History Literature / ReadyPlayerTwo

* TookALevelInJerkass: Throughout the book, Wade abuses his position as head of the OASIS to get what he wants regardless of who'll get hurt in the crossfire, which causes him to ignore Samantha's ''very'' valid criticisms about how he released the ONI despite knowing full-well about the world's already-crippling reliance on the OASIS and funneled enough money to pay off the debts of most countries into a project designed to send a mere twelve people into space to colonize another planet instead of concentrating his new wealth and power on trying to improve the grim situation on Earth first, and acts self-righteous about what he's doing the whole time, which leads to Samantha dumping him for a while. And that's not even mentioning the fact he literally [[StalkerWithACrush cyberstalks Samantha during their temporary break-up]], sues a band that used a soundbyte of him for their first single for defamation (with him [[DisproportionateRetribution even openly admitting to bankrupting all of them]]), and uses his superadmin powers to identify online trolls who mock or insult him, Samantha, or their friends so he can track down and personally kill their avatars, which is established in the first book as potentially ruinous due to resetting the character to level 1 and causing a loss of virtual items that have actual value. He does get better as the book goes on, but the arrogance he displays throughout most of the story can make it hard to root for him. Yes, Wade did have flaws and a few jerk-ish moments in the first book, but at least there he was a teenager with a pretty crappy life who develops into a better person over the course of the novel whereas here he's a grown adult with a extremely privileged position which he, again, abuses to get his way even if it hurts others. Ultimately, Wade comes off as a creepy, obnoxious, irresponsible and immature egomaniac with way too much power.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Throughout the book, Wade abuses his position as head of the OASIS to get what he wants regardless of who'll get hurt in the crossfire, which causes him to ignore Samantha's ''very'' valid criticisms about how he released the ONI despite knowing full-well about the world's already-crippling reliance on the OASIS and funneled enough money to pay off the debts of most countries into a project designed to send a mere twelve people into space to colonize another planet instead of concentrating his new wealth and power on trying to improve the grim situation on Earth first, and acts self-righteous about what he's doing the whole time, which leads to Samantha dumping him for a while. And that's not even mentioning the fact he literally [[StalkerWithACrush cyberstalks Samantha during their temporary break-up]], sues a band that used a soundbyte of him for their first single for defamation (with him [[DisproportionateRetribution even openly admitting to bankrupting all of them]])and uses his superadmin powers to identify online trolls who mock or insult him, Samantha, or their friends so he can track down and personally kill their avatars, which is established in the first book as potentially ruinous due to resetting the character to level 1 and causing a loss of virtual items that have actual value. He does get better as the book goes on, but the arrogance he displays throughout most of the story can make it hard to root for him. Yes, Wade did have flaws and a few jerk-ish moments in the first book, but at least there he was a teenager with a pretty crappy life who develops into a better person over the course of the novel whereas here he's a grown adult with a extremely privileged position which he, again, abuses to get his way even if it hurts others. Ultimately, Wade comes off as a creepy, obnoxious, irresponsible and immature egomaniac with way too much power.

* TookALevelInJerkass: Throughout the book, Wade abuses his position as head of the OASIS to get what he wants regardless of who'll get hurt in the crossfire, which causes him to ignore Samantha's ''very'' valid criticisms about how he released the ONI despite knowing full-well about the world's already-crippling reliance on the OASIS and funneled enough money to pay off the debts of most countries into a project designed to send a mere twelve people into space to colonize another planet instead of concentrating his new wealth and power on trying to improve the grim situation on Earth first, and acts self-righteous about what he's doing the whole time, which leads to Samantha dumping him for a while. And that's not even mentioning the fact he literally [[StalkerWithACrush cyberstalks Samantha during their temporary break-up]], sues a band that used a soundbyte of him for their first single for defamation, [[DisproportionateRetribution even openly admitting to bankrupting all of them]], and uses his superadmin powers to identify online trolls who mock or insult him, Samantha, or their friends so he can track down and kill their avatars, which is established in the first book as potentially ruinous due to resetting the character to level 1 and causing a loss of virtual items that have actual value. He does get better as the book goes on, but the arrogance he displays throughout most of the story can make it hard to root for him. Yes, Wade did have flaws and a few jerk-ish moments in the first book, but at least there he was a teenager with a pretty crappy life who develops into a better person over the course of the novel whereas here he's a grown adult with a extremely privileged position which he, again, abuses to get his way even if it hurts others. Ultimately, Wade comes off as a creepy, irresponsible and immature egomaniac with way too much power.

