|
Let's all be honest with ourselves, Ready Player One was the greatest book ever written AND the greatest film ever filmed. Ernest Cline (and to a much lesser extent, Steven Spielberg) created the most vibrant and original world ever made, one filled with deep characters. The book was overflowing with heart, humor, and a whole lot of amazing writing. So it's not shock that a sequel was going to come out. Is it as good as the original? Well, I'll let you be the judge. Please use this thread to share your thoughts on Ready Player Two and to share your favorite passages. Here's mine: Wade pulled up in his custom Batmobile. It looked like the Batmobile from the 1989 film, but with a few extras. Wade had outfitted it with a flux capacitor for time travel, for starters. The steering wheel glistened with buttons, like the car from Speed Racer, the Mach 1. "Wow, Wade, that's a really great car! How'd you get it?" Michael J Fox stood in front of the car, eyeing it up. "Well, Mr. Fox, it's easy when you're the new CEO of whatever company created this virtual world. You get some perks." With that, Wade honked the horn. It made the noise of the siren from Ecto-1, the car in Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, and The Real Ghostbusters cartoon. "Cool!" said Michael J Fox. "I love that franchise!" Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from the top of a building. Not just any building, it was Nakatomi Plaza. Not the real one, the digital copy. But Wade used his extensive knowledge of pop culture to recognize it. This was from the movie Die Hard, which meant only one thing - terrorists. "Time to make the call. Mr. Fox, I'm sorry but I have to assemble my elite anti-terrorism squad." Michael J Fox shook Wade's hand and logged out. Within moments, Wade's squad arrived. The first to arrive was, of course, Buzz Lightyear. Close by was Bishop from the movie Aliens. And then, perhaps the most powerful member of all, David the Gnome. David had a solemn look on his face. He was a haunted gnome, tired of all the killing but fully aware that he was saving countless lives by doing it. The final member showed up, fashionably late as always. Wade yelled at her. "Hey, Strawberry Shortcake, this is an anti-terrorism mission! Not a picnic!"
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 16:20
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 23:56 |
|
|
Chrs posted:This time everyone is a pop vinyl My favorite "meta moment" is when Wade picks up a pop vinyl version of himself! Hey Funko, if you're listening - gimme a pop of Wade holding a tiny pop version of himself! Popception!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 16:30
|
|
|
DemoneeHo posted:Does this one also involve the reenactment of Monty Python and the Holy Grail as its climax? No, in this one (SPOILER ALERT!) Hulk Hogan shows up to wrestle the main villain (who is basically Skeletor and Mumm-Ra in one) and Wade gets to do a super powered diving elbow off the top of the steel cage. Then Link from the Legend of Zelda tosses Wade the Master Sword to finish the job, and Wade says "Looks like you're about to get a little head!" Which doesn't make a ton of sense but I was shaking with excitement at this point anyway.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 16:40
|
|
|
I just can't put this thing down. A really great part here: Johnny 5 had been reprogrammed by the Shredder into a literal killing machine. The Foot Clan had grown in power over the past three months, adding deadly new members such as Gary Busey and The Chatterer from Hellraiser. "Johnny 5 alive... but you will be.... dead!" beeped and booped the once-lovable robot, who now craved only death. The Ninja Turtles, fearing the power of the Foot Clan, had recruited some help of their own. Wade, who had become a master of all martial arts between the events of the first book and this one, was made honorary leader. And joining them were the deadliest martial artists of all time - Gizmo from Gremlins, Mr. Miyagi, Snake Plissken, and Monster in my Pocket. A battle was brewing, one that would change the digital world forever. Suddenly, a shuriken flew through the air and hit Johnny 5. It was embossed with a familiar logo - the Rebel Alliance logo! "Hey, Johnny 5! Looks like you're about to be 5 feet under!" screamed Luke Skywalker. He brought his blade down. It was no longer a lightsaber, as he had lost that in a duel with the Kurrgan from Highlander. No, this time he brought down the Sword of Omens. Somewhere, Lion-O smiled.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 17:28
|
|
|
Katamari Democracy posted:Uhh. No. You are wrong. I haven't finished Ready Player Two yet, hold on. At that point I'd be willing to call it the greatest book of all time, but I need to finish it first!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 18:02
|
|
|
Horrible Butts posted:Do you think the third book will be called “Ready Player Three” or will he spice it up? If you're on the RPO (ready player one) subreddit, you'll find that a lot of us "Cline-heads" think he's going to call it Ready Player Three: Revenge of the Player. That's a bit of a clever insider reference itself, which seems right up Mr. Cline's alley. I've also heard rumors of "Ready Player Trois", where you'd get to explore a digital version of France, and all the famous french pop culture characters. Can you say "spin-off"?
