Upon deciding to pick up this book because you loved Ready Player One, kindly disregard all hopes and dreams of a Ready Player One Part Deux. It is not a sequel, follow up, or companion piece, and to expect such will leave you disappointed.
Plot synopsis: Zack Lightman is a high-school guy with an obsession with all things sci-fi and video-game related. He’s a dreamer, a classic underachiever, and not really one of the cool kids in his class. He spends his days playing Armada and Terra Firma with his buddies- two incredibly popular video games with the premise of defending earth from alien invaders- and is one of the best in the game at #6 on the world leader board. Lo and behold one day, while gazing out of his classroom window, he sees a flying saucer hovering in the distance, and not just that, but a spaceship out of the very game he plays daily. His skills as a leader in Armada bring him into the real world of an impending alien conflict, and our plucky protagonist is tapped to be the hero he always knew he could be.
Ernest Cline worships at the altar of SciFi tropes and 80s/90/00s gamer culture. And I’m ok with that. Some have claimed it’s “too geeky” for them, and sure, I can certainly see that. This is just a preposterous plot having a lot of fun with intermingling as many quotes as possible from the movies, shows, and songs of our (my) youth. The bottom line is this: if you aren’t really into quoting nerdy movies, haven’t ever been sucked into a video game marathon (either first or second-hand), or head-bobbed/banged to some righteous 80s music, this book won’t be your huckleberry.
I went into this book cold- no synopsis, no preconceptions, and no intention to compare it to Ready Player One. And I would recommend the same to you, dear reader. It’s a fun romp through the nostalgia of our youths, a wonderful escape from the world around us, and one hell of a good time.
