Ready Player Deuce?

Life likes being annoying, huh? 

Ernest Cline’s a controversial figure. Personal opinions aside, his writing’s love-it-or-hate-it. His most-famous book, Ready Player One, is where it’s most-apparent, being touted as either engaging, or a slog-fest of pop culture references. So, naturally, his book was turned into a movie.

I don’t need to reiterate my thoughts on that movie. I’ve shared them before, both pre and post-release. And besides, it’s a Spielberg release. It might not have been “amazing”, but it was leagues above what people expected. But I’m getting carried away…

Anyway, because the book was successful, Cline immediately went to work on a sequel, Ready Player Two. And now it’s officially out. And people are mixed on it. Which means rolling my eyes and wishing people would chill out. But that’s never going to happen, so why try? 

Honestly, I’m not even sure what people were expecting: a masterpiece? An improvement over the original? Because I doubt you’ll be getting either, especially with prose like this:

“There it was: number 42. Another of Halliday’s jokes—according to one of his favorite novels, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the number 42 was the ‘Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything.’”

These books aren’t exactly deep, and that’s okay. That’s not to say you can’t criticize them, I’ve been critical of them myself, but demanding more from something you know is trash is like expecting rotten fruit to not make you sick: what were you honestly expecting? 

My concern is that people are demanding way too much. It’d be one problem if there was a different expectation for Cline, or if he’d already proven himself. That’s not the case here, though. With Cline, what exists is a duology that feels like overly-sentimental and really trashy fanfics of what nerds think is good writing. It’s the “blackface” of fiction, essentially.

I know what this is really about: quelling a toxic mindset. And I get it, I really do. Nerds were abused and shut out for so long that they’re unable to adjust to a world that now accepts them. They’re stuck in the 80’s, not realizing that was four decades ago. Like most people stuck in the past, they can’t adjust to reality.

Still, as tempting as it might be to mock something that artificial, is it worth the energy? Is it worth slamming the novel equivalent of candy corn? It might not be healthy, or even the best kind of junk food, but candy corn has fans. So long as these fans appreciate that what they’re consuming isn’t good for them, then what’s the big deal? 

I also wouldn’t be as bitter if it weren’t for the elephant in the room: the movie adaptation of Ready Player One. When that was first announced, and well into the years that followed, the internet’s reaction was extremely negative. Perhaps it was even toxic. There was no room for actual discussion, nor room to acknowledge that books and movies are different mediums. That one of modern cinema’s greatest directors was helming it was ignored, as was the fact that the head screenwriter had experience with nerdy ensemble pieces. All of this went out the window in favour of the negatives.

I even ended up putting the title on a one-month moratorium on Twitter. It wouldn’t be the last time I’d do that, but it wasn’t an easy decision to make. I mean, it was a movie! Even horrible movies have some degree of talent behind them! So why have this much ire? Wasn’t it bad enough to claim that Avatar had no fans?

It sounds like I’m really frustrated, but I’m not. I don’t care for Cline’s books, his writing doesn’t appeal to me. I also think these sorts of stories work better as films, as film excels at this kind of fan-service more than text-based books. It’s especially true in light of Spielberg having already improved on the source material. He not only made the protagonist, Wade Watts, feel genuine, but he also made Halliday a tragic figure. He found the humanity in this story. 

That’s missing in the discourse, and it’s disappointing. Because I don’t think that wish fulfillment VR is a bad concept, especially when grounded in tangibility. It’s been done before with The Matrix, so why not video games? Is it really considered to be that farfetched? Because it isn’t to me!

Like it or not, Cline’s work provides meaning to some people. And some of them have legitimate reasons for why. Remember, life’s hard and frustrating. We all need escapism on occasion, even if it isn’t “good”. Gatekeeping that does no one favours. That’s something I’ve learned over time.

However, if that doesn’t comfort detractors, we can always wait for the inevitable movie of Ready Player Two. Because I’m sure it’ll be leagues better than the book it’s based on, right? 

*****

So I figure I owe you all another update: my planned collaboration isn’t happening. I lost my third partner due to work obligations, and I wasn’t able to find a replacement. I’m sorry about that, as I don’t like breaking promises to my readers.

On the plus side, I have another project I want to try. I won’t give any more details, in case it falls through too, but hopefully I can get that going soon. In the meantime, enjoy this piece, and I’ll see you next time!