Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
This book sucks. It feels like fan fiction of the first one, just written for the sake of making another book to make money. I started it right after the other , and there’s a good deal of detail discrepancies which I can’t stand
I LOVE CLINE'S OASIS! I just have so much fun reading his stories and being taken back to my favorite childhood video games, favorite music tunes and artists, etc! I am a huge fan of Prince and J.R.R. Tolkien. Action packed and fast paced! I sure hope he writes a third one...
An easy read that tickles a nostalgic fancy for plenty more of the 80s, with songs, movies, characters, and video games being mentioned left and right. It felt like Cline was trying to squeeze a little too much into the storyline, and there were times where it took a very childlike storytelling cadence. (This happened, then this happened, ok next this happened, and now this is going to happen next.)
I think the meat of a story develops in the dialogue, and this one was lacking in meaningful dialogue. From a science-fiction perspective, this book covers some concepts that are at the fringe of what is possible with today’s technology, but they don’t spend a great deal of time really debating the ethics and implications of deploying such technologies. This felt like a big gap for my enjoyment of the book, and something I wish more attention was given to. Not that there was a lot of space in the storytelling for such lofty language—this isn’t an Enderverse novel, after all.
Lots of action, not a lot of discourse. The book is action packed in an almost premeditated-for-cinema way. I actually think this may be a candidate for the movie NOT being worse than the book. The movie can adequately convey the events of this book in 2h20m without compromising on a lot of the substance because most of the references made in the writing can be scrutinized in freeze frames.
One notable plus is that Cline writes in some potentially interesting spin-off storylines/characters which I would be interested in learning more about.
I think the meat of a story develops in the dialogue, and this one was lacking in meaningful dialogue. From a science-fiction perspective, this book covers some concepts that are at the fringe of what is possible with today’s technology, but they don’t spend a great deal of time really debating the ethics and implications of deploying such technologies. This felt like a big gap for my enjoyment of the book, and something I wish more attention was given to. Not that there was a lot of space in the storytelling for such lofty language—this isn’t an Enderverse novel, after all.
Lots of action, not a lot of discourse. The book is action packed in an almost premeditated-for-cinema way. I actually think this may be a candidate for the movie NOT being worse than the book. The movie can adequately convey the events of this book in 2h20m without compromising on a lot of the substance because most of the references made in the writing can be scrutinized in freeze frames.
One notable plus is that Cline writes in some potentially interesting spin-off storylines/characters which I would be interested in learning more about.
Reading because the younger kid LOVED Ready Player One. This is a throwaway. Wil Wheaton is boring. The story is boring. The first third of the book was straight narration. Seriously. I don’t care that you’re walking up and down the hallway. Wade was naive but fine in RPOne, but here, he’s a willful asshat.
Do not read. Do not listen to the audiobook. Do not bother.
Do not read. Do not listen to the audiobook. Do not bother.
2.5 Stars
The book didn't really start until page 57. The first 56 pages (along with numerous pages in this book) were laden with, "I bet you didn't know this" type facts around 80s and 90s pop culture, along with a ton of acronyms. Wade was annoying the entire novel, and came off as arrogant and a bit of a (recovering?) misogynist, trying to justify his past actions, especially around his relationship with Samantha.
The quest was not as interesting as in Ready Player One as some parts seemed recycled and to rely heavily on the original adventure. For me, the most interesting worlds that Wade and crew entered were the Afterworld (Prince!) and Arda I. The L0wFive had spunk, and were a new touch to this second book. I wish that the L0hengrin and the L0wFive had more of a prominent role, rather than the random fanatics that showed up and/or were called on when Wade needed help.
And the ending... Really? *sigh*
The book didn't really start until page 57. The first 56 pages (along with numerous pages in this book) were laden with, "I bet you didn't know this" type facts around 80s and 90s pop culture, along with a ton of acronyms. Wade was annoying the entire novel, and came off as arrogant and a bit of a (recovering?) misogynist, trying to justify his past actions, especially around his relationship with Samantha.
The quest was not as interesting as in Ready Player One as some parts seemed recycled and to rely heavily on the original adventure. For me, the most interesting worlds that Wade and crew entered were the Afterworld (Prince!) and Arda I. The L0wFive had spunk, and were a new touch to this second book. I wish that the L0hengrin and the L0wFive had more of a prominent role, rather than the random fanatics that showed up and/or were called on when Wade needed help.
And the ending... Really? *sigh*
More 80s trivia and esoterica like the first book, and another video game quest
Some rocky points in the story, but nothing that truly made it a bad read and this isn't Andy Weir so I can't be too harsh at the choice of a fusion powered spaceship that is meant to survive decades if not longer in interstellar space to find a habitable planet instead of just building a space a station... But I digress.
Good enough read, was it necessary? No, but since when did that ever matter.
Good enough read, was it necessary? No, but since when did that ever matter.
I have learned to be suspicious of sequels that are written far after the original. However, in this case, that suspicion was unjustified. I loved this book. 5/5. Thank you, Ernest Cline.