Movie choices from September 9, 1985. Back to the Future. Teen Wolf. Rambo. Gremlins. Key movies of the 1980s.
It pains me to say this, but this book wasn't that great. I had some seriously high hopes for it, even after reading the review that started off with something along the lines of "this book sucks." That's right, even after reading that the book sucked and that it was a total rip-off of other stories like The Last Starfighter and Ender's Game. Despite the negativity, I leaned heavily on Cline's performance in Ready Player One.
And that's where I was disappointed.
You see, I had glowing words for Ready Player One. It was a good story and the 80s theme was a key part of that story. But in Armada, the 80s theme was forced. In fact, the whole story felt forced. At times it felt like the ending was just randomly shoved in there because there needed to be an ending. Kind of like there was this process of writing and writing and suddenly the editor comes along and says "hey, you need to tell the readers what happens to the hero."
Movie choices from September 9, 1986. The Karate Kid Part II. Aliens. Top Gun. Things aren't looking too hot.
So yeah, I was disappointed in Armada. A lot of writers, TV shows, movies, and so many other things suffer from the Sophomore Slump. And from how this book read, I really do think that Cline had a slump.
Which could be a good thing so hear me out.
You see, think about a movie that you like. Then think about it's sequel. Then the third installment. It's usually the first and third that totally rock while the second one leaves feeling "meh." Well, I think Cline will impress us with his third novel. I'm holding out hope that he'll redeem himself by going back to what he did right in Ready Player One, fixing what was wrong with Armada, and crossing the finish line with his best book yet. I'm hoping the next book will be Back to the Future III because Armada was totally a Teen Wolf Too.
Movie choices from September 9, 1987. Summer School. The Big Easy. Can't Buy Me Love. Now we're back to normal.
It pains me to say this, but this book wasn't that great. I had some seriously high hopes for it, even after reading the review that started off with something along the lines of "this book sucks." That's right, even after reading that the book sucked and that it was a total rip-off of other stories like The Last Starfighter and Ender's Game. Despite the negativity, I leaned heavily on Cline's performance in Ready Player One.
And that's where I was disappointed.
You see, I had glowing words for Ready Player One. It was a good story and the 80s theme was a key part of that story. But in Armada, the 80s theme was forced. In fact, the whole story felt forced. At times it felt like the ending was just randomly shoved in there because there needed to be an ending. Kind of like there was this process of writing and writing and suddenly the editor comes along and says "hey, you need to tell the readers what happens to the hero."
Movie choices from September 9, 1986. The Karate Kid Part II. Aliens. Top Gun. Things aren't looking too hot.
So yeah, I was disappointed in Armada. A lot of writers, TV shows, movies, and so many other things suffer from the Sophomore Slump. And from how this book read, I really do think that Cline had a slump.
Which could be a good thing so hear me out.
You see, think about a movie that you like. Then think about it's sequel. Then the third installment. It's usually the first and third that totally rock while the second one leaves feeling "meh." Well, I think Cline will impress us with his third novel. I'm holding out hope that he'll redeem himself by going back to what he did right in Ready Player One, fixing what was wrong with Armada, and crossing the finish line with his best book yet. I'm hoping the next book will be Back to the Future III because Armada was totally a Teen Wolf Too.
Movie choices from September 9, 1987. Summer School. The Big Easy. Can't Buy Me Love. Now we're back to normal.
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