Ready Player Two (Ready Player One #2)

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

This thread is to discuss Ready Player Two, the second book in the Ready Player One series by Ernest Cline.


Pages: 370 pages


Length: 1 Month (February)


Participants: Ruthie, Ilona, Dominique, Eirelyn, Raviteja, Stuti, Lacey, Kelly, Vivek .


Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!


Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

[Eirelyn]

I am really looking forward to this one! I was so immersed when I read the 1st book, so I hope this one is equally as enthralling!

[Ilona]

It has been quite a while since I read the first one, so I think it would be wise for me to read a good summary before I start this one :)

[Eirelyn]

Good idea, Ilona. XD I'm not going to re-read the first one, but I do plan to re-watch the movie before starting this book.

[Karin]

I will join this. I have been waiting until my library had this on audiobook CDs, and when I checked just now, they did. While I have heard mixed reviews (some say that this isn't as good as the first one), I love the way Wil Wheaton narrates.

Now I have to remember I am doing this once it arrives and hope I get it in time.

[Eirelyn]

I will be starting this as soon as my hold comes through. I am #1 on the list, so hopefully very soon! *crosses fingers* :D

[Amanda]

I've heard some mixed reviews about this book, but am excited to start reading it!

[Cassie]

I just finished this book and really enjoyed it! I also heard mixed reviews but am glad I decided to try it out for myself. It felt like Ready Player One in many ways, but I like some of the questions the author makes the reader consider throughout the book.

I hope everyone enjoys it!

[Eirelyn]

My hold just came through yesterday, so I will probably start this either tonight or tomorrow! :D

[Lacey]

I’m roughly a fifth of the way through the book. It’s interesting so far, but would like some adventure soon

[Kelly]

I loved "Ready Player One" so I am excited to start this one. I am currently reading but will be starting this one soon I hope! Looking forward to the discussions!

[Lacey]

About to read chapter 9 and I’ve got what I wanted. Things are ramping up in the plot now

[Lacey]

What the... Uh... ... The rest of you may not feel the same but the following pages were unexpected enough for me to write out a hopefully non-spoilery reaction here. I’m enjoying this at the moment :)

[Eirelyn]

I'm delayed in starting because of family stuff. Hopefully I'll start tonight. :)

[Ruthie]

I haven't started it yet! I also like Wil Wheaton as the narrator and loved the first one. I've heard the mixed reviews too but still want to try it

[Raviteja]

Lacey wrote: "What the... Uh... ... The rest of you may not feel the same but the following pages were unexpected enough for me to write out a hopefully non-spoilery reaction here. I’m enjoying this at the momen..."

I just finished chapter 9 and yay! The plot is moving. I am looking forward to see how the whole thing goes.

[Eirelyn]

I have read the first chapter ("Cut Scene") and am already hooked. I like the new premise (with the ONI), and it should be interesting to read this book, given this new perspective.

I remember when I read Ready Player One, I was so immersed in the book. I felt like I was right there in the OASIS with Wade & all the other characters, but I think with this (view spoiler)[new technology with all of the sensory information, where it's almost like actually being in the OASIS oneself, it should be even more immersive to read about. (hide spoiler)]

[Vivek]

I started reading this today! Pretty excited!

[Dominique]

Going to start on Monday

[Raviteja]

I've finished the book, and I have mixed feelings.
(view spoiler)[It was like reading a copy of Ready Player One. The format feels too familiar. The first one third was boring, but the second and third half are action-filled and easier to read. I didnt like how the author opted for "make Wade an obnoxious character in the beginning, to be redeemed during the rest of the book". I haven't seen a single John Hughes movie or heard a single Prince's track so all those references are lost to me. In fact, at a point this felt like that the author was obsessed with those two artists. The ending felt Meh, to me.
Full Review (hide spoiler)]

[Ruthie]

I'm trying to get through a library audiobook right now before the library takes it back. I'll be able to start this after that

[Eirelyn]

I'm really loving how immersive this book is. I had the same experience with Ready Player One. When I'd read it, I'd feel completely drawn in, like I was right there in the OASIS with Wade. I had high hopes that this book would give me that same feeling, and so far, it has completely delivered. I sat in a dark room last night, no lights, no distractions, and read this for a while. I had that same feeling of being completely immersed in it. It is my ideal way of reading this book, and I can't wait to dive back into it this evening. :D

[Eirelyn]

There are only a couple things I'm not enjoying so far. (view spoiler)[The group is kind of on the outs, especially where Samantha is concerned. They are so at odds with her about how they view the new ONI technology. I can see both sides of it for sure. It has helped a lot of people, but they just put the tech out there without really taking into consideration the downfalls of it. And they continue to gloss over those things, citing all the good that the tech has done. But she is right, things aren't going to get any better on the outside, and at this point, they're not doing much to be proactive about that.