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 18:08
|
|
|
Irsh posted:The first book has a queer black women who's totally down with her best friend using homophobic slurs. Wonder what other great well rounded character Cline will include in the sequel? Sounds like you might be interested in "Stacy VonStacked". She's Wade's new best friend, and a girl, and she reveals that actually most women want to be with a nice gamer guy. There's a really sweet scene where Wade carries a hyper-printer across the cyber desert for her, and she rewards him with sex.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 18:25
|
|
|
Boz0r posted:OP is messing with us, right, there is no Ready Player Two, right? It's out now and I HIGHLY suggest you running down to your local bookstore to pick up a copy. Heck, you might wanna set the flux capacitor back a little bit, since the book actually came out YESTERDAY! One more great segment, posted just to hook anybody who's on the fence. "I recognize these barrels. Wait a minute, I recognize these girders, too! Don't you see what's going on?" Wade looked alarmed. The sword from Lord of the Rings that glows blue when it senses orcs was glowing blue right now, which meant orcs must be nearby. But, sadly, nobody else seemed to get it. "Well," said Feivel from An American Tail, "I don't recognize it. What is it?" "No, of course you wouldn't. You never spent a minute of your life in an arcade, not like me. It's from Donkey Kong, the arcade game. We're in the game." "Oh no, does this mean we need to save the Princess?" "Not even close. Again, if you played the game, you'd know that we're saving PAULINE. Jeez, you're lucky you have me around to keep you safe!" Feivel prayed to his Jewish gods and thanked them for sending this great man to help him. He looked up at the top of the tower made of red girders. It reminded him of New York City, where he lived in the first movie but not the second one. In that one, he was in the old west.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 25, 2020 19:05
|
|
|
For anyone who's pretty deep in the book (I'm like 3 chapters from finishing) - does it seem like Mr. Cline might have found religion between these two books? I might be reading between the lines too much, but look at this: Sonic and Wade raced across the rooftops, Wade doing his best to keep up with Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic was obviously holding back. "C'mon Wade! You can be faster than that! If you believe in the Lord, all things are possible!" "You're right, Sonic, but I don't think even Asahel, David's nephew, is as fast as you! For he was simply as swift-footed as the gazelle!" Sonic wagged his finger at Wade. "Heh heh, and we both know I'm a lot faster than any gazelle! Let's go, Lex Luthor and Jason Vorhees are about to activate the mind-control ray that will let them take over the entire digital world!" "Praise Christ, the King of Kings!" "Yeah yeah, Praise Christ! But I wonder if He ever made some chili dogs for his disciples!" Wade and Sonic both laughed at that.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2020 14:43
|
|
|
"Quickly, you need to reverse -" Wade cut off 3rd Doctor. "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow, right?" "Yes, of course, but how did you -? Oh, no matter, let's finish this thing once and for all!" The 3rd Doctor and Wade flipped the switches on their twin proton packs, turning the stream of energy from orange to green. They slowly began to move the streams closer together. Although Egon had warned of the danger, it was the only way to stop this monster. As the streams almost crossed, Wade felt the proton pack begin to violently shake, almost threatening to explode on his back. "C'mon kid, you can do this!" yelled Han Solo and Indiana Jones together. As the beams crossed, Wade felt a calming hand on his shoulder. He turned around, it was Bob Falfa from American Graffiti. From behind him came Rick Deckard from Blade Runner, Richard Kimble from the movie version of The Fugitive, and President James Marshall from Air Force One. They all started clapping and cheering - the Legion of Fords was reunited again, as the prophecy had foretold. Wade let out a powerful scream and he and the 3rd Doctor crossed the streams right in front of Pazuzu from the Exorcist. "Burn in Hell, you monster!" Cried out He-man, still grieving over the death of Optimus Prime at the hands of the demon.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2020 17:12
|
|
|
For anyone else who's finished this, what did you think about : the big reveal that there's a second OASIS accessible through the original OASIS, but that you can only get to it by reciting the entirety of Monty Python and the Holy Grail? And that 2.0 is just like the original OASIS except you get access to super cool stuff for your avatar like new sunglasses and hats And, more importantly, the teaser that: Aliens have access to OASIS 2.0 and Wade at the end gets 3 messages - "Phone Home", "Hello, my name is Jor-el", and "May the force be wtih you"? This seems to confirm that there is a REAL version of all these pop culture characters I love and use in place of a personality, so I'm excited to see where the 3rd book goes!
