Ready,
player one? Then get ready for Armada,
the latest in sci-fi shoot ‘em ups where, and get ready for your mind to be
blown, you are not playing a video game, but instead are helping the Earth
Defense Alliance in repelling an alien invasion. Waitaminute, you might say,
that sounds exactly like The Last
Starfighter, or Ender’s Game.
Unfortunately, you are correct. Nothing else to see here. Game over, man.
Ernest
Cline’s follow-up novel sadly does not live up to the hype and excitement that
was abundant in Ready Player One. The characters within are as cliché as
they are one-dimensional with bulky-dialogue soaked in Gen-X nostalgia that
goes way outside the realm of being believable. If it wasn’t for the R-rated
language, one might think Cline could have presented this as a stellar YA novel
and built a unique story on top of what has come before. Instead, he takes a
shortcut and interlaces the tried and true with inundated references to the Stars, Trek and Wars, among many
others.
Ready Player One was fun and new with characters
that were developed and continued to develop. Armada was a fountain of clichés; an arcade experience that becomes
mostly forgotten once your quarter disappears into that slot.
As Always,
theJOE
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