If video games is your name and sci-fi is your game, this is the book for you (even if you don't like video games). So, wow. I just finished reading Armada, Ernest Cline's second novel (Ready Player One, anyone?) and it was great. It follows Zack Lightman, a high school senior who is just breezing by and spends most of his time playing Armada or thinking about his deceased father. Then, one day, he sees a ship from the game outside his school. His whole life changes. The game isn't just a game. He has been training for this war against the alien species his whole life and now it's his time to shine.

I love how Cline can incorporate so much pop culture into his books. I love, love, love sci-fi and it was so cool to see how he worked in all of our beloved movies, books, TV shows, and games into Zack's universe. It's as if he wrote Armada after wondering what life would be like if all the stuff we saw in movies would have actually happened. The plot flowed out of these ideas and the progression of events was perfect. The beginning of the book is a bit slow because there is a lot of set-up, but it rapidly picks up pace as you enter the war. Armada doesn't seem as long as it is because the end of it moves so quickly.

The main character, Zack, is hard not to like. He is funny narrator and has real emotions. His narration has so much feeling in it, which is important because this is not just a sci-fi novel, it's Zack's coming of age story. And it's great that it is Zack's story, because I am a sucker for a good coming of age tale (especially since this one has an epic sci-fi twist). Armada also has a huge focus on family, which is usually hard to come by. Often the parents are completely absent or just don't care about their kids, but in Armada that's all flipped around.

I mentioned it earlier, but I love Cline's writing style. He writes the stories you have always wanted to hear about characters that are almost who you are. I could wholly see myself in Zack because we have similar geekish tendencies. This is a great novel for hard sci-fi fans and people who are wary about entering in the genre. I think there is something for everyone to love in Armada.

The only issue I have with this book is it reminded me too much of Ender's Game at the beginning. Orson Scott Card's science fiction masterpiece is one of my favorite books and it bothered me that they were similar because that book is so good and parts of Armada felt like a pseudo-copy. However, as the book progressed it really came into it's own and any notion that it is similar to Ender's Game was lost.

One last thing... this book is beautiful. The cover is pictured above and when I finally had the book in my hands, my heart skipped a beat because it's just so pretty. This is one of those books that I want to display the front of the book, not the spine on my bookshelf. Oh, and if you get the hardback edition (which you should), there is amazing artwork inside the jacket. At least go to the store to look at it and be amazed.

I give this book an 8/10 and highly recommend.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.