Thankful for that. Spoiler It was all fan service w little plot. It turns out the big bad guy wasn’t all that bad. It would have been better if Sorrento caused more havoc than just holding Ogden hostage at the end, and was easily dispatched. Im a big John Hughes and Prince fan so those chapters hit for me. The thought of Janet Jackson and the Rhythm Nation saving the say was pretty funny. Not a huge Tolkien nerd so that fell flat but I imagine if I was, it be cooler. Not good, not awful. Glad I read it but probably would never recommend it
I’m halfway through. It’s fine. Way too much describing every building as they run by and what movie it’s from and what characters hang out there. Plot is very thin.
Got about 50 pages left. I quick skimmed through the Prince chapters. Probably in the 6-7/10 range for me.
Finished it in less than a day. Quick and easy to read. Most of it was extremely boring. You don't know the backup bassist from Prince's band on his third album, fool????????? Spoiler Did not enjoy what he did with Wade/Samantha. They're madly in love then within weeks of falling madly in love she fucking hates everything about him over the OSI. This is so important to her that she refuses to even look in his direction. Then when shit hits the fan she all of a sudden is smitten with him again because he still knows a lot of 80's trivia? Also, the big bad was just pretending to kill everyone the whole time. Fucking lame. Lastly, the world is still fucking awful and the human race is probably going extinct at some point but we saved ourselves! The end.
Done. Spoiler Basically with everyone in here. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Don't know if I loved any parts, whereas I definitely hated some moments. The first part with very little dialogue and Wade just being annoying was so grating. Never really got into Prince so those chapters did nothing for me. I like the LOTR movies and have read a few of the books (idk why I haven't read them all) but to have a part of this set in that world and it not really being what most people know was a swing and a miss. RonBurgundy was spot on when he said it was forgettable. Granted I have read RP1 three times, but that book has some incredible moments that have stuck with me for years. The gates, keys, etc. This had nothing like that, at least from a positive perspective. Also Lawnole23, spot on with the Wade/Samantha stuff. Like wtf was that beyond a plot device. But really, the whole book read like a plot device. 6/10
Even though the book was meh, it was cool to have so many of us read it and discuss. Let’s get book club going again imo
It’s so bizarre how good RPO was compared to armada and RP2. Like he had this amazing idea and executed it really well, but then his next two books were so poorly written and rushed it makes you wonder how he could have written RPO at all