Ready Player Two by Ernst Cline

So, yes, I read this book right after the first one in May 2025.  But I never wrote a review. Why? Because. Many things. Did my TOGAF study and training and exams, then played a lot of video games, then just stressed about life, job, money, future, life.  For months. Month after month. Didn't write anything anywhere. I don't really know why. I just didn't feel like it. For months. I still read.  The newest Murakami book took months to read.  It is not great. It is good, but I am used to only great books from Murakami. I read others too. Some I forgot. Some I will write about in 2026. This year. Typing on my DROP ENTR keyboard with Yellow switches.

So, about the second player book from Cline. A disappointment.  A great one.  Come 'on Cline. You could have done better than "Rogue AI is taking over the world".  Anorak's avatar became a "self conscious" AI and is taking over the world through the ONI VR glasses (taking a shot at Oculus here, Cline, eh?)  which have immobilized and can kill most of the world population (who got addicted to the VR world and don't  want to live in the Real One). 

So, it is three years later and Wade has already fallen out with Art3mis, and lo and behold he finds a new message in an old easter egg with ONI VR headset which transports the user into a full VR world without the need for a bodysuit. Here we have the evil AI Anorak (Halliday's Shadow) take over the world by removing the 12 hour safety limit on ONI and causing everyone brain damage.  Anorak wants Wade & co to complete the 7 shards quest in order to resurrect Kira's consciousness.  Apparently, ONI also makes duplicates of users consciousness which can then live on as their own beings. This doesn't mean the original body doesn't die, so the new consciousness is more of a simulation. The old guy is dead as a nail. 

So, eventually we get to the part where Kira's copied consciousness becomes an entity on its own, which is very unbelievable, as consciousness doesn't just 'arise' on its own.  We see a different side of Halliday, selfish, egotistic, no empathy; which is interesting on its own, but doesn't develop the character significantly.  Eventually Wade creates an AI copy of himself and sends him on a starship to explore the universe.  

Overall, not a bad read, but way lower quality than the first book.  Entertaining though, especially for us 80s kids.