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2020 19:48
|
|
|
Klyith posted:So since the book got made into a movie by Warner Pictures™, does the sequel concentrate on referencing IP owned by WarnerMedia™'s fine subsidiary brands, like Batman™, Bugs Bunny™, and The CW's Supernatural™? There's a really good, if not a little strange, chapter in which Bugs Bunny contemplates the reality of being a 2 dimensional character in a 3 dimensional space, then extrapolates that out further to eventually picture a 12th dimensional being that could be considered God. It doesn't have a ton of relevance on the plot but it kind of enhances the themes of the book. I'd also love to see a Funko Pop! version of this scene! One of those cool dioramas they make.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 27, 2020 20:13
|
|
|
"Woah, are you guys seeing this?" The Death Star rose over the horizon like a metallic sun, huge and foreboding. The laser array began to glow green, even from thousands of miles away it was a terrifying sight. "Oh no, it's aimed right at us!" said Cheetara. "Not even I'm fast enough to outrun this. Our planet is doomed!" All around, people were crying in terror, hugging loved ones. A few brave ones tried to keep a brave face. Sonic was handing out chili dogs as a final feast, while Gizmo was leading dozens in a prayer service. He had become an ordained minister several months ago, but never expected to have to use his skills like this. "Now hold on just a second, this isn't the end!" said Wade, who was the bravest person ever to enter OASIS and also had a huge penis. "This is just the beginning. A great man once said 'Never give up, never surrender!' That was me, I'm saying it right now." The crowd began to murmur, then cheer, then starting an elaborate choreographed dance to show their admiration for Wade. "Wade, I love you. Please come back to me in one piece." said Jessica Rabbit. "Don't worry, I will. Roger might not have known what he had, but I do. He might have been content to drink away his life in some bar in the middle of nowhere, but I'm only happy around you, babe." Wade gave Jessica one final passionate kiss, then starting running as fast as he could. He tapped into the digital code of the OASIS to make himself faster than light, then launched himself at the Death Star. "Hey, Skeletor? I know you can't hear me because I'm moving faster than light, but I hope this hurts... a lot!" Wade altered the digital code even more to make himself weigh thousands of pounds (he was normally a very healthy weight) and to make himself invulnerable. He hit the Death Star with an almost infinite amount of force, causing it to explode. Back on the surface, Muldoon from Jurassic Park looked up. "Wow, what a clever move. Pure genius." "Yes," replied the Toxic Avenger. "And it makes more sense than if, say, this happened in a movie and you were trying to steer a ship through faster-than-light travel into another ship in some kind of suicide move." "Agreed," replied Brainy Smurf, who was wiping tears of joy from his eyes. "It's also worth noting that writing a novel takes a long time and any ideas that might appear to be copied from, let's say, a movie were probably inside the author's head for much longer than that. If you choose to call the author a hack, the burden of proof falls on you to discover exactly WHEN the author first had this idea. Oh, what's that? You can't? That's what I thought."
|
|
#
¿
Nov 30, 2020 20:42
|
|
|
"Wait, so this is what it's like... to be Superman?" "That's right," said Superman. "This is what it's like to be me. You seem to be handling it extremely well, Wade. Better than I did when I first developed my powers." "Well, you don't play as many games as I have without learning a LITTLE something about superpowers!" Wade delicately used his heat vision to finish toasting his grilled cheese sandwich. It smelled amazing and he couldn't wait to take a bite. Suddenly, the wall exploded behind them and out burst Shadow the Hedgehog. But something was wrong - he had a metal helmet on his head that completely covered his face. He pointed his trademark gun at Wade and Superman. "Oh no!" said Wade. "Looks like whoever's mind controlling everyone got to Shadow, too!" "Well old chum, let's see if you're faster than a speeding bullet!" Wade was, he instantly disarmed Shadow and removed the mind control helmet. Shadow then quickly explained that the mind control device had been placed on his head by Magneto, from the X-Men entertainment franchise. Magneto was working with a mysterious other made scientist, too. "It's gotta be Lex Luthor!" said Superman. "No. I'm using your powers now Superman, and I can see the energy aura around every single living thing. Have you ever done this?" "No, to be honest you're using my powers far better than I ever did. Wade, you truly are a Superman for the modern era. By the way, have you ever heard of the author Ernest Cline? I believe I would like to meet him one day, he seems like a great mind, a Superman in his own right."
|
|
#
¿
Dec 3, 2020 18:49
|
|
|
Wade punched the coordinates into the hyper-ship. 8-6-7-5-3-0-9 "Jenny, you've got MY number." He said to himself with a grin. The ship responded and began its journey to what the Digi-scientists were calling the "Warp Zone", named after the area from Super Mario Bros for the NES (or Super Famicom if you were Japanese) where you could enter various pipes to to progress further in the game. The Nostromo from Alien lurched to full speed, bolstered by a few mods that Wade had made. Engines from the Starship Enterprise, an energy convertor from the Millenium Falcon, and more. "Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed!" Wade said this and laughed to himself. It was, of course, a quote from Batman, the classic television show. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the ship as Super Mario and Eeyore burst into the control room. "Mamma Mia! We've just been targeted by a ship being powered by the Ghoulies! It's shaped like a toilet, just like the iconic movie poster! We gotta lose them!" "Mario, please. This is all according to keikaku, which means my plan."
