Library Journal Review
High schooler and gamer Zack's world is rocked when the aliens from his favorite video game actually invade Earth. Wondering at the eerie similarity of this attack to the books and movies he loved as a kid, Zack, along with other game aficionados, gears up to defend the planet. VERDICT Expect huge demand for this coming-of-age gamer kid adventure after the author's big splash with Ready Player One, but with pop culture references, action, and a relatable main character the appeal for all ages was already there. (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |
Publishers Weekly Review
What if the X-Files were a "fictional alien cover-up created to conceal [a] real one"? Cline (Ready Player One) makes this kind of paranoia intriguing in an SF novel whose strong opening compensates for a less gripping ending. After Zack Lightman's father died in an accident, the teen distracted himself with gaming, achieving one of the world's top scores in a human vs. alien invaders game called Armada. To Zack's astonishment, one morning he looks out of his classroom window in Beaverton, Wash., and sees a Sobrukai Glaive, one of the enemy ships from that game. Skeptical of his own senses, Zack flees school to take a more careful look at his father's writings, only to find an unsettling level of conspiracy thinking. Zack soon finds the connection between his vision and his father's theories, at which point the story becomes more conventional and less imaginative. The plot holes get harder to ignore as the conclusion approaches, but the book's beginning offers glimpses of Cline's significant potential. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. |
School Library Journal Review
High schooler Zack Lightman is staring out of the window during class one day and sees what appears to be a Glaive fighter, an alien ship from his favorite video game, Armada. Zack isn't imagining things. The aliens are real, they are on the attack, and it's up to the gamers of the world to save humanity. While some plot elements are unsurprising, Cline has created a fast-paced story with so much excitement and drama that readers will be happy to go along for the ride. Readers learn that some popular conspiracy theories are true: video games really have been used to train people to defend the Earth against aliens, with the leaderboards used to find the best fighters; science fiction movies and television shows have been funded by the government with the intention of getting the general population used to the idea that aliens do exist; and the world's most famous scientists, including Stephen Hawking, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Carl Sagan, have all had a hand in it. This compelling story is made even richer through different perspectives brought by the diverse group of elite gamers tasked with leading the fight. Fans of the author's Ready Player One (Crown, 2011) will not be disappointed. VERDICT Although this is a great book for teen gamers, Cline's sophomore effort with young protagonists and questions about alien civilizations and government secrets will also appeal to fans of science fiction and conspiracy theories.-Carla Riemer, Claremont Middle School, CA © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. |