I had a bad feeling that it'd be garbage when I ordered it. I made it about half way through, and I'm not sure I can bother reading the rest of it.
Cline isn't a good writer but I enjoyed the first book. It was a fun story and the nostalgia was enjoyable. He can't write dialogue to save his life. Luckily there wasn't much dialogue in the first book. There's a lot of dialogue in the second. His characters are established and then remain static caricatures outside of the protagonist.
There was a little sjw bullshit in the first, but pretty minimal. The second is nothing but activist propaganda.
All that to say, should I throw it in the recycling bin or donate to Goodwill?
I have not and do not plan to read either book. It just sounds like the author misses the point. Why would I read a story about some loser who likes the things I like, when I could just read a story about the things I like? Why would I be invested in a plot where even in the context of the story the challenges are imaginary and arbitrary nonsense set by someone who wants the protagonist to succeed?
I get that. Part of the appeal of the first book is that it's a classic underdog story. In the book it's all in the digital world but the protagonists actions in the digital world have impacts on the real world. It's just a fun, cheesy read.