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venysnizel's review against another edition
3.0
Oy. Okay, like many others, I went into this book with high hopes because I loved Ready Player One. I knew it was a separate entity and did it treat it as such, it it just fell so flat for me. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likable or fully developed, and while I know that the author’s go-to is his vast knowledge of geeky pop culture and I do appreciate that, there was very little originality here and it started to get real old, real quick. I felt like I was watching the movie Pixels with a huge nod to Ender’s Game, and that ending was just like well, ok then. Humans are a problem. Yup, we get it. But, just, oy.
odin45mp's review against another edition
3.0
Hey, remember the games-as-training-simulators ideas from Ender's Game and The Last Starfighter? So does Ernie Cline. Remember how there was a wave of alien invasion films starting in the late 70s and continuing through the 80s, like E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and They Live? So does Ernie Cline. Weren't those cool? You know they were!
Ernie tells a light, fast-paced alien invasion story here that uses pop culture as the foundation, bricks, and mortar of his work. It's a predictable ride, and it's a fun one because I love a lot of the same things he does, so it's like listening to a good friend spin a story. But he used too much pop culture. It's more like actually talking with one of my friends - you know, the one that you can communicate with solely using Star Wars, Star Trek, and Aliens quotes - than it is placing me in an alternate world. I feel like this was his objective, and if so, he succeeded.
I inevitably have to compare this with his first novel, Ready Player One. That worked so well because he set the stage as to why players of the game are obsessed with the 80s, and wrote characters that I cared about. That world felt real, and the backwards gaze to the 80s made sense in the greater context of OASIS. Here the stage is set, but the scaffolding looks a little flimsy, and I never fully attached myself to the main character. I felt like I knew right where he was going to end up at the end of the novel, and I was right. The journey was fun, it was exciting, it had some great special effects, but it's a popcorn novel.
Ernie tells a light, fast-paced alien invasion story here that uses pop culture as the foundation, bricks, and mortar of his work. It's a predictable ride, and it's a fun one because I love a lot of the same things he does, so it's like listening to a good friend spin a story. But he used too much pop culture. It's more like actually talking with one of my friends - you know, the one that you can communicate with solely using Star Wars, Star Trek, and Aliens quotes - than it is placing me in an alternate world. I feel like this was his objective, and if so, he succeeded.
I inevitably have to compare this with his first novel, Ready Player One. That worked so well because he set the stage as to why players of the game are obsessed with the 80s, and wrote characters that I cared about. That world felt real, and the backwards gaze to the 80s made sense in the greater context of OASIS. Here the stage is set, but the scaffolding looks a little flimsy, and I never fully attached myself to the main character. I felt like I knew right where he was going to end up at the end of the novel, and I was right. The journey was fun, it was exciting, it had some great special effects, but it's a popcorn novel.
carilius's review against another edition
1.0
El libro es muy plano, lo único que te interesa es ir pillando las referencias que hace a libros, juegos, series y películas, pero si le quitas eso, y solo interesará a frikis, no tienes nada.
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the concept as described in the summary, but so many parts of the execution left me wanting. I did not like the main character and never really got hooked by the story.
Ernest Cline forced in some of his 80/90s trivia (which got him so much attention in his first book) but just did not quite fit well in this book. There was a little too much computer magic, even for my suspended belief. A completely unnecessary and absolutely unbelievable romance was inserted into the middle of the novel, I guess to give some quasi-rational to a completely un-rational action in the third act. Even though I was pushing myself to continue reading, the third act still felt rushed and haphazard. I also hate the story telling device where everyone except the reader is told some plan and then the plan is 'shown' to the reader in dribs and drabs as the action unfolds. I feel like it's lazy storytelling and can never quite get past it.
Ernest Cline forced in some of his 80/90s trivia (which got him so much attention in his first book) but just did not quite fit well in this book. There was a little too much computer magic, even for my suspended belief. A completely unnecessary and absolutely unbelievable romance was inserted into the middle of the novel, I guess to give some quasi-rational to a completely un-rational action in the third act. Even though I was pushing myself to continue reading, the third act still felt rushed and haphazard. I also hate the story telling device where everyone except the reader is told some plan and then the plan is 'shown' to the reader in dribs and drabs as the action unfolds. I feel like it's lazy storytelling and can never quite get past it.
jessielinden1's review against another edition
3.0
A page turner like it’s father Ready Player One, but for me nowhere near as exciting. It’s probably my complete lack of connection to video games and VR, but it also had big shoes to fill and I just didn’t have the same connection to it. I was moved by the parts about the family story, and bored by the descriptions of the game stuff. I was not bored for a single word of Ready Player One and I was born in the 90s so a lot of that stuff wasn’t relatable to me either... it just didn’t matter. Respectable ending, still enjoyable read but overall not the dynamic summer sophomore type experience I was hoping for.
laurakh's review against another edition
3.0
Armada is good. Not as good as Ready Player One, but it's still a an enjoyable read. I didn't like it at first--why would he introduce a mysterious flying saucer in LITERALLY THE FIRST SENTENCE and then make us trudge through chapters upon chapters of introduction into Zack's everyday life? It picks up towards the middle, though, and I really liked the ending.
