Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Armada: A Novel (edition 2015)by Ernest Cline (Author)
Work InformationArmada by Ernest Cline
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Story: 5 / 10 Characters: 7 Setting: 7 Prose: 6 Cline asks two questions with this book: 1. Can you retell another, famous story and make it worthwhile? 2. Why are popular culture book and movie references taboo in storytelling? Though I enjoyed the book, my answers are very encouraging: 1. I always thought you could effectively "remix" a book by changing the story in fundamental ways. In fact, I was eager to have a few authors all explore variations of the same book at the same time, creating 3 or more separate, standalone works. However, while I enjoyed "ARMADA", everything previously covered in Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" was effectively boring: I'd certainly heard it all before. I'm not convinced. 2. Could I have enjoyed the book more if it didn't explicitly say it was a remix of Ender's Game? Most likely. When another story, like Star Trek, is mentioned, the world of the book (diegesis) is suddenly interrupted and possibly merged with a very different fictional setting. It is unnecessarily distracting and I believe strongly that it is taboo. Nevertheless, if Cline didn't mention Ender in Armada, that could be considered a more serious crime (stealing). Fairly predictable plot, but I don't actually mind that. Filled with references to things I love, which had me smiling even at tense moments in the book. I didn't really feel like I got to know the main character as well as in Ready Player One, and the setup didn't feel quite as fleshed out, either. Overall I enjoyed it, but didn't have the same can't-put-it-down reaction that I had to Ready Player One. It was fine. More like "Ready Player Six", I'd say. I enjoy the occasional pop culture reference, but good lord that was a lot of them. I knew I was in trouble when, as soon as he met a girl, I said to myself, "How much you bet he accidentally says something clever and they kiss before the day is out.", and whaddaya know. Of course that's what happened. Also, "The Last Starfighter" and "Enders Game" did this already, and arguably better. Still, it was a quick, mildly entertaining read. Belongs to Publisher Series
"THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING 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 read before--one whose every page is infused with author Ernest Cline's trademark pop-culture savvy"-- No library descriptions found.
|
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
I totally enjoyed it but got a little bored with the endless action scenes even though they were important to the plot. I'd rather have had the timeline expanded a bit with more character development/story than pure action but I understand why it was the way it was.
( )