I truly enjoyed reading Ready Player One and watching the movie based on it. The two were very different experiences albeit with similar characters and a similar overarching plot. Both provided many great 80s references, a dystopian world that was still believable, groups of characters that I cared about, and interesting adventures.
This sequel falls short in nearly every way.
Now, perhaps my problem was that I had such fond memories of the first book (and the movie). It could even be that I was in the mood to read a completely different novel which was unavailable. Certainly, I could have been soured on the idea of a sequel to a book that I felt did not need one. Or … it could have just not been as good of a book.
Part of my issue is that I'm not certain that some of the dystopian elements and negative character traits in this story were intentionally placed by the author or not. If so, many of them were left woefully unresolved. The story also makes several massive leaps in technology. The world of Ready Player One was already quite advanced in comparison to our own, but some of the jumps made here were entirely too much for me to swallow. Unfortunately, the plot relied on us believing that such things were possible.
My largest frustration was that the trivia that was so endearing to me in the first book was much more focused in this second book (and in areas that I do not really care about) and yet more trivial at the same time. Strangely, our main character seemed to feel the same way. Thus, pages of references flew by with me, and the narrator, not knowing what they meant. I almost need a guidebook for this novel. However, as I don't really want to ever read the novel again, I think I will just continue through live without understanding those portions of it.
Hopefully, other people enjoy it more than I did. It is clear that the author put in a great deal of research and thought into the story. Unfortunately, for me, it was missing heart.
This sequel falls short in nearly every way.
Now, perhaps my problem was that I had such fond memories of the first book (and the movie). It could even be that I was in the mood to read a completely different novel which was unavailable. Certainly, I could have been soured on the idea of a sequel to a book that I felt did not need one. Or … it could have just not been as good of a book.
Part of my issue is that I'm not certain that some of the dystopian elements and negative character traits in this story were intentionally placed by the author or not. If so, many of them were left woefully unresolved. The story also makes several massive leaps in technology. The world of Ready Player One was already quite advanced in comparison to our own, but some of the jumps made here were entirely too much for me to swallow. Unfortunately, the plot relied on us believing that such things were possible.
My largest frustration was that the trivia that was so endearing to me in the first book was much more focused in this second book (and in areas that I do not really care about) and yet more trivial at the same time. Strangely, our main character seemed to feel the same way. Thus, pages of references flew by with me, and the narrator, not knowing what they meant. I almost need a guidebook for this novel. However, as I don't really want to ever read the novel again, I think I will just continue through live without understanding those portions of it.
Hopefully, other people enjoy it more than I did. It is clear that the author put in a great deal of research and thought into the story. Unfortunately, for me, it was missing heart.
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