I wasn't a fan of Armada, although The Last Starfighter was one of my favorite movies. The title of the sequel to (Ready Player Two... ugh, indeed) missed an obvious chance to invoke other arcade/gamer terminology that might have been clever in comparison (Level Up, Achievement Unlocked, Cheat Code [this one might be taken], Respawn or anything else watching Scott Pilgrim Vs The World might inspire.)
I gave up on Ready Player One midway through chapter two. It just felt like a list of 80s references and I checked out. Glad I never even bothered to try Armada...
Don’t mind my excited shriek (AHHH!), because I hadn’t yet seen the news about Ready Player Two!!! I hope the author is able to address some of the issues in the first book that you mentioned.
The subject line for this one literally made my morning.
I hate Ernie Cline's 'writing' with a supernova level of passion. Referencing other things isn't writing, it's just referencing. That's before we get into his depiction of women, etc. To have Spielberg adapt RPO seemed like the ultimate level of the snake eating itself.
Of course, I may not speak his name in this house, because my wife actually liked RPO. She didn't quite grow up as steeped in nerd culture as I.
I also have it on good authority that Mr Cline is a fairly reprehensible human being, and if one day his name appears atop an 'allegation', I won't be surprised.
But I don't hate the man: I hate what he produces.
PS " if you don't recognize these sacred tomes, you don't belong" could almost literally be the motto of GamerGaters everywhere.
Thank you, Armada made me so frustrated! While the 80s references in Ready Player One were fun, in Armada they just feel forced, like the only way the main character can describe anything is with a pop culture reference simile.
Great post, Andrew. You totally captured my mixed feelings about RPO. Very much agree about its regressive nature. It was aimed squarely at me being an 80s kid. It was a fun read, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. A book cannot stand on tropes alone!
I wasn't a fan of Armada, although The Last Starfighter was one of my favorite movies. The title of the sequel to (Ready Player Two... ugh, indeed) missed an obvious chance to invoke other arcade/gamer terminology that might have been clever in comparison (Level Up, Achievement Unlocked, Cheat Code [this one might be taken], Respawn or anything else watching Scott Pilgrim Vs The World might inspire.)
I gave up on Ready Player One midway through chapter two. It just felt like a list of 80s references and I checked out. Glad I never even bothered to try Armada...
Don’t mind my excited shriek (AHHH!), because I hadn’t yet seen the news about Ready Player Two!!! I hope the author is able to address some of the issues in the first book that you mentioned.
Good thing I skipped Armada.
The subject line for this one literally made my morning.
I hate Ernie Cline's 'writing' with a supernova level of passion. Referencing other things isn't writing, it's just referencing. That's before we get into his depiction of women, etc. To have Spielberg adapt RPO seemed like the ultimate level of the snake eating itself.
Of course, I may not speak his name in this house, because my wife actually liked RPO. She didn't quite grow up as steeped in nerd culture as I.
I also have it on good authority that Mr Cline is a fairly reprehensible human being, and if one day his name appears atop an 'allegation', I won't be surprised.
But I don't hate the man: I hate what he produces.
PS " if you don't recognize these sacred tomes, you don't belong" could almost literally be the motto of GamerGaters everywhere.
Thank you, Armada made me so frustrated! While the 80s references in Ready Player One were fun, in Armada they just feel forced, like the only way the main character can describe anything is with a pop culture reference simile.
Great post, Andrew. You totally captured my mixed feelings about RPO. Very much agree about its regressive nature. It was aimed squarely at me being an 80s kid. It was a fun read, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. A book cannot stand on tropes alone!