Henkka Laukka reviewed Armada by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Armada' on 'Storygraph'
2 stars
Meh.
Hardcover, 355 pages
English language
Published Nov. 6, 2015 by Crown Publishers.
Armada
by Ernest Cline
3 stars
(2 reviews)
Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.
But hey, there's nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don't get chosen to save the universe.
And then he sees the flying saucer.
Even stranger, the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.
No, Zack hasn't lost his mind. …
Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure.
But hey, there's nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don't get chosen to save the universe.
And then he sees the flying saucer.
Even stranger, the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.
No, Zack hasn't lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he's seeing is all too real. And his skills--as well as those of millions of gamers across the world--are going to be needed to save Earth from what's about to befall it.
It's Zack's chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can't help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn't something about this scenario seem a little...familiar?
At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before--one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.
This description comes from the 2015 Crown Publishers edition.
Thom reviewed Armada by Ernest Cline
Review of 'Armada' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This sophomore effort from Ernest Cline lays pop culture references on too thick for my taste.
Armada is about aliens, space battles and invasions. It's main characters (and thus the text) draw from 40 years of popular culture in tv and movies, books and video games. Any short summary of the plot would lead you immediately to one of those many references (The Last Starfighter, Ender's Game, Wargames, etc.) - this book is a collage of all of them.
For me, that is exactly what doesn't work. Our heroes vacillate between doubt and devotion, alternately remembering and then forgetting that this is like a plot from the New Twilight Zone, etc. In the midst of this, they throw out obscure geek references fast and furious, but miss obvious ones right in front of them (Lightman enters Crystal Palace but never thinks about the movie Wargames). Also annoying, the handwaving over …
This sophomore effort from Ernest Cline lays pop culture references on too thick for my taste.
Armada is about aliens, space battles and invasions. It's main characters (and thus the text) draw from 40 years of popular culture in tv and movies, books and video games. Any short summary of the plot would lead you immediately to one of those many references (The Last Starfighter, Ender's Game, Wargames, etc.) - this book is a collage of all of them.
For me, that is exactly what doesn't work. Our heroes vacillate between doubt and devotion, alternately remembering and then forgetting that this is like a plot from the New Twilight Zone, etc. In the midst of this, they throw out obscure geek references fast and furious, but miss obvious ones right in front of them (Lightman enters Crystal Palace but never thinks about the movie Wargames). Also annoying, the handwaving over advanced technology - "we got it from the aliens". FTL communications, inertial damping and large scale gravity control? Standard trope in sci-fi, but not a good fit for this present-day story.
Back to the positive points - this author can definitely write. Battle scenes are exciting, pop culture references are correct and appropriate (if too frequent), and plot details are logical. The first version of the book available to me was the audio book read by Wil Wheaton, and he does a great job here. I enjoyed the Raid the Arcade mix (Guardians of the Galaxy, anyone?) which was fully documented on the last page of the book and is nearly all available on Spotify.
Overall rating - 3 stars. I liked this book, but nowhere near as much as Ready Player One. Will continue to read this author in the future.