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Armada

by Ernest Cline
Armada

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  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780804137256
ISBN10: 0804137250



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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

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 the 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 the 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.

Review

"Cline once again brings crackling humor and fanboy knowledge to a zesty, crowd-pleasing, countdown-clock, save-the-planet tale featuring an unlikely hero, adrenaline-pumping action, gawky romance, and touching family moments....Cline's sly, mind-twisting premise and energetically depicted and electrifying high-tech battles make for smart, frenetic, and satisfying entertainment." Booklist, starred review

Review

"With another winning teen protagonist in Zach, Cline mines the nostalgia and geek spheres just as successfully as he did in his acclaimed debut, Ready Player One. The works that obviously influenced the story line, such as Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and the films The Last Starfighter and Star Wars, feel like homages rather than borrowings- a rap artist sampling the best beats our there to create an irresistible jam." Library Journal, starred review

Review

"A thrilling coming-of-age story." Entertainment Weekly

Review

"Nerd-gasmic... another science fiction tale with a Comic-Con's worth of pop-culture shout-outs." Rolling Stone

Review

"An amazing novel [that] proves Cline has the ability to blend popular culture with exciting stories that appeal to everyone." Associated Press

Review

"Mixes Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Independence Day and a really gnarly round of Space Invaders into a tasty sci-fi stew." USA Today

Review

"A great romp...Cline (ever the fanboy) is both reverent of and referential to the books and movies and games of his childhood." Mother Jones

Synopsis

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

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, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.

Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A rollicking alien invasion thriller that embraces and subverts science-fiction conventions, from the author of the worldwide phenomenon Ready Player One

"Exciting . . . mixes Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Independence Day, and a really gnarly round of Space Invaders."--USA Today - "A thrilling coming of age story."--Entertainment Weekly

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, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever read before.


About the Author

ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His first novel, Ready Player One, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller and appeared on numerous "best of the year" lists. Ernie lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic video games.

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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating 4.3 (4 comments)

`
Ryan DeJonghe , August 07, 2015 (view all comments by Ryan DeJonghe)
Pop culture fans of the 80s rejoice: ARMADA is an entertaining book. To me, it’s close to being the written equivalent of FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR. It’s fun; it’s campy. Don’t expect big plot twists or ENDER’S GAME quality characters. There’s no subtle foreshadowing or emotionally-driven dialogue: it’s easy-going from point A to B, in three sections. Ernest Cline delivers exactly what the description says: a high school kid gets to live out his favorite video game of defending the world against aliens. I’m going in with the disadvantage of never reading READY PLAYER ONE (RPO). It has been on my shelf for over a year, but other books kept getting precedent. Reading other reviews of ARMADA, it sounds like I need to go back and read RPO - immediately! The pop culture references were a lot of fun in this book; I’ve heard there is so much more in RPO. The references in ARMADA seem geared toward one type of person: those like me, who grew up playing video games and watching STAR WARS. Everything from the mother looking like Sarah Connors to his buddies yelling out, “Leeerrrrooyyy Jenkins!”. That was all fun. I just wish it wasn’t used to cover up the straight-forward plot. A dynamic plot full of these references would have made this an easy 5-star book. The writing style is flat. This feels like a movie script writer trying to write a novel. It’s obvious Cline had a lot of fun with this (as they reader will witness), but the writing wasn’t as crisp or passionate as a dedicated novelist would produce. I’d be remiss not to mention the beautiful dustjacket: both outside and in. Open up the book and you’ll find an awesome blueprint design of the ship featured in this book. Very cool! Thanks to Blogging for Books for providing this book for my review. It was fun and just enough to get me to finally give RPO a try.

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Lucy Rose Mihajlich , July 17, 2015 (view all comments by Lucy Rose Mihajlich)
Edit: Accidentally posted this on the audiobook page first. Which I haven't listened to, but it's Whil Wheaton, so it must be five star. A lot of people are commenting that the synopsis of Armada mimics the plots of classic scifi movies or books like Ender's Game or The Last Starfighter, but that's the whole point. In Armada, Ender's Game and The Last Starfighter are part of a government conspiracy to acclimatize the human race to the concept of an alien invasion. That doesn't count as a spoiler, because in Armada, that's just the beginning. The pacing in this book is incredible. I read it faster than any book I've read in a long time. I took it to work and read it while I filed. The characters are likewise incredible. I cried at work because of this book. Which was a nice change of pace from the reasons I usually cry at work. It's hard to judge the overall plot/McGuffin/mechanism because there are questions left unanswered at the end. The climax was somewhat anti and not as strong as the climax in Ready Player One. First of all, how could it be? Second of all, it's at least in part because there's a clear setup for a sequel. Which I'm okay with.

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Chris Radcliffe , July 09, 2015 (view all comments by Chris Radcliffe)
Powered through this in a day. Which coincidentally is how long the action in the book takes place! This was written for geeks by geeks. It's laden with references to every Sci-fi thing you know. Sure plucked my heartstrings!

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librariangie , June 30, 2015 (view all comments by librariangie )
I am so excited about this book! Loved "Ready Player One" and fully expect this one to be just as awesome and "nerdtastic"!

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780804137256
Binding:
Hardcover
Publication date:
07/14/2015
Publisher:
Crown
Language:
English
Pages:
368
Height:
1.30IN
Width:
6.40IN
Thickness:
1.00
Copyright Year:
2015
Author:
Ernest Cline
Subject:
Science Fiction and Fantasy-Adventure

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