Armada: A Novel

The latest book I've been reading (actually listening to as I walk) is Armada: A Novel by Ernest Cline, who also wrote one of my favorite books, Ready Player One.

The book got a lot of great blurbs. Here are some from the Amazon page ....

“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

“Mixes Star Wars, The Last Starfighter, Independence Day and a really gnarly round of Space Invaders into a tasty sci-fi stew.”
—USA Today

“A great romp…Cline (ever the fanboy) is both reverent of and referential to the books and movies and games of his childhood.”
—Mother Jones

"Hugely entertaining…a paean to the videogames of a bygone era, and like Ready Player One it is a tremendous amount of fun for anyone who remembers that time and played those games."
–George R.R. Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Game of Thrones

"A novel so fun, you'll want to reboot it and read it again…the best novel this gamer geek has read in a long, long time."
—Hugh Howey, New York Times bestselling author of Wool

"Those conspiracies you imagined when you were fourteen turn out to be true in this masterful tale of Earth's desperate struggle against a powerful alien foe."
—Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian

“With another winning teen protagonist in Zach, Cline mines the nostalgia and geek spheres just as successfully as he did in his acclaimed debut, Ready Player One. The works that obviously influenced the story line, such as Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game and the films The Last Starfighter and Star Wars, feel like homages rather than borrowings- a rap artist sampling the best beats our there to create an irresistible jam.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Cline once again brings crackling humor and fanboy knowledge to a zesty, crowd-pleasing, countdown-clock, save-the-planet tale featuring an unlikely hero, adrenaline-pumping action, gawky romance, and touching family moments.…Cline’s sly, mind-twisting premise and energetically depicted and electrifying high-tech battles make for smart, frenetic, and satisfying entertainment.”
—Booklist, starred review

But the reader's reviews at the Amazon page are mixed. Here's a posittive review at The Huffington Post - Ernest Cline's 'Armada' Soars to the Stars of Sci-Fi - and a not so flattering review in Forbes - Ernest Cline's 'Armada' Drowns in Video Game And Sci-Fi Nostalgia

I'm just at the beginning but I'm finding it entertaining, though maybe not so much so as Ready Player One. Yet. :)