Is Ready Player Two Worth the Read?

Ready Player Two is the highly anticipated sequel to the worldwide bestseller, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Is the sequel worth reading? Ready Player One became a thrilling nostalgia-filled adventure that made its way to the big screen.  The cinematic release was even directed by legendary filmmaker Steven Speilberg. Is it even possible to make the sequel as engaging as the first book? 

I personally was a huge fan of Ready Player One. I read the book and even bought the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton to enjoy the story in a new way. The first book was a journey back to my childhood reliving fond memories of the 80’s and early video games. It was a great blend of honoring the past while exploring the possibilities of the future. 

*Warning* This article includes some spoilers from Ready Player One. If you have not read the first book or watched the movie, then proceed with caution. 

Naturally, I was eager to jump into Ready Player Two when it came out. Where do you go from the end of the first book? Our protagonist Wade Watts and his friends became the owners of the vast online universe, The Oasis. Along with winning ownership of the company, Wade was also granted all of the powers of the previous owner, James Halliday. This bestowed godlike power in the online virtual reality simulation. 

A New Treasure Hunt

Ready Player Two answers this by following one epic treasure hunt with a new one. This time instead of digging through James Halliday’s childhood, we are searching through Karen Underwood’s fandoms.  Karen, also known as Kira, was Ogden Morrow’s wife and high school sweetheart. Both Ogden and James Halliday had crushes on Karen which played a unique theme in the first book. 

I enjoyed the opportunity to explore different fandoms that were outside of Halliday’s original interests in book one.  Among Kira’s interests is an exploration of the late musician Prince and his different past iterations. We also get a new supervillain in the form of a rogue Halliday AI. 

Unfortunately, this trip down memory lane wasn’t as enjoyable for me. The book starts off with Wade repeating mistakes that he should have learned in book one. One of the highlights of book one was Wade’s relationship with Samantha. He spends most of book one pining over Samantha and finally wins her affection only to strain it all over again at the very beginning of book two. 

Good stories show characters growing and changing as they learn lessons and experience the world. Ready Player Two featured a protagonist that simply reset back to the same faulty thinking of the first book. Ultimately, I enjoyed Ready Player Two, but I believe it’s only because I had such a strong enjoyment of Ready Player One. 

Ready Player Two Verdict

Ready Player Two does dabble in new ideas and presents a new mystery to solve, but in every way is a far inferior product than Ready Player One. If you were a super fan of the first book, then there is much here to enjoy and experience. If the first book was just OK, then I recommend skipping this trip altogether. You might actually enjoy a different adventure by Ernest Cline, Armada instead. 

I rate this book 3 out of 5 video game controllers. It’s enjoyable to go on new adventures with beloved characters, but this tale ends up falling far short of the original.