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Armada: A Novel by Ernest Cline
Synopsis:
“The new novel from the best-selling author of Ready Player One
It’s just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He’s daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedom – if he can make it that long without getting suspended again.
Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer.
At first Zack thinks he’s going crazy.
A minute later he’s sure of it. Because the UFO he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada – in which gamers just happen to be protecting the Earth from alien invaders.
But what Zack’s seeing is all too real. And his skills – as well as those of millions of gamers across the world – are going to be needed to save the Earth from what’s about to befall it.
Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack can’t help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows, and movies he grew up reading and watching and wonder: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little too…familiar?
Armada is at once a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming-of-age adventure, and an alien-invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever heard before – one whose every minute is infused with author Ernest Cline’s trademark pop-culture savvy.” -Audible
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Opening thoughts:
I’m excited to see how good this book is. Ernest Cline is best-known for his Ready Player One series and this book also got good reviews. I’ve been slowly getting into the sci-fi genre, so now I have a better frame of reference for more of these types of books.
Key notes:
Phase One
Chapter 1
- Zack saw a spaceship in the sky that matched one from a video game while he was in class but nobody else saw it
Chapter 2
- He confronted the bully finally, but after the altercation, he left the school and went to his beat-up car in the parking lot
- His dad passed away at 19 years old so he didnāt remember him because he was a baby
- But he missed him and was obsessed with collecting data on his dad to feel like he could earn the right to miss him like his family did
- After going through his dad’s old notes, he saw that his dad claimed the military was using video games as a training program, or something related to video games and aptitude tests
- His dad was obsessed with researching evidence of this conspiracy
Chapter 3
- Ray gifted him the new flight control system and he was super grateful
- Zack had a job working at a video game store ran by a retired video game enthusiast who didnāt care much about making a profit, and spent most of his time playing video games, particularly Terrafirma and Armada with other enthusiasts
Chapter 4
- His mother had to work a lot of overtime so she didnāt see her much
- She also had a maternal telepathy and knew when something was up with him
- She was very tough and really beautiful
- She also had a maternal telepathy and knew when something was up with him
- His mother asked about his incident at school
- Zack reminisced about the incident in 7th grade when he blacked out after beating another student unconscious
- His mom also asked what he planned on doing for his future and career, and encouraged him to go to college even if he wasnāt sure what he wanted to do yet
- He had enough saved in his college fund because of his father’s accident settlement
- He had gamer blood on both sides of his family as his mom and dad were both gamers
- His mom urged him to get into gaming since he clearly loved it but he wasnāt so sure
Chapter 5
- He was surprised that he was number 6 in the top 10 Armada players in the entire world with 9M active players
- Even with his natural knack for gaming, it took him 3 years of consistent daily practice to crack the top 100
- This was the first gaming mission where they were on the offensive
- He felt excited and bloodthirsty like he was going to war
Chapter 6
- They failed the mission despite a valiant effort
- Then Zack collapsed on his bed from exhaustion
Chapter 7
- A real-life Armada shuttle landed in front of his school and his boss Ray came out of it, making an announcement that they were looking for Zack
- Ray admitted that the games were just simulations but based on the real-life alien threats they were facing, and the sims helped train pilots
- For the last 6 years, Ray was assigned to watch over him like Obi-Wan watching over Luke while he grew up
- Ray told him he was about to be offered to enlist in the EDA which potentially might lead to him finding out more info about his father
Phase Two
Chapter 8
- Ray saw him off to the elite enlistment queue
Chapter 9
- He connected with another recruit girl named Lex right before the training orientation video
Chapter 10
- The video showed that the mission they played last night was real and that the aliens were on their way to earth
- By the end of the presentation, they were already under attack, and all the recruits went to their stations to prepare for battle
- He and Lex were the first on the battlefield and he scored the first kill
Chapter 12
- They destroyed all the enemy invaders but one, which Zack chased down the launch tunnel before it self-destructed, which was against a direct order by the admiral
Chapter 13
- The admiral reprimanded him because his mistake costed them 500 drone ships
- He also dropped a bomb on him that his dad was alive and a general in the army
- He was being reassigned to the moon base with his dad as his commanding officer
- His father was the top ranked pilot in armada
- He saw Lex before she went off to Montana
