Ready Player Two

I read Ready Player One, and Armada, whilst on holiday. They were both good fun at first, however they turned from ‘I get that reference!' to ‘Ok, enough now' very quickly. Now there is a sequel, and here I am.

Read during the pandemic, at home without a constant supply of cold drinks, a swimming pool and sunshine, would the sequel work? Had Cline matured as an author? Of course not.

Without distraction and relaxation, the curtain quickly fell and let the daylight in. The poor writing, lack of tension and plot inconsistencies became jarringly apparent and so, so tiring - did this book actually have an editor? The infamous constant bombardment of 80s references are even more irritating and the characters, especially ‘the hero' are universally unlikable and I could not have cared any less about any of them. Without wishing to spoil, there is a ‘boss' fight that takes place later in the book which is without doubt the dumbest and most insulting thing I have ever seen in a published book - and I've read several Dan Brown novels.

When I'd finished Ready Player One, I gave it to my wife. After a few chapters she asked ‘Is it like this all the way through?' After I sadly nodded ‘yes' she closed it, carefully put it down and never went back to it. I will not be passing this one on to her.