Armada: A Novel

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.

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368 pages

Average rating: 6.46

24 RATINGS

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5 REVIEWS

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Community Reviews

Anonymous
Dec 11, 2024
6/10 stars
Can you say Sophomore Slump? Waited years for Ernie to write another book and it was disappointing.

First let me say I loved Ready Player One. Even though I am not a gamer, the story completely captured me. And made me reminisce about my 80s childhood. Ready Player One was an adult novel that had crossover YA appeal.

Armada (got an advanced digital ARC and paper copy at BEA) did none of those things. Not being a gamer while reading this was a true disadvantage. Found myself paging forward through battle scenes. Although there was plenty of nostalgic references, they were specific to gaming and Sci-fi. Armada, unlike Ready Player One, seems to have a YA audience in mind. It's not as well written and feels juvenile.
Mrs. Awake Taco
Nov 13, 2024
8/10 stars
A fun romp rooted in the delightful what-if scenarios every nerd secretly loves. What if all the sci-fi movies and video games you watched were secret government training modules to prepare for an eventual alien invasion, and that meant that the hours you spent playing said video games or watching Return of the Jedi for the 8 billionth time actually got put to good use, even possibly to save the world? This, much like Cline's other novel, Ready Player One is a mishmash of homages and references that would please even the geekiest, namedropping obscure 80s movies and novel sequels and video game taglines. But that's what makes it fun. Yes, the plot is fun, too, but it's only fun because of the countless immersive hours so many of us have spent watching Star Trek TNG or petitioning Joss Whedon to start working on Firefly again. It's a reward for those of us in nerd culture. I don't see anything wrong with that. Could I see most plot points coming? You bet. Did that lessen my enjoyment? Not a whit. It's a rompy popcorn read and goldurnit if I didn't enjoy it thoroughly. Add to all this the fact that the audiobook version is narrated by none other than Wil Wheaton (king of the nerds if there ever was one), then it's definitely going to be a book I finish in two days. I cannot even begin to describe what childlike glee is produced from listening to Wesley Crusher talk about Klingon warbirds, Q, or the Kobayashi Maru. Can we also take a second to appreciate that Goodreads has "Kobayashi Maru" in its dictionary and didn't give me a red squiggly underscoring? Super fun. Perfect for summertime, too! Go out and listen to it (don't read -- listen!!).
Anonymous
Jun 26, 2024
6/10 stars
Lots of fun, though too much explaining and not enough showing... and towards the end the storyline became mighty predictable, though not unsatisfying. When the sequel comes out, as it surely will, I'll look forward to another round of 80s pop references... as for now, "rock me like a hurricane" can go ahead and get the hell out of my head.
katepie
Mar 02, 2024
8/10 stars
Such good fun!
Kenzjohns08
Jun 18, 2023
6/10 stars
6 • ⭐️ I love the concept of this book because it’s honestly not too far fetched from what the governments of the world could be doing now, however it doesn’t hit like Ready Player One. Overall it was a good read, I enjoyed the banter and references. The writing was decent but not overly captivating.

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