I have been waiting on tenderhooks for Cline's second novel since his debut - Ready Player One - kind of rocked my world.
Armada has a very similar vibe to its predecessor; lots of 80's references, young male lead coming-of-age story with a skillful mix of adventure and humor. The protagonist is a high schooler plucked from behind his monitor to use the skills that he has been carefully honed, without his conscious knowledge, through the governments' secret program to train fighter pilots through the use of online gaming. This premise would be plenty but it's interwoven with a sparky, quirky romance, a dramatic family tale, and a fascinating group dynamic between a group of people of all different races, religions, nationalities, and ages.
Whichever of Cline's books you read first you will no doubt adore.
The problem is, whichever you read second might sound like a bit of an echo. Both books are good. But they're a really similar vibe. It's like any of the early Taylor Swift albums - each song was good on its own but if you listened to more than one in a row it all blurred into one giant song, even though technically the content was different, it all rings the same.
I don't want to seem like I didn't enjoy the book, I did, but I'll be interested to see if Cline has any more range in his (hopefully) upcoming third novel.
I'm still loving Blogging for Books, who provided me with this novel, even though I've been pretty negligent lately. Can't wait to tell you about the next one!
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