Ready Player Two
by Ernest Cline
There were many things I enjoyed in this book, but I can’t
say that the first 30% of the book held any of them.
I realize that the author was giving the story that happened
between the first book and the current one, building the bridge, but it felt
like the story didn’t even begin until 30% of the way in. From my perspective, the
first thirty percent of the book could have been seriously condensed, at least
in half. And, honestly, there seemed a lot more telling than showing throughout
the book. It just didn’t seem as immediate or make me feel invested.
I was so excited to get this book, and maybe that’s part of
the problem. Sometimes we hype things up in our mind, like a movie, then it
simply can’t live up to our expectations. In the end I did enjoy the book, but
it took a while to get into it.
There were MANY parts I did enjoy, such as the John Hughes
films portion. This harkened back to the 80s nostalgia of the first book, as
well as the planet of the artist formerly known as Prince. I really appreciated
the development of Aech’s story there. The thread of Kira and Ogden Morrow’s
love throughout the book was lovely.
I was a little surprised by the use of J.R.R. Tolkien’s
works, because it wasn’t an 80’s creation, but it was so incredibly important
in the development of D&D and then the online gaming that grew out of that,
that it really made sense.
If you enjoyed the first book, then this one is worth reading,
but you may have to slog through the first part to get to the good stuff.
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