Plus, Wade seems to feel a little lonesome, but then he acts out in really immature ways (like slaughtering the avatars of people who badmouth him or Samantha). He also has been acting a bit immaturely where Aech & Shoto are concerned. He says they're still pretty good friends, but then he knows that they have other friends too who they want to spend time with, which kind of irritates Wade. He's got that jealous friend vibe going on, where he gets jealous of his friends hanging out with anyone else, and then when his friends do make time for him, he is too irritated to spend time with them so he blows them off...thus not spending any time with them at all.

I can deal with all of this for a while, but I'm hoping that he will grow & that these things will get better & that there will be some reconciliations. As long as things improve & the characters grow, I'm okay with the discord for now. (hide spoiler)]

[L Y N N]

I relented a purchased a copy of this last weekend. I plan to read by the end of February...

[Dominique]

Raviteja wrote: "I've finished the book, and I have mixed feelings.
It was like reading a copy of Ready Player One. The format feels too familiar. The first one third was boring, but the second and third half are a..."

L'm in agreement with you.
(view spoiler)[ It felt like ready the first one but with not so great writing. The storty felt flat and I was bored the first half of the book, the rest ok blah. I felt like he wanted to recreate the first one but didn't succeed. The originality wasn't there (hide spoiler)]

[Ilona]

I agree with Dominique and Raviteja. (view spoiler)[ I feel that this book was more dense in references than the first one, and many of those references were related to Prince and Middle Earth, two topics that I know nothing about. I ended up skimming most of those parts. There was also no justification of Wade's behaviour prior to the events of this book, where he goes after all OASIS characters that said something negative about him or Samantha and his stalking behaviour towards Samantha. (hide spoiler)]

[Ruthie]

Started today!

[Eirelyn]

Two stars from three of you? Uh oh. Now, I'm wondering if something happens later on to bring the whole thing down... because right now I'm really enjoying it! I'll wait to read your spoilers though until after I've finished. :D

[Vivek]

Ilona wrote: "I agree with Dominique and Raviteja."

Same!

(view spoiler)[ While I got most of the middle earth references, reading that section was still boring. Hughes and Prince's section were just unbearable. The book dragged on and was never able to pick up the pace and I started rolling my eyes every time Ernest cline tried to force the relationship between Wade and Samantha.

@Illona I guess he tried to give Wade a redemption arc, but it didn't flush out well. (hide spoiler)]

[Ruthie]

I'm liking it too Eirelyn. It's not as good as the first one but I still don't think I'll only rate it two stars unless something extreme happens to make me not like it

[Dominique]

Vivek wrote: "Ilona wrote: "I agree with Dominique and Raviteja."

Same!

While I got most of the middle earth references, reading that section was still boring. Hughes and Prince's section were just unbearab..."

So funny!
(view spoiler)[ I also did the eye roll many, may times. Wade was such a likeable character in the first one and since it picked up after the win, all of a sudden he was an annoying character (hide spoiler)]

[Eirelyn]

@Ruthie, I mean, the first was the intro to the whole world, and sequels rarely beat that for me either. But...I'm liking it as well as I had hoped to. It is just as immersive as the first book, and all of the 80s & 90s references are so nostalgic for me! :D Unless something really extreme happens at the very end (I'm only about 30 pages away now), I'll easily rate this 4.5 stars and probably round up for the GR rating. :D

[Raviteja]

Eirelyn wrote: "@Ruthie, I mean, the first was the intro to the whole world, and sequels rarely beat that for me either. But...I'm liking it as well as I had hoped to. It is just as immersive as the first book, an..."

If you are that close, you are most likely going to love it. I am glad that atleast someone in the BR liked the book and we're not all sad faces ;)

[Eirelyn]

I just finished it and, yep, I loved it all the way through! :D I'll have to read the spoiler comments later to find out what you all didn't like about it, lol.

[Eirelyn]

I just finished reading everyone's comments. It makes more sense now! lol. Yeah, if you aren't familiar with the references (view spoiler)[(especially John Hughes, Prince, & Tolkien in this book), I can completely understand why this book would have felt slow or boring.

