Books

Books : reviews

Ernest Cline.
Armada.
Penguin. 2015

It’s just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. But then he glances out of his classroom window and spots the flying saucer.

Zack thinks he’s going crazy.

The UFO he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, Armada – in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.

But what Zack’s seeing is all too real. And his skills are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

Yet even as he scrambles to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack can’t help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows and movies he grew up reading and watching. Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little too… familiar?

Ernest Cline.
Ready Player One.
Arrow. 2011

Imagine the world at stake.

An epic struggle between good and evil.

The greatest quest in history.

The fate of humanity resting in your hands.

Are you ready?

Ernest Cline.
Ready Player Two.
Penguin. 2020

Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything.

Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous – and addictive – than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest – a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an impossibly powerful new rival awaits, one willing to kill millions to get what he wants.

Wade’s life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

Ready Player Two returns to Ernest Cline’s beloved virtual universe for a wildly inventive, lovingly nostalgic, irresistibly fun new adventure that imagines a thrilling new future for the OASIS – and beyond.