Play Book Tag discussion

Having absolutely adored Ready Player One, I couldn't wait to fall in love with this book too. While it didn't turn out to be as mind-blowing, it wasn't half bad either. However, I must confess that the chemistry I hoped for just didn't spark.

Now, I can't quite recall how I felt about the 80s references in the first book, but in this one, they mostly left me feeling a bit annoyed. Being born in the late '90s, I couldn't relate to those references at all. Nevertheless, I understood their purpose, and despite that, I was eager to dive into the story. But, let's be real, creating entire worlds centred around one person and detailing every aspect of their life wasn't the most captivating idea. It made some parts of the novel a real struggle to get through.

Now, let's talk about the characters. Wade, unfortunately, didn't win me over this time. His character felt overly self-centred and, in my humble opinion, somewhat off-putting. Additionally, the dynamics between the High Five members didn't quite click for me. As for the L0w Five, even though the author put in efforts to introduce them, they didn't have a significant impact on the story, especially L0hengrin.

Despite these drawbacks, there were some brilliant ideas that did resonate with me. For instance, the unexpected Anorak rebellion took me by surprise and made for an exciting climax battle. However, there were other aspects, like the concept of resurrecting digital copies of the deceased, that didn't quite sit well with me.

In the end, I settled on a 3-star rating for the book. Stripping away the unnecessary details, the intriguing game plot kept me engaged and genuinely invested in the contest's outcome.