| by Lauren  | Here is my summary of the book…  (cue Iron Eagle soundtrack music) |
Author Ernest Cline and I are about the same age. We love all the same things. I’ve seen all the movies he references and quotes. I’ve played the games he mentions in his books (except the fictitious ones, of course.) He wrote Ready Player One, which I really enjoyed.
So, I should love this book too, right?
Surprisingly, not so much.
So, I should love this book too, right?
Surprisingly, not so much.
Oh, it is a nostalgia train of call backs to my nerdy childhood. I spend most of the book feeling like Captain America…
…until it wasn't amusing anymore. He was preaching to the middle-aged geeky choir. Frankly, I’m not sure how this book will even play to someone under 28…
The plot of Armada is so closely tied to our sci-fi/gaming pop-culture reference points that it never, to me, separates itself into its own unique story. I was never surprised by a twist or turn - I’ve seen this story before. He even comes right out and tells us we've seen these stories before, he calls them out by name.
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Hell, the setup for the end of the book/possible sequel he hints at is also a story I've already seen. I know what happens, we all know what happens. Where’s the fun in that?
Ready Player One was pop culture laden as well, but maybe because it was the first of its kind, I was caught up in the nostalgia of it. Also the main character and post-modern world made it more engaging.
Maybe the ‘what if all thing things you loved as a child were real’ and/or ‘all the time you spent watching movies, TV and playing video games will someday make you a hero’ trope is only a trick that works once.
I didn't hate it. I guess I was hoping for MORE. Maybe I was too much the audience for this book. Maybe someone who doesn't know all of the references will find more mystery in it. Either way, it’s a quick read, and a good end-of-summer beach book for the nerd inclined.
From armadabook.com
Maybe the ‘what if all thing things you loved as a child were real’ and/or ‘all the time you spent watching movies, TV and playing video games will someday make you a hero’ trope is only a trick that works once.
I didn't hate it. I guess I was hoping for MORE. Maybe I was too much the audience for this book. Maybe someone who doesn't know all of the references will find more mystery in it. Either way, it’s a quick read, and a good end-of-summer beach book for the nerd inclined.
From armadabook.com
It’s just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom—if he can make it that long without getting suspended again.
Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer.
At first, Zack thinks he’s going crazy.
A minute later, he’s sure of it. Because the UFO 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.
But what Zack’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.
Steven Spielberg is going to direct the film adaptation of Ready Player One, and Armada sold its film rights before it even came out, so this is happening people. Be ‘in the know’ and pick up the book.
“Klaatu barada nikto,” y’all - and happy reading.
“Klaatu barada nikto,” y’all - and happy reading.
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