Armada cover art

Armada

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Armada

By: Ernest Cline
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

Zack Lightman is a dreamer. He fills his days with wishful thoughts of life on other planets and spends hours playing videogames, neither of which have helped him make friends or find a girlfriend. His refuge from the daily disappointments of life is Armada - an online space-fighter simulator based on defending Earth from an alien invasion. It’s when he’s playing that he feels closest to his father, a champion gamer who died when Zack was a baby.

He rises up the ranks until there’s only one other player who can challenge his worldwide supremacy. As he closes in on his ultimate enemy, the game suspiciously shuts down, leading Zack to investigate the many urban legends and myths that surround Armada. What he finds will take him beyond his wildest dreams.

The game was just the beginning....

©2015 Random House Audiobooks (P)2015 Random House Audiobooks Science Fiction Fiction Game
All stars
Most relevant  
This one gets 3.5 stars from me. Comparisons will unavoidably be made with Clines' first novel, Ready Player One. This story wasn't as good as that one, but it's still a fun ride. The story is predictable and draws heavily from other well-known sci-fi classics. But at least Cline is unapologetically open about it.

The book is full of pop culture references for nerds and cinephiles, though not as heavily as in RPO. The story moves along at a good pace, but ends quite suddenly after the climax. Wheaton's narration is great. He's enthusiastic and gets right into the story, which excites you as a listener.

A fun ride, if a little derivative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved ready player one and so I bought this book. I liked the majority of the book. Good humour, story and cultural references. But I can't help feeling that the The last 1/3 of the book was written under the looming deadline. The story final story brushed over and told in a rapid, slapdash manor which is a real shame.

Good but last 1/3 of book feels rushed

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Cline is amazing, the book was fantastic as expected. Can't wait for the next one!

LOVED IT!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Holds a mirror to humanity's behaviour in a very real and entertaining way. Highly recommended listening.

A very engaging story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yep! It has great character development, with a good story line. I'm glad I read it and even though some people comparing it to Ready Player One initially deterred me, I left enough space between listening to RPO to not expect the same, and I wasn't disappointed!

Any additional comments?

If you're a fan of RPO do yourself a favour before you listen to this story, and have a break. Listen to some other sci-fi/fantasy and then you'll appreciate how much of a great author E.C. is. Also Wil Wheaton again does a great performance, he's one of my favourite narrators.

A great, intricate story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Definitely worth the listen, just wished the last few hours had more detail
But good overall

Not bad

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Overall a good listen. Sometimes predictable, and a little lurchy pacing wise, but enjoyable nonetheless

A good listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
not as good as ready player One but similar and very enjoyable

will Wheaton is great as usual

great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I bought this because of Ready Player One but this is just as good, needless to say that I will be waiting for the next Cline book restlessly

Perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I don't know if it's will Wheatons voice or what, but the main protagonist can be a bit annoying, as can nearly every other character. I liked the story for the most part, but when you're dropping references that only mid 30s and up people are going to understand, the writing style comes out a bit juvenile, but it could also just be will Wheatons voice again. Didn't hate it though. Will make an excellent movie one day.

It was okay

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.