|
|
#
¿
Jan 12, 2021 14:30
|
|
|
Fried Watermelon posted:Does he talk about Japanese stuff or is it solely the western version of stuff Wade can't type fast enough at one point but literally says "KAIO KEN TIMES TEN!" so he can type 10 times faster.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 13, 2021 20:17
|
|
|
"Welcome to prime time, Wade!" laughed Freddy Krueger, his burnt face contorted into a twisted grin. "Not so fast," said Wade, who was not scared at all and was in fact totally in control, "did you forget that I did my research? Did you forget that I mastered lucid dreaming? Let me remind you, Fred!" With that, Wade manifested the sword from Highlander. He lifted it over his head, where it began to glow. "Sorry, Fred, but your series really should have been HALF as long!" Wade chopped Krueger in half, completing his joke which also commented on the quality of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Wade was of course a fan of the first installment, and the 2nd one had some interest for the homoerotic undertones that the director claimed were unintentional. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't, but Wade believed in "Death of the Author", which meant that a work could stand on its own, beyond what the author originally envisioned. Then, of course, there was the 3rd film. Enjoyable for sure, with some iconic lines and scenes, and a return of Wes Craven to the series. This film also saw the death of Nancy and her father, which perhaps should have meant the end of the series. But the money kept flowing in, forcing the creation of more films. Freddy became a merchandising juggernaut, with things like dolls and even 1-900 numbers bringing more and more money in to New Line Cinema. "Can you imagine becoming a soulless pop culture merchandising icon? Something which long ago lost any artistic merit, and instead became an excuse to make toys and games and take money from stupid consumers? A self-referential ouroboros, devouring itself as it becomes more focused on referencing the past instead of creating the future. My god, that would be a real Nightmare on Elm Street!" said Wade as he jumped on the dragon from Pete's Dragon and flew off to do battle with the Killer Klowns from Outer Space, who had teamed up with the Mutants from Thundercats and Gargamel.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 15, 2021 14:36
|
|
|
I think Ready Player Three is going to get the series back on track after the growing pains of part two. I've only been reading the excerpts shared online, but the scene where Wade and Knuckles discuss the concept of the male gaze was really well done and didn't feel forced. Not to mention the revelation that Wade is now in a polyamorous relationship with Snake Plissken and Ellen Ripley so its a bit more progressive in that regard.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 29, 2021 18:14
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 23:56 |
|
|
Did anyone else get early access to read the draft of Ready Player Three? So far, so AMAZING! I can't share too much because of the NDA, but just wanted to share my favorite part so far: Wade looked down through the sewer grate, unsure of what he might find. Two eyes blinked back at him. Two NINJA TURTLE eyes. It was Donatello, of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Of course, now that time had passed, he was actually a Middle Aged Ninja Turtle. Donatello wearily opened the grate and let Wade down. Donatello took a seat and began to fill Wade in on the recent disasters that had struck OASIS. "Wade, it's terrible. My brothers are dead, killed by Dracula. Things have gotten so dark around here lately, it's like a completely different world. One that's a lot more mature and realistic." Tears began to roll down Donatello's face. "She lost the baby, Wade. April lost the baby. Krang... that son of a bitch did it with his Earthquake Machine. He... he was laughing. The bastard was laughing the whole time." Wade held Donatello close, in a manly fashion, not a romantic one. Wade knew April had miscarried, but it still hurt him to see Donatello cry like this. April could always get pregnant again, that wasn't a problem, but the scars ran deep for his friend. And, after all, Donatello only had so many years left of viable sperm. True, he could freeze his sperm, but that was an expensive and risky proposition. Wade knew that for a fact, he ran the sperm bank. He recently had to turn away the Tarman from Return of the Living Dead, the poor zombie had been unable to pay the storage fee. Wade felt bad about that, but his company had to turn a profit. There were the investors to think about. Donatello stood up and dried his tears. "No time for that. There's a serial killer on the loose that we need to catch. He's carving up people and leaving clues, but how do they fit together?" "Well, there's one thing we know for sure, this is a much grittier and grimmer world than the one we experienced in the past. It's a whole new world out there. Let's get to the crime scene, I heard that the body's still warm. Which makes sense, considering we're about to see the corpse of Moltar from Space Ghost, a lava man."
|
|
#
¿
Nov 17, 2021 14:16
|
|