Just a few short years into the future Zack Lightman is sitting in class staring out the window when he spots something that he never thought he would see. A spaceship from his favorite video game, Armada, is flying through the clouds. Zack was alarmed and thought he was having a nervous breakdown because no one else was aware of the unidentified fly object directly above them. Zack convinced himself that it was an illusion but the next day when the spaceship landed to take him away he wasn’t as sure. Zack was taken to a top secret government base for special training to prepare for an alien invasion. For years the government had been training the entire world through video games, movies and pop culture in preparation for the imminent alien invasion that only key members of the government knew about. Zack is now caught up in the fight to save Earth!
Ernest Cline’s Armada is his second novel. His first novel Ready Player One was a masterpiece of 90’s science fiction and comedic gold, but Armada is a shadow of what it could have been. Armada is worth the read if you are interested in videogames but if not, then you are better off saving your time and sticking to Ernest Cline’s first novel.