Current Events > So apparently Ready Player Two is out today.

(+) Yeah! (+)

And.... hoo boy.

https://twitter.com/jacobmercy/status/1331038070888685570

https://twitter.com/Seanbabydotcom/status/1331290235922120714

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I don't understand what I'm reading.

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I was a bit disappointed in the movie when I realized that all the awesome cameos of the different characters were just the result of players being able to pick whatever avatar they wanted in the game, had 0 impact on the story, and was just there for the audience to be like "Hey I recognize that random character in the background!!!!"

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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Hey I recognize that

That's the entire plot of the original book and movie in four words.

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It's like someone watched an episode of Family Guy and thought: "Let's write a book like that, but make a thousand more references and a thousand times more annoying."

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Lmao Family Guy does more tasteful referencing than this.
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Ready Player One was OK (the book). This is waaaay too OTT though
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Good lord...

You know, there's a part in the first book where the narrator theorizes that Halliday was an awkward nerd who just put all of those geeky references in his work, in the hope that people would "get it" and be friends with him.

...which is exactly how I felt about the book itself. I love pop culture, but so much of the book was just going "remember this", relying on the hope that the reader will nerd out with Kline.

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References
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It's pretty obvious Halliday is Ernest Cline's self insert.

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CalypsoDoom posted...

I still haven't read Ready Player One

You know all those useless bits of pop culture trivia you know about various things? Imagine if knowing those could get you actual prosperity.

That's RP1 in a nutshell.

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It was the best of times. It was the BLURST OF TIMES?!

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The first book not only had references, but explained them in detail for those not familiar with the 80s

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[introduction]
[plot exposition]
[reference paragraph]
[plot exposition]
[reference paragraph]
[dialogue]
[reference exposition]
[plot exposition]
[referential dialogue]
[reference paragraph]

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vbty3 posted...

The first book not only had references, but explained them in detail for those not familiar with the 80s

Would you say that's in the book's favor for explaining the references?

Or in the movie's favor for not bogging down the proceedings by explaining the references?

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CyricZ posted...

Would you say that's in the book's favor for explaining the references?

Or in the movie's favor for not bogging down the proceedings by explaining the references?

I say that to criticize the first book and it seems like the second is more of the same.

The movie is kind of its own thing with its own issues.

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vbty3 posted...

The first book not only had references, but explained them in detail for those not familiar with the 80s

lmao thats horrible writing fam

soulunison2 posted...

lmao thats horrible writing fam

Right. I didnt mean to praise the first book. I meant like post 15 where the references get annoying pretty quickly.

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so far this book feels like a speed run of itself

this is such a good way to describe a thing

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https://twitter.com/Raddishh/status/1331282417710198784
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I saw the thing I recognized and I clapped! Oh my gawwwwwwd!

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I didn't hate Ready Player One, even if it was a shameless nostalgia-fest. But when it ended I certainly wasn't like, "you know what I need? Another book."

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Dudes rock

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ok i get it now and lol.

i think i could write like that... "he stood tall like a dinosaur like the t-rex from jurassic park the movie from 1993!"

xd

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that legit looks like shit to read. Does the author explain every single reference in detail like that? It completely defeats the purpose of having references

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AsucaHayashi posted...

ok i get it now and lol.

i think i could write like that... "he stood tall like a dinosaur like the t-rex from jurassic park the movie from 1993!"

xd

You have to make it waaaay more annoying. Like:

"I must go, my planet needs me" he said, a quote taken from the 1997 The Simpsons episode 'The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show' in which.....


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The level of hate some people have for Ready Player One is pretty weird. It was a fun book.

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TendoDRM posted...

The level of hate some people have for Ready Player One is pretty weird. It was a fun book.

I mean if it's anything like what was posted in the OP it seems like it'd be a real slog to read

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TendoDRM posted...

The level of hate some people have for Ready Player One is pretty weird. It was a fun book.

Agreed. But I also don't enjoy hating on things. I had a lot of fun with the book, and it was sad to see it turn into the next Twilight/50 Shades of Gray with the level of vitriol thrown towards it.

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MC_BatCommander posted...

I mean if it's anything like what was posted in the OP it seems like it'd be a real slog to read

It was nothing like that.

It was a pretty loved book for most reviewers, and I didn't see any hate for it until after that atrocious movie.

That said, whatever the fuck is in that blurb tells me that the 2nd isn't worth reading, which isn't surprising considering it was completely unnecessary as the first book had a pretty clear end to the story.
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imagine if this was just about anime instead.

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Bio1590 posted...

https://twitter.com/Raddishh/status/1331282417710198784

I... didn't get that message?

Went to Target, but no book. Too sick in the belly to go to Powells

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From what I hear, this is basically what Ready Player One was, so why is anyone surprised?

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What bothers me so much is that for someone who wanted to write a story about celebrating geek culture, Ernest Cline has the most narrow, insular view of geek culture and nostalgia. All of his books so far are him just rattling off references while being completely out of touch even within the niche he's pandering to.

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https://twitter.com/jacobmercy/status/1331102974240645120

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CRON posted...

What bothers me so much is that for someone who wanted to write a story about celebrating geek culture, Ernest Cline has the most narrow, insular view of geek culture and nostalgia. All of his books so far are him just rattling off references while being completely out of touch even within the niche he's pandering to.

To be fair that's a lot of geek culture, "Every single book, film or game I experienced during my formative years is art and should be studied for generations to come. Everything else is shit."

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CyricZ posted...

https://twitter.com/jacobmercy/status/1331102974240645120

What in the actual fuck... Why does everything I like have to be ruined by future (unnecessary) installments?
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CyricZ posted...

https://twitter.com/jacobmercy/status/1331102974240645120

Stalking a girl, hacking into her medical and academic records, and then being framed as a good guy by the author for not having a freakout about her being trans. I wonder if he wrote this and was like "man, I'm such a great ally. I get it."

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Jesus Christ, I actually sort of enjoyed the film adaptation but this is just pure tripe.

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How did the first book even get a movie from fucking Steven Spielberg

Compsognathus posted...

I didn't hate Ready Player One, even if it was a shameless nostalgia-fest. But when it ended I certainly wasn't like, "you know what I need? Another book."

My thoughts exactly. It was fun to geek out at references for a bit, but by the end I was ready to be done.

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Hitgigens posted...

How did the first book even get a movie from fucking Steven Spielberg

Spielberg isn't what he used to be. He's more spiel than berg.

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I enjoyed the first in spite of it's references because it was an interesting angle on the nostalgia.

This wasn't just some dump of references for the sake of nostalgia. the story was set decades in the future. It was the conceit of the entire world becoming nostalgic for someone else's nostalgia. An interesting angle to take, even if it came across quite insufferably at times.

That said, the second book is total tripe. Read the whole thing, and not only didn't it need to exist, but it's one of those sequels. You know the type. The kind that make you retroactively like the earlier installments less.

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DarkBuster22904 posted...

That said, the second book is total tripe. Read the whole thing, and not only didn't it need to exist, but it's one of those sequels. You know the type. The kind that make you retroactively like the earlier installments less.

Put it in the ZTD and TLJ pile then!

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