Ready Player Two is a 2020 science fiction novel by American author Ernest Cline. It is the sequel to his 2011 debut novel, Ready Player One. Set after Wade Watts wins control of the virtual-reality system known as the OASIS, the novel follows Wade and his friends as they discover a brain–computer interface created by James Halliday and undertake another quest. Its story examines the benefits and risks of immersive technology, including addiction, surveillance, and the possibility of digitally reproducing human consciousness. Cline's plans for a sequel were first reported in 2015, and he confirmed in December 2017 that he was writing it. Ballantine Books published Ready Player Two on November 24, 2020, in hardcover and e-book formats, while Penguin Random House Audio released an audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton. The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction list. Critical response was generally negative: reviewers praised some of the virtual settings and action sequences but criticized the characterization, prose, reliance on pop-culture references, and similarities to the first novel. A film adaptation is in development, with Steven Spielberg attached as a producer.
Background and writing In January 2015, screenwriter Zak Penn, who co-wrote the film adaptation of Ready Player One, said that Cline was working on a sequel to the novel. Cline publicly confirmed the project in December 2017. At the time, he said that it would continue to feature the first book's characters and pop-culture references but would tell a different story. He also said that his experiences working with Penn and Spielberg on the film helped him develop ideas for the sequel and that the studio's interest in a possible second film encouraged him to complete it. Cline said that Spielberg offered suggestions while he was writing. One was to give the villain Nolan Sorrento a larger part, in part because Spielberg was friends with Ben Mendelsohn, who played the character in the film. Cline nevertheless sought to make the novel a sequel to the book rather than to the film. He noted that some characters' fates differ between the two versions and said that he tried not to let the adaptation determine the novel's story. The new OASIS Neural Interface (ONI) was inspired by research into brain–computer interfaces. Cline described speculative fiction as extrapolating from current technology and said that he wanted the device to have both utopian and dystopian consequences. He compared the characters' difficulty regulating the ONI to real-world debates over social-media platforms designed to encourage repeated use. He also viewed the interface as a hypothetical “empathy machine” through which users could experience another person's memories and physical sensations.
Publication and promotion Ballantine Books announced the title and November 24, 2020, publication date in July 2020. Details of the plot were initially withheld. Cline revealed a synopsis at a virtual New York Comic Con panel on October 9, with Wheaton reading the text during the event. The book was released simultaneously in the United States and the United Kingdom in hardcover, e-book, and audio editions. Wheaton, who had narrated Ready Player One, returned for the unabridged audiobook. To promote the release, Cline and the online game platform Roblox organized a virtual treasure hunt. The event began with a themed question-and-answer session and sent players through seven game worlds to collect virtual artifacts; its final challenge opened on December 1, 2020.
Plot
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