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Armada

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Armada

By: Ernest Cline
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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About this listen

Zack Lightman is a dreamer. He fills his days with wishful thoughts of life on other planets and spends hours playing videogames, neither of which have helped him make friends or find a girlfriend. His refuge from the daily disappointments of life is Armada - an online space-fighter simulator based on defending Earth from an alien invasion. It’s when he’s playing that he feels closest to his father, a champion gamer who died when Zack was a baby.

He rises up the ranks until there’s only one other player who can challenge his worldwide supremacy. As he closes in on his ultimate enemy, the game suspiciously shuts down, leading Zack to investigate the many urban legends and myths that surround Armada. What he finds will take him beyond his wildest dreams.

The game was just the beginning....

©2015 Random House Audiobooks (P)2015 Random House Audiobooks Science Fiction Fiction Game
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This one gets 3.5 stars from me. Comparisons will unavoidably be made with Clines' first novel, Ready Player One. This story wasn't as good as that one, but it's still a fun ride. The story is predictable and draws heavily from other well-known sci-fi classics. But at least Cline is unapologetically open about it.

The book is full of pop culture references for nerds and cinephiles, though not as heavily as in RPO. The story moves along at a good pace, but ends quite suddenly after the climax. Wheaton's narration is great. He's enthusiastic and gets right into the story, which excites you as a listener.

A fun ride, if a little derivative

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Loved ready player one and so I bought this book. I liked the majority of the book. Good humour, story and cultural references. But I can't help feeling that the The last 1/3 of the book was written under the looming deadline. The story final story brushed over and told in a rapid, slapdash manor which is a real shame.

Good but last 1/3 of book feels rushed

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Cline is amazing, the book was fantastic as expected. Can't wait for the next one!

LOVED IT!

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Holds a mirror to humanity's behaviour in a very real and entertaining way. Highly recommended listening.

A very engaging story

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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yep! It has great character development, with a good story line. I'm glad I read it and even though some people comparing it to Ready Player One initially deterred me, I left enough space between listening to RPO to not expect the same, and I wasn't disappointed!

Any additional comments?

If you're a fan of RPO do yourself a favour before you listen to this story, and have a break. Listen to some other sci-fi/fantasy and then you'll appreciate how much of a great author E.C. is. Also Wil Wheaton again does a great performance, he's one of my favourite narrators.

A great, intricate story!

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