REVIEW:

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called Ready Player Two.

And get through it I did, with pleasure. I understand many readers have planted firmly in the no-way-no-how camp for this follow up, believing it either to be at best unnecessary and at worst a lazy cash grab. I guess I see those points, but I also see how one’s enjoyment of the novel depends largely on how well one relates to the themes of the quests Wade and crew face as they pursue a new unexpected prize.

This is a book where I think in order to heed a review, you need to know the reviewer.

So here are some quick deets on me: I grew up in the glorious ‘80s. We were home alone a lot. When it rained it was purple. I ate at a breakfast club so many times I knew the menu by heart. I LITERALLY HAD A CAT NAMED FERRIS.

If any of the above brings a nostalgic smile to your face, there’s a good chance you’ll get a great big kick out of Ready Player Two. Because I could easily play along in figuring out a few of the riddles the characters unraveled, I enjoyed this book so much. I also got a sense that Ernest Cline enjoyed writing it. If he got a lot of cash for the effort, or if he didn’t plan on writing a sequel when he wrote Ready Player One, makes absolutely no difference to me.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

An unexpected quest. Two worlds at stake. Are you ready?

Days after Oasis founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday's vault, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the Oasis a thousand 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 will 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.