Armada

Book 68 of my 2015 Reading Challenge

read from September 26 - 28

Armada by Ernest Cline

Summary (via Goodreads)

My Opinion

I loved Ready Player One but I was careful to keep my expectations low and not make too many comparisons.  However, since it's inevitable, this is what I would say... it was very well-written but didn't have as much of the humor and lightness I loved so much in his other book. 

There were still funny moments.  I laughed out loud when he mentioned "Stormtrooper Syndrome"..."they couldn't aim for shit, and they were way to easy too kill." 

It may not look like it has crossover appeal but don't be scared to read this if you're not a sci-fi reader.  This is like sci-fi lite; it's about personal relationships and battling with doing what's right for others versus yourself (how much responsibility you have to take for the good of the world), it just happens to involve aliens, space, and videogames.

I had some issues with the ending.  It felt a little rushed after the journey we had taken to get there.  But overall I enjoyed it and look forward to more from the author.

A Few Quotes from the Book

"That was when I felt my brain begin to short-circuit, because there was no mistaking the craft's distinctive design. After all, I'd seen it almost every night for the past few years, through a targeting reticle. I was looking at a Sobrukai Glaive, one of the fighter ships piloted by the alien bad guys in Armada, my favorite videogame."

"I stared down at the radiant blue-white sphere that was home to everything and everyone I loved and scanned the gaps in the swirling cloud layer until I located the western coastline of North America, then followed it until I spotted the familiar inlet of Portland, just barely visible. I realized then just how far away I already was from home. And it was getting farther and farther away every second.

  This is what we're fighting for, I thought. That's what they're trying to take from us."