Armada is a fun read. Bearing similarities to movies like The Last Starfighter, Ernest Cline successfully gives us a lighter Sci-Fi adventure than Ready Player One had been. It's still has some social commentary on the human condition as most Science Fiction does, but the way it's delivered to us in the novel isn't as heavy as it is in Ready Player One (and Ready Player Two when that comes out). It's campy like The Last Starfighter is, but the stakes feel real in comparison to that movie.
Unlike with Wade Watts and his friends in Ready Player One, I couldn't relate to Zack Lightman or any of the other characters in this book. They were likeable enough I guess, but there really wasn't anything for me to latch onto with them. Not even the geek aspect of them was anything I could relate to since I'm not a gamer and there's no underdog aspect to any of them. Plus I think Zack was able to accomplish everything he accomplished in the book a little too easily. Wade, Art3mis, Aech, Daito and Shoto, and even Sorrento and the Sixers, had to struggle to achieve their goals in Ready Player One, whereas in this book, Zack would make a phone call, or know the right person, and something got done. He even got a girlfriend way too easily with only spending two minutes with her during a mission briefing. Like really? I don't even make friends that quickly or that easily.
The Sci-Fi action is pretty cool. The starfighter battle sequences are described similarly to how they're described in the Star Wars: X-Wing novels by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston. Which makes sense since not only was Cline inspired by Star Wars in general, but Aaron Allston inspired him and actually gave Cline some advice on the story before his death according to the acknowledgements in the back of the book. Which explains why the humour is very Allston-esque throughout this novel.
Unlike Ready Player One, which felt like an Adam Goldberg thing with the more famous pop culture and geek culture references in it, Armada has more obscure Sci-Fi and pop culture references. Aside from Star Trek, Star Wars, Flight of the Navigator, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, The Last Starfighter, Independence Day, The X-Files and Galaxy Quest, most of the references are things I only know from other people making a reference to them in passing but I've never seen or things I've never heard of before. So that made for an interesting read both times I read this book.
Final Thoughts and Rating: Overall of Ernest Cline's first two books Ready Player One is better than Armada. They're both really good books and I absolutely love both of them, but Ready Player One is the book I can relate to more than I can relate to Armada particularly in today's world. I would definitely recommend reading Armada, especially if you're a gamer who's really into Science Fiction, but I would recommend Ready Player One to everyone, regardless of whether you're a Sci-Fi fan or a gamer. I'm giving Armada 7/10 stars. The story is campy and fun but the characters aren't as relatable as they are in Ready Player One and the references don't flow as well in the story like they do in Ready Player One, apart from The Last Starfighter as that's the movie this book resembles the most.
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