There were still many issues with the book. The pop culture references that had a purpose and were explained in RPO, here were shoehorned in seemingly just for Cline's own enjoyment. The battle scenes were described in extreme detail, but character development was glossed over and some characters were ignored all together. (Seriously, what was even the point of Ellen??) Lex may as well have been named "convenient solution: sexy edition." However, I did end up enjoying the book, so I can forgive Cline for all of this, except for one thing: ZACK'S MOM.
Zack's mom is described as "ridiculously beautiful" and "insanely hot" in the space of 3 sentences by HER SON, as well as the toughest and "coolest woman he's ever met." He calls himself "Oedipal" (??) while describing her looks, which was an odd and disturbing addition. She's also a loving, young, witty, video-game loving cancer nurse. She cooks Zack 2 meals in the 2 days the book takes place: breakfast-for-dinner and dinner-for-breakfast. The first one I could accept, but dinner-for-breakfast? She makes him a MEATLOAF in the morning. I left for school at 6:30 in high school. She would have had to wake up at like 4:30 in the morning to make a MEATLOAF BEFORE SCHOOL. And his mom wasn't even sure he would have time to eat it! She just MADE HIM A MEATLOAF on the off chance he would want some before school. All this despite the crazy long hours she supposedly works in the cancer ward saving lives. She also calls him seven, count them, SEVEN NICKNAMES in her introductory chapter. They are as follows: honey, kiddo, babe, kid, ace, maverick, and sweetheart. She tells him repeatedly that she'll give him money to go to any school to study whatever he wants or do whatever he wants. She is possibly the most over-the-top perfect character to ever be written. Yes, I'm being dramatic here, but this was so obvious in just the first few sentences about her that i was rolling my eyes continually all through Chapter 4. Writing-wise, she's terrible, yet kind of in a hilarious way. (Lex is also perfect. She is as beautiful, witty, video game obsessed, and perfect for Zack as his mom, but *edgy* because she's the sexy love interest.) I think Ernest Cline has some work to do writing girl characters that are more real than his flawless fantasies.
That being said, overall I did enjoy it!
There were still many issues with the book. The pop culture references that had a purpose and were explained in RPO, here were shoehorned in seemingly just for Cline's own enjoyment. The battle scenes were described in extreme detail, but character development was glossed over and some characters were ignored all together. (Seriously, what was even the point of Ellen??) Lex may as well have been named "convenient solution: sexy edition." However, I did end up enjoying the book, so I can forgive Cline for all of this, except for one thing: ZACK'S MOM.
Zack's mom is described as "ridiculously beautiful" and "insanely hot" in the space of 3 sentences by HER SON, as well as the toughest and "coolest woman he's ever met." He calls himself "Oedipal" (??) while describing her looks, which was an odd and disturbing addition. She's also a loving, young, witty, video-game loving cancer nurse. She cooks Zack 2 meals in the 2 days the book takes place: breakfast-for-dinner and dinner-for-breakfast. The first one I could accept, but dinner-for-breakfast? She makes him a MEATLOAF in the morning. I left for school at 6:30 in high school. She would have had to wake up at like 4:30 in the morning to make a MEATLOAF BEFORE SCHOOL. And his mom wasn't even sure he would have time to eat it! She just MADE HIM A MEATLOAF on the off chance he would want some before school. All this despite the crazy long hours she supposedly works in the cancer ward saving lives. She also calls him seven, count them, SEVEN NICKNAMES in her introductory chapter. They are as follows: honey, kiddo, babe, kid, ace, maverick, and sweetheart. She tells him repeatedly that she'll give him money to go to any school to study whatever he wants or do whatever he wants.
Spoiler
She also, predictably, is so freakin fertile that she gets pregnant after having sex with Xavier ONCE at the end of the book. Presumably, baby Xavier will be showered with love, nicknames, and meatloaf.That being said, overall I did enjoy it!
cstark13's review against another edition
1.0
The whole first section of this book seemed pointless to me. I really wished for the demise of the main character, which I think says a lot.