Yes. There are a lot of pop/geek culture references. That’s the point. It is, wholeheartedly, a sequel to Ready Player One, with enough awareness of some of its predecessor’s problematic nature (post-gamer gate) to feel somewhat grounded. But if you want it to be something wrought of profundity and eloquence, you’ll be disappointed (and I think you took a wrong turn if you were expecting it to be.). If you don’t want a science fiction book loaded with nostalgia and pop culture shoutouts, literally, read anything else.
I was worried that it would be overburdened by the irrelevant namedrops that plagued Armada, but (for the most part) Cline succeeds in making the geek worship seem diagetic. It works.
The book reduces the white-male-centric heroism of the first book adding stronger storylines for other characters surrounding protagonist Wade Watts.
Enjoyable nostalgia. Quick fun.