In the journal, his father raves about the connections between popular science fiction series like Star Wars and Star Trek, among many others, to a conspiracy that’s meant to prepare earthlings for a war against aliens. His father’s death has left Zack with a thousand questions about his late father as all he has of him is a collection of science fiction VHS tapes and a diary that makes him think his father might have been mentally unstable. When Zack was just an infant, his father died in an industrial accident. It’s a super fast transition from his life as a student into his life as a Lieutenant in a secret united alliance of Earthling fighters who have known of the existence of aliens since the 1970’s. Thinking he’s gone completely nuts, he bolts from class after picking a fight with a bully, talks to his hot mom at home, goes to work, plays some video games, reads his dead father’s journal about an alien conspiracy, and is then recruited into the Earth Defense Alliance by his former boss the next day. It’s a Glaive Fighter, one of the enemy ships from the game and it’s hovering in the sky. These aliens are invading and this massively multiplayer game brings together people from around the world to defend the planet however, the threat of alien invasion is about to become real.Īnd on a typical Oregon day, Zack is sitting in math class and he looks out the window. His life in academics has been a mess mostly because he has a bad temper, and all he wants is to go home, keep on with his part-time job at a video game store, and play a video game called Armada.Īrmada is a flight simulator that pits futuristic pilots against aliens called the Sobrukai.

Zack Lightman is an 18-year-old high school student and he’s ready to graduate. The world was saved, the protagonist got the girl, and the bully got his due by way of humbling amputation.Īnd right about now you’re probably firing up your keyboard to crucify me for not finishing the book, but if you hear me out I’ll explain why I stopped. Tonight as I fidgeted and fretted, I finally gave in and skipped ahead to read the ending. There was just something about book that made me feel frustrated as I read paragraph after paragraph, page after page, and chapter after struggling chapter. I have picked up and put down Ernest Cline’s Armada more than a hundred times while attempting to read it over the last two weeks.

Armada book 2 ernest cline