I have seen loads of John Hughes movies, so that section was quite familiar and interesting to me. I'm not really a big Prince fan, but I knew some of his stuff well enough to follow what was happening without getting bored at all. Same thing with all of the Middle Earth stuff. I have read the books & seen the movies, but even at that, the movies didn't have a lot of the location references mentioned in this book, and when I read the LotR books, I wasn't very into them because they were all about descriptions & world-building, and I'm more into character-driven stories, so I didn't retain a lot of the places mentioned in those books. But still, I knew enough about the references in this novel to stay interested. (hide spoiler)]

[Ruthie]

So I agree with Eirelyn! I liked it a lot. While I agree it wasn't as good as the first one and there were some predictable things and references I didn't get, I still enjoyed the ride

(view spoiler)[
Wade being unlikeable is realistic to be honest, Just because he won the contest and got rich doesn't mean that all his problems went away and he was a great person after that. Also, he's always stalked Samantha and acted in ways that aren't great, even in the first one. We just excused it a lot more for him because of his home life. A poor asshole can also be an asshole when they are rich and I kinda appreciate the author for making the character more realistic instead of a hero that can do no wrong, which I read about all the time.

I didn't understand the Hughes references or Prince references or LOTR references but I was just along for the ride. I read some disappointing books before this one so this one was better and I enjoyed it more in comparison to the others

The AI thing I thought was very predictable and the resolution too but it didn't ruin the book for me. I also like that Og saved the day and others helping Wade a lot instead of it being largely Wade like in the first book.

Overall, I think I'll rate it 4 stars (hide spoiler)]

[Eirelyn]

Ruthie, I agree that Wade being (view spoiler)[unlikable was completely realistic. I mean, not that I didn't like him in this book, but he seemed a lot more immature at the start. However, I felt like that was incredibly realistic. We're seeing him suddenly thrust into this position of tremendous power. He has never had to take on so much responsibility before in his life, and it wasn't a gradual thing. He went from being a normal teenager to all of a sudden being in control of the largest corporation in the world. There are very few people who could handle that kind of sudden change & power & responsibility without a lot of stumbles, and especially at his age. I felt like that was handled very well. It would've seemed completely unrealistic for this young man to be thrown into that position and actually handle it with ease. I felt like that whole aspect was written exactly as it should have been. But the fact that he learned from his mistakes & became capable of handling the situation showed how much he had grown throughout the novel. As a reader, I'm fine with a person not being able to handle a situation at the start, as long as they grow & learn from it & improve by the end, and that's exactly what happened with Wade in this novel, so I was very happy with his character arc. (hide spoiler)]

[L Y N N]

Looks as if I won't be getting to this one until this coming Sunday night.

[Ruthie]

Yes exactly! I totally agree Eirelyn

[L Y N N]

I will be trying to finish this over this week. I'm sorry I wasn't able to read it in time to participate in the discussion!

[Karin]

Whoops--I forgot to sign up and thought I had!

I'm listening to this on audiobook while driving, so won't get it finished for a couple of weeks still. I don't like it as much as the first--I agree that there is a lot of similarity to the first book. What I do enjoy is Wil Wheaton as the narrator--he's why I rated the first book 4 stars instead of three. I don't know yet what I'll rate this since I haven't hit the half way point (I'm near the end of Disk 5 out of 11).

[Eirelyn]

@Lynn & Karin, no worries! This discussion thread will be open until the last week of March, so feel free to come back and share your thoughts as you read it. :D

[L Y N N]

Eirelyn wrote: "@Lynn & Karin, no worries! This discussion thread will be open until the last week of March, so feel free to come back and share your thoughts as you read it. :D"

Thanks! Just started it and am already hooked. Anxious to see what I think at the end...

[Karin]

I was one CD ahead of where I thought and just started the seventh or eighth CD, but I don't have much driving to do for the rest of the week.

[L Y N N]

At page 88 and I really appreciate the fact that (view spoiler)[Art3mis and Wade did not end up together after all. I am very anxious to see what occurs in the wake of the ONI release and the world's continuing challenges. I admit I have to kinda chuckle periodically at the emphasis Cline is placing on the fact that a world of virtual reality has advantages with regard of less transmission of transmissable (read--virus) diseases. (hide spoiler)] Rather timely... LOL

[L Y N N]

At page 160 I appreciate the fact that (view spoiler)[Z must face the fact that he is no longer as motivated as other gunters such as L0hengrin are... And the fact that he cannot figure this out on his own. No. He had to pay Lo for the first shard's location and now must return to cooperating/collaborating with Shoto, Aech, and Arty to find the other 6 shards. Nice depiction of team work being necessary... (hide spoiler)]

[Karin]

I am on CD 9, and it's been hit and miss for me so far as to how much I like this book, but that can all wait until the end when we get there.

[Eirelyn]

@Lynn, I completely agree with you about this. I like that (view spoiler)[Z couldn't figure everything out on his own. It makes me cringe when there is that one, chosen character who can do everything perfectly, and completely on his/her own -- it gets so boring. I'm glad Z needed team work to figure things out. (hide spoiler)]

[Karin]

I have finished this, and was underwhelmed, but will hold off until more people are done :)