Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

Genre: Science Fiction
Publication: 07/15/15 by Crown Publishing
Series: TBA?
Pages: 355 Pages
Format: Library Hardback
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
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Goodreads Summary:
Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Dreaming that the real world could be a little more like the countless science-fiction books, movies, and videogames he’s spent his life consuming. Dreaming that one day, some fantastic, world-altering event will shatter the monotony of his humdrum existence and whisk him off on some grand space-faring adventure. But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe. And then he sees the flying saucer.
Even stranger, the alien ship 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.  No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’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. It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

My Thoughts: 
Well, I loved this book. It has been getting some mixed reviews but if you think this book is for you definitely try it out! This book is great for people who loved Ender's Game, Star Wars and are SciFi readers. It worked for me because I love aliens, pop culture references and general nerdiness. If these things don't work for you than stay away and if you don't want to read it because you haven't seen Star Wars yet, well...
Armada isn't exactly an original plot. It uses lots of plots for other SciFi novels and movies mashed together; but rest assured it is for good reason. Our main character, Zachary Lightman, is the kind of the stereotypical gamer. He's a regular dude with a serious case of dark humour which I greatly appreciate.

The biggest issue people have with Armada is that it isn't an original plot. However, I didn't care about that because Cline used it in a really interesting way which got me hooked. I found Armada an awesome combination of humour, adventure, and great pulp culture references. The only thing I wasn't sold on was the clear setup for a sequel. But that doesn't ruin it for me. The best part of this book: space! 
I took an astronomy class last year at university so I knew a lot about Europa, moons and the universe in general. That helped to enhance my experience reading this book. I also have a serious guilty pleasure for aliens. They totally exist and alien conspiracy theories are hilariously awesome. Therefore, since this book is essentially an alien conspiracy than I loved it. 

Conclusions: I'm pretty sure this book was written for me. I can definitely see how it isn't for everyone. If you don't mind reading something that's essentially Ender's Game with some serious Star Wars references and an alien conspiracy then this is for you. It's actually awesome so at least give it a chance. What's the worst that could happen? 

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