Author Ernest Cline
Publisher Century
Ready Player One was never high literature, but it was fun. By setting a relentless stream of pop culture references against a fast-moving quest to recover a dead tech billionaire’s fortune, Ernest Cline found the spot on the Venn diagram where nostalgia and page-turners intersect. Which is why Steven Spielberg chose to turn it into an unashamedly geeky movie – and why this follow-up is considered such a big deal by its publishers that SFX wasn’t allowed near it until release day.
The thing Ready Player One didn’t need, however, was a sequel. The last time we saw Wade Watts (aka Parzival), he’d tracked down James Halliday’s Easter egg, become the owner of virtual reality playground the OASIS, and got the girl. With a happily ever after like that, no “Continue” is required. By picking up Watts’s story a few years later, Cline instantly spurns the goodwill his “geeks inherit the Earth” original generated. While the story of a kid from the wrong side of the tracks (or stacks) beating the system has instant appeal, the tale of the richest man on the planet returning to take on some new pop culture puzzles does not.
Watts was never the most likeable of protagonists, and here his self-loathing, arrogance and lack of self-awareness make him a tedious and fun-free narrator. He’s the sort of guy who uses his uber-admin privileges to destroy the avatars of anyone who criticises him online – thinly veiled satire? – so it’s no surprise that his friends no longer want to hang out, virtually or otherwise.
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Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av SFX.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Making Alien - Jaws in Space - Forty-five years on from its original release, Alien continues to terrify. We dissect what arguably remains the most chilling instalment in the saga
The seven-strong crew of the commercial mining spacecraft the Nostromo seal their fate after reluctantly responding to a mysterious distress signal on a hostile planet. Here, a face-hugging alien from a derelict ship impregnates and later kills executive officer Kane (John Hurt) after its offspring is birthed onboard. After being unleashed, the fearsome newborn with acid for blood proceeds to dispatch the remainder of the crew.Ridley Scott's much more convoluted prequels have yet to reveal how the knowledge that led to this initial interception was acquired. However, the premise of the original Alien is perfect in its uncomplicated purity.
PURE AND SIMPLE
IN THE FINAL PART OF OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, SHOWRUNNER RUSSELL T DAVIES TALKS RELAUNCHING DOCTOR WHO
TO CAP IT ALL OFF
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF THE BBC SERIES THE TRIPODS
FRENCH REVOLUTION
THE WALKING DEAD SPIN-OFF SHOWRUNNER DAVID ZABEL ON BEING GIVEN THE TOUGH TASK OF REUNITING DARYL AND CAROL IN FRANCE
SILENT KILLERS
THE DIRECTOR OF HOLLYWOOD'S SPEAK NO EVIL REMAKE ON HORROR, COMEDY AND JAMES MCAVOY
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
THE GHOST WITH THE MOST RETURNS FINALLY - IN BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
TEENAGE DREAM
JOE LOCKE HITS THE ROAD RUNNING
MOB RULE THE PENGUIN
GOTHAM'S UP FOR GRABS IN BRUISING NEW CRIME SAGA BUT WHERE IS THE BATMAN?
SEASON OF THE WITCH
AS MARVEL TELEVISION CARVES OUT A NEW PATH FOR ITSELF, WE SPEAK TO CREATOR JAC SCHAEFFER, PLUS A CAST OF STARS LED BY KATHRYN HAHN AND JOE LOCKE, ABOUT THE MAGIC OF WANDAVISION'S SPIN-OFF AGATHA ALL ALONG
Ghouls Allowed
Even silence can't save you at this year's Halloween Horror Nights
