Armada by Ernest Cline

Title: Armada
Authors: Ernest Cline
Publisher: Crown Publishing
Publishing Date: July 14, 2015
Genre: Fiction








Goodreads Synopsis:
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
I have read/heard a lot of really great things about Ernest Cline's previous book Ready Player One. The book’s storyline sounded like something I would enjoy and is still sitting on my never ending TBR list. When Random House Canada gave me the opportunity review a copy of Armada, I was super excited.

Similar to the main character, my childhood was filled with memories of videogames, sci-fi movies and action figures. This is likely why I was able to easily connect to Zack and his journey to save the human race. There are an abundance of pop culture references, which I LOVED. They are often used to explain/help visualize the characters’ actions and reactions or to describe settings. Some readers may not enjoy the book as much if they don't pick up on them. But, if you do, it makes Armada that much more amazing.

Overall, I found Armada to be a fast paced and thrilling coming of age story. It was really hard to put down and now that I’m done, I can’t stop raving about it. Armada is the perfect read for gamers, geeks and anyone in between who appreciates a down and dirty alien apocalypse.

Disclaimer: I received a finished copy of Armada from Random House Canada for review. All opinions are my own

Rating: ★★★★★