* HeelRealization: Halliday's obsession with Kira ends when he's finally able to see himself (and Og) thrugh her eyes.

* VirtualGhost: [[Spoiler:The eponymous Siren of the Seven Shards of the Siren's Soul turns out to be a virtual ghost of Kira Underwood Morrow. When awakened, she presents Wade with the Rod of Resurrection, an OASIS artifact with the power to create a virtual ghost of ''any'' ONI user.]]

* TheArk: Wade, Aech, and Shoto have poured billions into constructing a ship to travel to Proxima Centauri in hope of finding a habitable world to settle. Wade calls it the ''[[Creator/KurtVonnegut Vonnegut]]'', a WholePlotReference to Vonnegut's short story ''The Big Space Fuck''.

* TheArk: Wade, Aech, and Shoto have poured billions into constructing a ship to travel to Proxima Centauri in hope of finding a habitable world to settle. Wade calls it the ''[[Creator/KurtVonnegut Vonnegut]]''.

''Ready Player Two'' is a 2020 sci-fi novel by Creator/ErnestCline, and the sequel to his 2011 bestseller ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne''. It continues the story of protagonist Wade Watts who, following his victorious completion of [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame OASIS]] creator James Halliday's Easter Egg hunt, finds himself [[RagsToRiches immeasurably wealthy]] and in control of the OASIS alongside his friends. However, the discovery of an incredibly advanced new piece of technology, secretly designed by Halliday before his death, changes the face of the OASIS forever, and leads to a brand-new hunt throughout its various realms, one that could end with massive repurcussions for all of humanity...

* BrokenAesop: The first book's AntiEscapismAesop was on shaky ground already with how much it rewards Wade for doing the exact opposite, but it takes a hell of a beating with the introduction of the ONI, a device that turns the OASIS from a VR simulation into something similar to [[Film/TheMatrix the Matrix]] or (given the plot) [[LightNovel/SwordArtOnline Aincrad]]. The fact that it's also a device that grants [[spoiler:functional immortality]] within the OASIS also seems to cast the OASIS as a literal stand-in for [[spoiler:Heaven]].

** Aech also remodels her avatar to reflect her real self, although this is largely due to her celebrity status in the real world rendering the need to hide behind a white male appearance unneccesary.

''Ready Player Two'' is a 2020 sci-fi novel by Ernest Cline, and the sequel to his 2011 bestseller ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne''. It continues the story of protagonist Wade Watts who, following his victorious completion of [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame OASIS]] creator James Halliday's Easter Egg hunt, finds himself [[RagsToRiches immeasurably wealthy]] and in control of the OASIS alongside his friends. However, the discovery of an incredibly advanced new piece of technology, secretly designed by Halliday before his death, changes the face of the OASIS forever, and leads to a brand-new hunt throughout its various realms, one that could end with massive repurcussions for all of humanity...

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Anorak, controlling a telebot, shoots Sorrento in the head when the latter holds Og at gunpoint after Anorak had agreed to let Og go, paraphrasing this trope as justification]].

* {{Mondegreen}}: Shoto mishears "Little Red Corvette" as "Living Correct". Aech gives him grief over it.

* NarratorAllAlong: Turns out Wade isn't actually narrating this book. [[spoiler:His brain uploaded A.I. on an interstellar spaceship is. He refers to anything Wade does in first person before the upload, then refers to Earth!Wade in third person afterwards.]]

* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: How Sorrento finally meets his end.]]

* BrokenAesop:
** The first book's AntiEscapismAesop was on shaky ground already with how much it rewards Wade for doing the exact opposite, but it takes a hell of a beating with the introduction of the ONI, a device that turns the OASIS from a VR simulation into something similar to [[Film/TheMatrix the Matrix]] or (given the plot) [[LightNovel/SwordArtOnline Aincrad]]. The fact that it's also a device that grants [[spoiler:functional immortality]] within the OASIS also seems to cast the OASIS as a literal stand-in for [[spoiler:Heaven]].

** When Wade discovers that L0hengrin is trans, he embarks on a short monologue about how participating in a wide variety of ONI porn has ultimately blurred his vision to someone's preferred sexuality. Unfortunately, it largely falls flat due to the fact that it doesn't acknowledge that gender identity has nothing to do with ''sex'', but with a person's innate sense of their gender (hence the term); it largely comes across as "I, a straight, cis male, accept you because I experienced VR porn showing what it's like to sleep with, and as, different genders".

** Creator/RobertDowneyJr is referred to as "[=OG=] ''ComicBook/IronMan''", implying other actors have taken the role sense, either as Tony Stark himself or simply the Iron Man identity.