Christian Qsar

LA P6
2-15-19

Armada by Ernest Cline: Book Report

Exposition​: In the beginning of the novel, ​Armada​, by Ernest Cline, the

author explains how the main character, Zack Lightman was sitting in his classroom
and he saw a UFO. At first, he thinks he is hallucinating or got drugged. The flying
object was moving very fast, and making very sharp turns. It was hard for Zack to
even keep track of it. When he gets a better look at it, he knows right away that it is
‘not of this earth.’ Zack has been dreaming his whole life for something like this to
happen to him; something out of this world, something mind blowing. Anyways, Zack
lives in Beaverton, Oregon, or as he calls it “Yawnsville, USA.” When he was
younger, his dad died supposedly in a lab explosion. His mom was so sad, she
never married anyone else.

Protagonist​: One of the main characters and protagonist in the novel is Zack
Lightman. Zack loves video games and despises school. Zack mainly plays the
popular video game called Armada. In the game, you fight aliens and kill aliens to
save the planet. Zacks dad predicted that the Armada and Terra Firma (other game
by creators of Armada) games were designed to train people to fight for the military.
Later in the story, Zack meets his boss, Ray again in an alien ship from the Armada.
The ship takes them to a real EDA (Earth Defense Alliance) base. Zack also had an
after school job at this video game store that his friend and boss Ray, owned. They
always tested out new game consoles and controllers there. The only thing is that
Ray likes Terra Firma better.

Antagonist: ​The antagonists in this story are the aliens, otherwise known as
the Europans. When the EDA sent a probe up to the planet Europa, they found a
huge swastika on top of the planets surface. They sent another drone secretly with a
nuke attached to it to blow up any life on the planet. The Europans in return send
EDA a voice message saying they are going to kill them no matter what. These
Europans then invade Earth and kill many people. They Europans turned Earth into
hell. Although the Europans are far more advanced than humans, they waited 48
years to attack, spying on Humanity.

Conflict: ​When the EDA sent a probe up, the Europans identified a nuke on
it. They took it as a signal for war. The Europans sent a message saying they will
attack Earth and the humans cannot do anything about it. EDA has been preparing
for the 48 years for this attack. The EDA also has been recruiting the top Armada
and Terra Firma players in the world to fight in real life. They did this because
Armada and Terra Firma was exactly like real life. The ships were the same, the
places, aliens, and their combat strategies were the same. Armada and Terra Firma
were made like this on purpose. When Zack was recruited, a ‘Glaive Fighter’ from
the game came to his school ad kidnapped him. In the Glavie Fighter was his boss,
Ray. Ray also worked for the EDA. After sitting through a long seminar telling him
the truth of what happened with the Europans, he went to Moon Base Alpha (EDA’s
secret base on the moon).

At Moon Base Alpha, he saw his dad. He tried to hold back the tears of joy,
but he could not. The sight of Zack’s father made him so happy. This whole time,
Zack (and his mother) thought that his dad was dead. The EDA faked his death!
After meeting his dad and his dad’s friends, they had to prepare for the attack. There
are three waves, each getting harder and harder. By the time the first wave started,
the whole world knew about the Europans. It was broadcasted over every TV
service. The Europans wanted to attack one thing: The Disruptor. The Disruptor was
very valuable to the EDA. It powered all the EDA’s ships. It had a self destruct
feature on it for a last resort. If it did self destruct, all the ships would stop working
immediately.

During the battle, many famous cities were destroyed. Right before the
Disruptor was about to blow up, all the Europan ships stopped in mid-air. After
Zack(and everyone else) stopped driving his ship, a floating white orb came up to
him. It came and told him that it was all a test. A test to see if Humanity was worthy
of joining their clan. Humanity passed! The orb asked Zack if they wanted to join the
clan with eight other species. This so-called ‘clan’ promised no hunger, no thirst, and
unlimited resources for all of humanity. It would also help rebuild Earth and restore it.
Zack, at first, was mad because of all the people the Europans killed because of a
silly test, but he still said yes. This would begin a new golden age.

Theme:​ The theme of this story is perseverance and to be with your family.
Zack shows perseverance by trying as hard as he can. Therefore, he was one of the
top five Armada players and that got him a job at the EDA. The reason Zack agreed
to the EDA job was to save the world and protect his family. After working hard in the
attacks, Humanity was saved. From all the hard work, Humanity is now in its golden
age. In the novel, Zack shows these amazing traits throughout his adventures to the
moon and back.

Personal Review: ​The book Armada, by Ernest Cline is an amazing novel.

One of the main things I loved about this novel was the ending. The ending and
resolution were amazing. I did not expect anything like it. I also loved how this book
was futuristic and realistic (fiction) at the same time. I would totally recomend this
book to a friend. My friends and I love this kind of genre. We love anything futuristic
or modern. This book is great for people who like that kind of topic.