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louiseanna92's review against another edition
5.0
It took me a bit to get into it, but then it was absolutely addicting and I finished it in less than two weeks!!
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic book full of references, gaming, aliens, and much much more!
I first read, or I should say tried to read this one, on my e-reader, but this one just suffered the same fate as a lot of my ebooks. I couldn't get through the book and didn't like it. Can you imagine how sad I was, because I just adored the other book by this author. Then just a week or so ago I spotted this book (in English) at my library and dived back to the world, and instantly loved it and couldn't stop reading. It is something that is happening quite often. I try the ebook, don't like it, but when I get the chance to read the physical version I love the book and can't stop reading. Maybe something to do with the fact I just miss the smell, the flipping of the pages, but I think most importantly it has to do with my eyes not getting tired. Even on the fanciest e-readers my eyes just get tired superfast. :(
Now, let me talk about the book, I don't want to write a super long review, because spoilers are rampant in this one, but I do want to talk about a few things, and 1 of them really has to go under spoilertags. I know, I didn't want to discuss stuff with spoilers, but I really need to get that one thing out of my system.
This book is just like the other book, full of references, this time mostly focusing on Science-fiction. Everything from Star Trek to E.T gets referenced, and while I am not a big Sci-fi kind of girl, I still saw most of the references and enjoyed them all. It was great fun deciphering stuff, though I am still amazed that people are able to quote books, movies, or games line by line. Even with my favourite shows? I am not able to do that. I might remember what a movie/book/game is about (for at least some years) but I am not one to remember quotes.
Our MC is a great character and I liked him a whole lot. He was sweet, kind, friendly, but also determined and helpful. It was fun to see him play games, and see him lead whole battles against, well first the computer games, but then later when the aliens turned out to be real, against the aliens. He is a real pro, and I just loved how even though he was afraid in the later parts he kept going, he knew what was at stake and fought hard for Earth. Many 18-year-olds would probably have run away, but he just kept going.
I also loved what he did near the end (when the battle was still going).
There is also a whole slew of characters that were terrific. From our MC's friends, to his mother, to Lex (I especially loved Lex though, she was such a kick-ass girl, the stuff she did? Amazing! She is a real hero and did many things that helped with the end battle in her own way.).
The aliens, and what they were planning was interesting. I loved the theories, and I also had great fun in figuring out what was going on, because just like our MC, and just like other people I found the behaviour of the aliens quite weird and strange. It just didn't seem to match.
I first had this book at 5 stars, but upon closer consideration decided to remove -1 star from it because of the ending. Which I will now discuss under spoiler tags.
Also the ending was utterly weird and a bit confusing. So he gets together with Lex, makes the game shop great, but then decides to dump her, his mom and his baby brother, and go to be some emissary for the alien crap? I know those aliens are suspicions, but do you need to do this to your family? After all they already went through? Nope. Just nope.
There were also some small errors in the book. Like for instance when the countdown clock is one hour they all gather together and watch the world being told about the whole alien invasion thing. Quite a chunk of time goes by, but when we get to the next part we are back to the countdown clock, and it is once again at 1 hour. This time the Qcomm link private stuff opens up so they can call their families.
Not only does this not make sense because 1) Time passed to be beyond the 1 hour countdown clock mark.
2) It was said at the beginning there would be NO communication with the civilians (aka the families/friends) until the world knew about the alien invasion.
So yeah, I had to look back and forth to make sure I wasn't reading things wrong.
But all in all, this was a book that I immensely enjoyed and I just hope that the writer will be writing another book full of references. I would recommend this one to everyone. Even with the suckish ending, there was a lot of action, I cried a few times, the references were awesome, the gaming was great.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I first read, or I should say tried to read this one, on my e-reader, but this one just suffered the same fate as a lot of my ebooks. I couldn't get through the book and didn't like it. Can you imagine how sad I was, because I just adored the other book by this author. Then just a week or so ago I spotted this book (in English) at my library and dived back to the world, and instantly loved it and couldn't stop reading. It is something that is happening quite often. I try the ebook, don't like it, but when I get the chance to read the physical version I love the book and can't stop reading. Maybe something to do with the fact I just miss the smell, the flipping of the pages, but I think most importantly it has to do with my eyes not getting tired. Even on the fanciest e-readers my eyes just get tired superfast. :(
Now, let me talk about the book, I don't want to write a super long review, because spoilers are rampant in this one, but I do want to talk about a few things, and 1 of them really has to go under spoilertags. I know, I didn't want to discuss stuff with spoilers, but I really need to get that one thing out of my system.