- They admired each other in uniform then shared a kiss before saying goodbye
Chapter 14
- He met the other top 6-10 armada pilots as they were roasting the top 5
Chapter 15
Reader’s note: Damn this part feels so emotional to me. His dad has always known about what he did to his family, and could never contact them, but was always close by to watch over his training. And now they finally get to meet. And Zack gets to meet his dad who he has fantasized about meeting for so long and now itās happening
- He felt a surge of emotion when his father embraced him and apologized and said everything he imagined he would have said if Zack ever saw him again
- His father was just as nervous to see him too
- His dad told him that even though they were facing great odds, it wasnāt hopeless
- He also got to see into his dads quarters and the only thing in it was photos of him and his mom lining the back wall
Chapter 16
- Zacks father, Graham, and Shin showed the battle of them 3 miraculously defeating a Disruptor, which is normally an impossible task
Chapter 17
- He went through all the letters his dad wrote him and his mom throughout the years
- He had to make an impossible choice
- He enjoyed seeing Zack grow up from afar but it also pained him extremely to not be there
Chapter 18
- His dad theorized that the aliens have been studying their pop culture for a long time now, and decided to make humans worst fear a reality by starting an alien invasion
- His dad thinks the aliens were testing them for some reason
- His father only told him about this theory because he feels like only their gamer minds can solve this puzzle and save humanity
Chapter 19
- He was finally able to call his mom after the public announcement to the world
- He shared a last video call with Lex
- He gave his dad his jacket back full of patches, and his dad was grateful
Chapter 20
- They were overwhelmed at the moon base and had to escape
- Milo and shin stayed behind to hold them off
Chapter 21
- Zack thought that it was so strange that they were outnumbered 1000 to one and still were surviving without a scratch
- His dad sacrificed himself and proved that the aliens were rigging the war in their favor, just like a game
- He went to search for his father
Phase Three
Chapter 22
- After he rescued his dad, the news reports were saying that we successfully and miraculously fend off their first wave
- His heart was bursting with joy as he saw his dad reunited with his mom and their dog
- Zack stole the contact list from the admiral and then called the worlds 5 leading scientists to explain his fatherās theory about the aliens
Chapter 23
- They failed to to convince admiral Vance to stop trying to use the Icebreaker to attack the aliens home planet
- Their Plan B was for their small group to stop the icebreaker themselves
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
- His dad distracted them all at the main base and sacrificed himself by blowing up the control room with him in it
- Zack managed to fight off the escort and admiral Vance, and blew up the Icebreaker
Chapter 26
- Zack seemed to have effectively negotiated a cease-fire
- A machine came from the planet surface and explained to Zack that it was a test for the human species to see if they could exist peacefully with the others
- The machine said they luckily passed the test and were being offered membership as the 9th member of the Sodality
- He could accept on humans behalf as the person who most deserves it and was most responsible for the outcome
- Membership benefits include sharing of knowledge and better quality of life and longevity for the species
- He could accept on humans behalf as the person who most deserves it and was most responsible for the outcome
- Zack accepted and the third wave came to help give medicine, energy and to help rebuild
- And the whole world saw the broadcast of their exchange
Epilogue
- He was famous now and his dad was posthumously awarded medals, awards, and honors from all over the world
- He had a baby brother named Zavier Jr after his dad
Closing thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book and the world-building. I think what this book does differently from the recent sci-fi books I’ve read is that it has a very strong family theme to it. Zack longs to know his father who supposedly passed away when he was a baby. But then he finds out that his father is alive and has been on the frontlines of stopping an alien invasion that is threatening their world.
It has that sort of destiny trope, but instead of the main protagonist having to do it alone, he has his father to look up to and model after, especially since his dad ended up being the highest-ranked Armada player in the world.
A few things I wish the author explored more was his mother’s character and perhaps more interactions with her. She played such a small role in the story, but I felt like she could have added a lot more to it. Also I wished they could have explored more in depth the relationship between Zack and Lex, or at least spent more time developing in. If there is a sequel, I imagine it might, but I don’t think there is.
Overall, a solid book in this genre, and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading similar books.
Nutshell:
Zack Lightman, one of the highest-ranked Armada players in the world, discovers that the game was simply a training tool to prepare the human species for an impending alien invasion.
Similar books:
- Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
- Enderās Game by Orson Scott Card
- We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating:
3.5/5
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Marlo Yonocruz 