Book Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

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Ernest Cline had an impossible act to follow after writing 'Ready Player One'. He could have written a sequel or an entire new story. He chose the latter and threw in some quirks that made 'RPO' such a hit. He named this new story 'Armada' and released it in 2015.

The adventure is set on present day Earth. Shock horror, no dystopian future (Every young adult sci-fi novel I pick up seems to be dystopian at the minute). The story progresses through the character of Zack Lightman. He is your 'some what' average high school kid who is world level at the video game Armada. I say 'some what' because his dad died in a odd accident when he was a child, and he has a reputation of a short fuse, that he can't get rid of.

The story has all the 80s references and video game humour that made 'Ready Player One' a fan favourite. Read below to find out if this was enough to make 'Armada' an instant classic?

WHAT I LIKED:

Cline is great at creating humour. The conversations between Zack and his close friends are easy, authentic and funny. The exchanges are a joy to read and a real strong point of the book.

The story differed from 'RPO' but still kept that gamer/ 80s essence. Cline's bravery is worth noting because many writers would have written the 'RPO' sequel.

The surprises and the guessing games readers have with the story line keep you intrigued and hungry for the outcome. Nothing feels predictable!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

The pacing is extremely slow to begin with. It takes an age to get into the story which is a shame because once I was invested I couldn't put the book down.

Obscure references are common and they disconnected me from the story. Agreed, this shows my ignorance rather than an issue with the story, but a lot went over my head and ruined the immersion for me.

The antagonists never felt threatening. The lives of the characters aren't under true threat and this lowered the stakes. Everything boiled down to the odd motivation presented by the antagonists. I always felt that their was a real motive, so never felt danger.

WHAT IS IT SIMILAR TO?:

The story has elements of Orson Scott Card's 'Ender's Game'. The training simulator concept, the distant hardly known villain and the sketchy human morals had me feeling Ender Wiggin could appear at any moment.

The 80s pop and video game references give the story similar moments to its spiritual predecessor 'RPO'. It doesn't weave in the references as well or create moments of 'fuck yeah' (They saturated 'RPO' from start to finish). I did get the impression that Cline was trying too hard to recapture his previous magic.

WOULD I RECOMMEND IT:

If you've read RPO and enjoyed it, the allure to read this would have been too much and i'm guessing, like me, you devoured this within a week of finishing RPO. That being said, if you've stumbled across this book without reading RPO, you are in for a fun adventure that differs from anything else out there.

If you like suspense and twists this book has its share. They are slightly slow, especially at the start, in presenting themselves but it's a fun story.

If video games and fantasy fiction aren't your thing, I'd advise you to stay away. This book was made solely for that crowd.

For those looking for RPO part 2, this will disappoint. It just isn't as magical although it is a decent effort.

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allthingsm4tt

Writer of things, meme supplier, semi-occasional six string swordist, sporadic cinema goer and smiler.