Armada Book Review:

 Armada by Ernest Cline:

Overview:

Armada by Ernest Cline is hands down one of my favorite beginner science fiction/fantasy novels. If you do not know, Ernest Cline is the same author that wrote Ready Player One. There are a few noticeable differences between the two books, such as plot and the overall point of the book. Armada follows Zack Lightman, a lovable but broken video game nerd such as me. Zack’s world revolves mainly around two things: his dad and his VR/AR video game Armada.

When it comes to his relationship with his father, initially he does not have one because his father passed away while he was very young. But his dad left behind a bunch of journals with strange codes and messages that Zack has spent his life trying to decrypt, but to no avail. Zack’s mother is veery passive when it comes to his father and somewhat encourages Zack to leave the journals alone and move on with his life. Later, in the novel some more things are discovered, but we will get to that in a few minutes.

As far as the game is concerned, Zack goes to school and work but his whole life revolves around this game. He is considered one of the best in the world at the game and he continues to grind out missions throughout the novel. The game incorporates a rank system that allows him to make key decisions while in combat and allows for pre-mission plans to be put into place. Zack is even able to play his game while at work, as guess what, he works at a video game store where they sell consoles, helmets, and controls for Armada. Zack has a out-of-date system, but his boss rewards his hard work with a state of the art helmet and flight control system. Now Zack is better equipped to fight alien ships all night long.

              One night when Zack is in the pre-mission planning stages for a mission that he and his friends have not been able to beat, they try a different strategy, but still cannot accomplish the mission. Zack and his friends become incredibly frustrated with the game and log off for the night. The next day while at school Zack is sitting in a class and notices one of the enemy ships flying in the sky, but attributes it to being tired. Only a few moments later, a Earth Defense Alliance (EDA) ship appears in the sky and lands in his high school’s parking lot. All of the kids go running out into the parking and from the ship emerges Zack’s boss from the gaming store, who has actually been assigned to watch over Zack and ensure that he was capable enough to be sworn in as a flight officer in the EDA.

Zack is taken from the school parking lot and put into a “boot camp.” While there Zack learns that his father was ultimately not dead and is very much alive. He is one of the top officers in the EDA and made sure that Zack followed in his footsteps.

From there the novel becomes very predictable as they go one to kindle their relationship, fight against the enemy ships, and save the day. 

The Good:

 

First off, we have the pace of the novel. This one reason that kept me engaged in the book was how fast the pace was, but everything seemed to flow together seamlessly. At no point was I lost in the plot or having to re-read pages, everything came together very well. This made it an extremely hard book to put down.

Secondly, we have the plot. Now the plot is going to be on both the good and the bad. The first half of the novel was very engaging when it came to the plot because it read remarkably like Ready Player One where it seemed to just mesmerize readers. While reading and getting closer to the halfway point of the novel, I was just itching to turn the page and continue reading. The second half of the plot, we will discuss in the bad things list.

Third, we have character development within the novel. Throughout the novel, Zack is portrayed as a geeky kid with no social life outside of his game. But after getting put into his boot camp, he realizes that he is in a fight or flight situation where he is away from his mom and being counted on to make key tactical decisions and he is able to do his job to protect Earth. Normally, I would have been frustrated by his seamless transition between being a teenager and now a lieutenant who has to defend Earth, but this is where I credit Ernest Cline. The way that the plot is geared, makes this transition a lot easier and more believable. Because time after time we have seen books and movies where someone is thrust into a similar situation and they succeed immediately without any problems. But they way that the story is written, makes this transition more realistic and he does show that Zack is just as vulnerable as anyone else that he is recruited with through issues with his parents and how he was lied to. But this is by far one of the strongest things in the book that made me as a reader very happy.

Lastly, we have the correct use of romance throughout the novel. Normally, I find that authors shove the romance down our throat as a space filler until they get to the next action scene, but Armada does it the correct way. When Zack gets up to his boot camp, he meets a girl that he thinks is cute and they are stationed together initially, and they flirt with each other. Typical cheesy teen anxt romance. But when it comes to anything besides how their relationship is set up, their romantic interactions are very minimal. They both know that they have jobs to do so that Earth can be safe, so when they do interact, its nothing more than a quick hug or kiss. I cannot stress enough how accurate and appreciated this was. 

The Bad:

The only issue that I truly have with Armada is the fact that the plot is very, and I mean very predictable. From when Zack is picked up by the EDA ship that the rest of the novel plays out like a cheesy 2am sci/fi movie on the Science Chanel. At this point you know that four things are guaranteed to happen.

              One, he is going to meet a girl and start an impromptu relationship.

              Two, he is going to meet his dad.

              Three, he is going to rebuild his relationship with his dad, and they will live happily ever after as a family.

              Four, he’s going to save the planet with his dad right by his side.

I’m not against this as it is just a beginner level sci/fi novel, but it is the only big issue that I have with the book.

 

The Conclusion:

Overall, I truly enjoyed Armada. I thought that the book did a great job at being a borderline YA/adult science fiction novel. I think that anyone who picks this book up will truly enjoy it, and I think it should just be a book that most people should read. Even if it's outside of your norm, it's a book that I feel most people would truly enjoy. While it is rather predictable, the pace of the plot, character development, and well written action scenes will absolutely keep you engaged throughout the book. Pick up a copy and let me know what you think!