Armada: A novel by the author of Ready Player One

Ernest Cline

Jul 2015 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

From the author of Ready Player One, a rollicking alien invasion thriller that embraces and subverts science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could. 

Zack Lightman has never much cared for reality. He vastly prefers the countless science-fiction movies, books, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. And too often, he catches himself wishing that some fantastic, impossible, world-altering event could arrive to whisk him off on a grand spacefaring adventure.

So when he sees the flying saucer, he's sure his years of escapism have finally tipped over into madness.

Especially because the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of his favorite videogame, a flight simulator callled Armada--in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.

As impossible as it seems, what Zack's seeing is all too real. And it's just the first in a blur of revlations that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about Earth's history, its future, even his own life--and to play the hero for real, with humanity's life in the balance.

But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can't help thinking: Doesn't something about this scenario feel a little bit like...well...fiction?

At once reinventing and paying homage to science-fiction classics as only Ernest Cline can, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.

Ratings and reviews

It's only ok. I enjoyed Ready Player One, though its not a masterpiece it was enjoyable and I'd recommend it to those looking for a fast, fun, and easy read. Unfortunately I would not recommend Armada. I got it for free, and it passed some time, but if I could go back in time I'd choose a different book.

While Ready Player One as fun and very different than what I've seen before, Armada is a bit of a disappointment. While it's still a fun and fast read, there's heavy reliance on tropes and cliches to fill in caricatures rather than characters. Was looking forward to this book because Cline shows such potential to turn geeky pop culture trivia into something special and different. Unfortunately here he doesn't reach nearly as far as I hoped. Especially disappointing is how poorly sketched in the female "protagonist" is, relegated to the background as a supporting character just there to provide a few mcguffins and give the main character a love interest. To be fair, I STILL had fun reading. I just wanted more.

I loved it. Once again Ernest Cline came through with a Easter egg riddled wild ride dripping in 80's video game nostalgia. Page after Page, Chapter after Chapter was enthralling with a steady pace of wonder and an inertia that pushed you through the book. There was a sense of Hope throughout that allowed me to enjoy the ride but reminded me to question everything. The honesty of the main character allowed you to easily put yourself in his shoes. You where overjoyed with his triumphs and moved to tears with his losses. His awkward flirting and uncomfortable first conversation with his love interest gave me butterflies as if it was my first time talking to a woman. I really felt like an actor in a movie not a reader of a book. With Cline's descriptive writing style allowed me to easily escape into the world he created in the matter of a few pages. I often read the book at work with 4 to 5 mins downtime and could easily escape in the matter of moments. Its a honest depiction of a young man that despite having greatest thrust upon him he still managed to stay himself. I loved this book with the same passion as Ready Player One and look forward to future project form this author.

About the author

Ernest Cline is a #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. He is the author of the novels Ready Player One and Armada and co-screenwriter of the film adaptation of Ready Player One, directed by Steven Spielberg. His books have been published in over fifty countries and have spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times bestsellers list. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.