Armada

This was pretty disappointing after the wonderful Ready Player One. It felt much more pandery and unoriginal, with nerd references thrown in willy-nilly without any real reason for them to be there. It's basically a sadly predictable cross between The Last Starfighter and a young gamer's fanfiction fantasy that validates all the endless hours of playing games he does. It would probably be better if the main character were more likable, but his short temper makes him really hard to care about and none of the other characters manage to avoid being stereotypes and don't make themselves stand out as people I should give a damn about. It gets better in the last few chapters as the invaders' intentions are revealed, and even ends on an intriguing premise for another story, but it's far too little too late. My recommendation? Just skip this and read Ready Player One instead. It feels more fresh and interesting, and is less lazy about it's nerdy references.