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  • Armada

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Ernest Cline
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (979 ratings)

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Armada

Written by: Ernest Cline
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Publisher's Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A rollicking alien invasion thriller that embraces and subverts science-fiction conventions, from the author of the worldwide phenomenon Ready Player One 

“Exciting . . . mixes 
Star WarsThe Last StarfighterIndependence Day, and a really gnarly round of Space Invaders.”—USA Today • “A thrilling coming of age story.”—Entertainment Weekly

Zack Lightman has never much cared for reality. He vastly prefers the countless science-fiction movies, books, and videogames he's spent his life consuming. And too often, he catches himself wishing that some fantastic, impossible, world-altering event could arrive to whisk him off on a grand spacefaring adventure. 

So when he sees the flying saucer, he's sure his years of escapism have finally tipped over into madness. 

Especially because the alien ship he's staring at is straight out of his favorite videogame, a flight simulator callled Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders. 

As impossible as it seems, what Zack's seeing is all too real. And it's just the first in a blur of revlations that will force him to question everything he thought he knew about Earth's history, its future, even his own life--and to play the hero for real, with humanity's life in the balance. 

But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can't help thinking: Doesn't something about this scenario feel a little bit like . . .  well . . . fiction? 

At once reinventing and paying homage to science-fiction classics, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a coming-of-age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you've ever heard before.

©2015 Ernest Cline (P)2015 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“Nerd-gasmic . . . another science fiction tale with a Comic-Con's worth of pop-culture shout-outs.”Rolling Stone

“An amazing novel [that] proves Cline has the ability to blend popular culture with exciting stories that appeal to everyone.”Associated Press

“A fantastic second novel . . . fans of Ready Player One, it is time to rejoice.”HuffPost

What listeners say about Armada

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

One Trick Pony

Was looking forward to Ernest Cline's 2nd novel, but it's just more of the same. Very 80s centric; one loner character is the only chance for the story's plot. The love interest really just randomly pops up, and I never found myself connecting to any of the supporting characters because the book tries to do too much with the time.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great Job!

Narrator was fantastic. story was really solid. better than expected in fact. Looking forward to more from Cline.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another jab at nostalgia and videogames

Again, great book by Cline and great performance by Wheaton. But, contrary to Ready Player One, the story falls a bit flat on this one. Also, we can feel that instead of going against the classics of the si-fi genre, Cline is swallowed by them. And the fact that the author constantly references them doesn't make it feel like an hommage as much as reminds the reader of the strong narrative influence.

But, all of this said, I am sure to find myself listening to it again and again waiting for more credits and, with every new go around, find one more wink to movies and songs we all know and love.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So good!

Awesome story! So captivating and awesome themes tied in. Will listen again for sure.

Hopefully when they make a movie out of this they keep it closer to the actual story instead of hollywooding it up like ready player one.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • DDD
  • 2019-10-11

Failure at second book - rushed for $$$

This is really a rewrite of the "The Last Starfighter"
Stopped listening after the story failures and stupidity got to me

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Extremely entertaining!

This is an very self-aware novel, so the multitude of absurdities in the story are brought up by the characters all the time. Much more thoughtful and nuanced ending than might be expected.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Rather Uninspired

Contrary to Ready Player One, this story feels incredibly forced. From the beginning, you are grabbed by the lapels and dragged face-first through the characterless characters, not feeling much of anything for them, save for a.pinch for the protagonist when you learn he's grown up idolized his deceased father. Then, you're subjected to the typical clichés of the genre (which I won't name in order to avoid spoiling any "surprises"). The romance is, at best, forced, and the plot feels inadequate and underdeveloped, like Cline couldn't be bothered with fleshing out character details or following interesting lines of thought. There is potential in this story, but it feels more like a lazy attempt at it than a genuine one. The result is that the reader has little invested in the characters or the outcome of the story; you just feel shuttle from one plot mechanic to the next until you reach the end, leaving you with an overwhelming sense of 'meh' once it's done. It's a shame, really; Ready Player One was so good that it set a high bar, and while my expectations were perhaps higher than they should have been, the book came nowhere near reaching them.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

Really enjoyed this book. Simple but really wanted to complete it. Highly recommended to all that want a quick adventure.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun story with 90’s sci-fi references

I liked this book! It’s a good listen. Would make a wicked fun movie. If you like hero science fiction stories, this one is worth the credit.
Wil Wheaton is good, just not for me… no offence meant at all - thoroughly enjoyed it . But had Ray Porter or RC Bray been booked for this one, I think it wouldn’t be a deep dive title search for the next listen and would be in the top 10 audible science fiction audio books.
Just my two cents.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good but just barely

Kind of felt like a retread of Ready Player One - lots and lots of pop culture and geekdom references. Characters that, much as I tried, I couldn’t relate to or care about. The big reveals were foreshadowed and hinted at so much that none were a surprise. Even the usually enjoyable Wil Wheaton felt a little flat - as if he wasn’t feeling it either.

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