This book is just like the other book, full of references, this time mostly focusing on Science-fiction. Everything from Star Trek to E.T gets referenced, and while I am not a big Sci-fi kind of girl, I still saw most of the references and enjoyed them all. It was great fun deciphering stuff, though I am still amazed that people are able to quote books, movies, or games line by line. Even with my favourite shows? I am not able to do that. I might remember what a movie/book/game is about (for at least some years) but I am not one to remember quotes.
Our MC is a great character and I liked him a whole lot. He was sweet, kind, friendly, but also determined and helpful. It was fun to see him play games, and see him lead whole battles against, well first the computer games, but then later when the aliens turned out to be real, against the aliens. He is a real pro, and I just loved how even though he was afraid in the later parts he kept going, he knew what was at stake and fought hard for Earth. Many 18-year-olds would probably have run away, but he just kept going.
I also loved what he did near the end (when the battle was still going).
There is also a whole slew of characters that were terrific. From our MC's friends, to his mother, to Lex (I especially loved Lex though, she was such a kick-ass girl, the stuff she did? Amazing! She is a real hero and did many things that helped with the end battle in her own way.).
The aliens, and what they were planning was interesting. I loved the theories, and I also had great fun in figuring out what was going on, because just like our MC, and just like other people I found the behaviour of the aliens quite weird and strange. It just didn't seem to match.
I first had this book at 5 stars, but upon closer consideration decided to remove -1 star from it because of the ending. Which I will now discuss under spoiler tags.
Spoiler
So the MC's dad is alive after all those years, and then we just kill him off in the last battle? WTF? Why? Yes, so he could be a hero? So the MC's parents could have a quick fuck (which also magically led to a new kid), could get a quick chat about live, and oh well, to show that EDA is doing a lot of covering up of stuff? Or what? I just didn't see any sense in it. I was delighted for everyone when the MC's father lived, and I thought he would finally get the life he deserved. With his wife, with our MC, and then now with his other kid. But noooooo. Just kill him off in some stupid way. BAH BAH BAH.Also the ending was utterly weird and a bit confusing. So he gets together with Lex, makes the game shop great, but then decides to dump her, his mom and his baby brother, and go to be some emissary for the alien crap? I know those aliens are suspicions, but do you need to do this to your family? After all they already went through? Nope. Just nope.
There were also some small errors in the book. Like for instance when the countdown clock is one hour they all gather together and watch the world being told about the whole alien invasion thing. Quite a chunk of time goes by, but when we get to the next part we are back to the countdown clock, and it is once again at 1 hour. This time the Qcomm link private stuff opens up so they can call their families.
Not only does this not make sense because 1) Time passed to be beyond the 1 hour countdown clock mark.
2) It was said at the beginning there would be NO communication with the civilians (aka the families/friends) until the world knew about the alien invasion.
So yeah, I had to look back and forth to make sure I wasn't reading things wrong.
But all in all, this was a book that I immensely enjoyed and I just hope that the writer will be writing another book full of references. I would recommend this one to everyone. Even with the suckish ending, there was a lot of action, I cried a few times, the references were awesome, the gaming was great.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
puzzling_penwing's review against another edition
2.0
Decent premise; flat execution. A very hollywoodized version of SF. So much “because I am the protagonist and am awesome” propelling the plot.
Really wanted the ending to be more substantive. It missed the criticism it (might have) been aiming for.
Really wanted the ending to be more substantive. It missed the criticism it (might have) been aiming for.
starrywonder's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging read, especially if you like video games & aliens
A solid 4 for sure. It's a great story if you've ever dreamed about an alien invasion or video games happening in real life. Makes you think if all those first-person shooters are prepping us as well.
Characters are strong, and a trip to the moon.
Great tale about humanity as well, and the need to strive for peace first.
