Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

Publisher’s Blurb:

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 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’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

My Thoughts ( and slight SPOILERS):

The thought of an endless virtual world is amazing… one that is almost solely created by users is even more awesome. RP2 features some new worlds to explore: A planet dedicated to the artist known as Prince… and another that connects all of John Hughes’s works. Go on quests that involve your favorite story lines! It’s really a dream come true. The concept was expertly designed in Ready Player One, but how does it hold up in the sequel… My answer is, okay.

Picking up right after the action of the first book, RP2 starts with the characters celebrating their victory in the OASIS, but at the same time trying to fit back into the real world. Wade is having a harder time than the others and is looking for connection… I won’t get too far into the story, but this quest, this journey felt a little creepy. Sure Halliday wanted people to search out his favorite cultural icons and stories for Easter eggs, but does everyone want other searching through their lives? Diaries… and not the Grail Diary bc that is research, Junior! But personal diaries that are found like treasure. It just came across as overly intrusive…

To sum up: love the concept, some of the scenes in the OASIS, and a number of the character conflicts, but the overall plot is repetitive. Honestly, it was fun at times and fans of the first one will find the same types of chuckles as the first book… worth the wait though? Possibly.