A solid 4 for sure. It's a great story if you've ever dreamed about an alien invasion or video games happening in real life. Makes you think if all those first-person shooters are prepping us as well.
Characters are strong, and a trip to the moon.
Great tale about humanity as well, and the need to strive for peace first.
anjugrao's review against another edition
3.0
I love Ready Player One and this had all of the nostalgia which was fun to listen to but it didn't hold up. Wil Wheaton did a great job narrating but I wish the ending was stronger.
kaakison's review against another edition
5.0
So this new book from Ernest Cline was not Ready Player One, but somehow I found it to be more immersive. Unlike with Ready Player One, the obsession with a love interest does not reach the point of distraction or frustration for me as the reader, though it also doesn't seem completely necessary except perhaps by establishing the character for future books in the trilogy. I find Zack's struggles as a teenager much more relatable than Wade's in Ready Player One, and quickly found myself so immersed that by the end I had to take crying breaks in order to avoid getting tears on my copy of the book. Not sure if I can recommend it because of the amount of time I spent crying, but definitely a good read if you're looking to get overly attached to a family of fictional characters.
kalkn's review against another edition
3.0
Hard not to compare to RP1. It was a good book and a fun read, but nearly as addicting. Still happy to have read it and glad to have it as part of my library.
rembrandt1881's review against another edition
2.0
I read Ready Player One and was excited to see what else Ernest Cline had in store and finally grabbed a copy from the library. As I was reading I became aware of some things then came over to Goodreads and saw many reviews that echoed the things that I was seeing. While he has moments when he is a good writer, Ernest Cline can be too engrossed in trying to show off his more geeky side and the things that seem to be stereotypical for nerd culture these days.
Early on in the novel he shovels so may pop culture references it makes your head want to explode. They aren't used in any insightful way but just to have a shared moment for those who also enjoy the obsessions unlike in his previous novel where at least there was some basis and explanation to them and why they were integral to the story. In Armada, they are superfluous and not needed at the level which they are used. In fact a lot of this reminds me of ET. A main character who idolizes an absent father who is also a nerd who has suppressed rage which he uses against a bully. He also ends up meeting and impressing a girl with the same interests immediately upon encountering her. It's all a ridiculous fantasy for a pop culture dork which still could have worked at some point had we really developed a feeling for the main protagonist.
That is probably the worst thing, the characters are never fully fleshed out at any point other than they love pop culture and are excellent at this video game Armada. Even the eventual female interest is just a shell of what an introverted boy might desire and doesn't have any real reason to behave the way she does or have loyalty to our main character. That's just rushed writing it seems to me, even when there are action sequences, they end and it doesn't feel like we have gone anywhere even though the stakes are incredibly high, and the ending just comes from no where and stops the book. It isn't satisfying in any real way. I had real high hopes and I was very disappointed by this novel. The 2 stars is because there is some fun in the action sequences and during some of the middle of the book but the characters nature of "they can because these are our heroes" doesn't work for me.
Early on in the novel he shovels so may pop culture references it makes your head want to explode. They aren't used in any insightful way but just to have a shared moment for those who also enjoy the obsessions unlike in his previous novel where at least there was some basis and explanation to them and why they were integral to the story. In Armada, they are superfluous and not needed at the level which they are used. In fact a lot of this reminds me of ET. A main character who idolizes an absent father who is also a nerd who has suppressed rage which he uses against a bully. He also ends up meeting and impressing a girl with the same interests immediately upon encountering her. It's all a ridiculous fantasy for a pop culture dork which still could have worked at some point had we really developed a feeling for the main protagonist.
That is probably the worst thing, the characters are never fully fleshed out at any point other than they love pop culture and are excellent at this video game Armada. Even the eventual female interest is just a shell of what an introverted boy might desire and doesn't have any real reason to behave the way she does or have loyalty to our main character. That's just rushed writing it seems to me, even when there are action sequences, they end and it doesn't feel like we have gone anywhere even though the stakes are incredibly high, and the ending just comes from no where and stops the book. It isn't satisfying in any real way. I had real high hopes and I was very disappointed by this novel. The 2 stars is because there is some fun in the action sequences and during some of the middle of the book but the characters nature of "they can because these are our heroes" doesn't work for me.
kitkar's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0