Title: Armada
Author: Ernest Cline
Paperback Pub. Date: April 12th, 2016
Publisher: Broadway Books
Pages: 384
Paperback Pub. Date: April 12th, 2016
Publisher: Broadway Books
Pages: 384
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction
Find It: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, Goodreads
Find It: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, Goodreads
About Armada:
In 2011, writer Ernest Cline penned his wildly original, genre-busting debut novel, Ready Player One. Packed with irresistible ’80s nostalgia, this cinematic novel was immediately embraced by readers, bloggers, geeks, gamers, booksellers, and John Hughes fans everywhere. From the New York Times and Entertainment WeeklytoBoing Boing and Wired, the novel received rave reviews across the board, sold over a million copies in the U.S., and has been published in 40 countries. The book is now being made into a film by Warner Brothers and legendary director Steven Spielberg, set to debut in theaters in March of 2018.
Since Ready Player One’s publication, Cline’s fans were anxiously awaiting his next endeavor—and he delivered another inventive, heartwarming, and completely nerdtastic adventure with ARMADA (Broadway Books; April 12, 2016), his second New York Times bestseller, which is now in paperback.
ARMADA opens as high-school student Zack Lightman glances out his classroom window and spots a UFO. At first he thinks he’s going crazy. A minute later he’s sure of it, because the ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting Earth from alien invaders.
Zack is sure he’s lost his mind. But what he’s seeing is all too real, and his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save Earth from what’s about to befall it. Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble 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, and wonder: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little too . . . familiar?Called a “must-read summer blockbuster novel” by Mashable and a “a thrilling coming-of-agestory” byEntertainment Weekly, ARMADA is at once an adrenaline-fueled, surprising thriller, a classic teenage adventure, and an alien-invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with Cline’s trademark pop-culture savvy. The book is already being adapted into a film by Universal Studios, with the author himself writing the screenplay.
Author Interview:
1) Let’s
get right to the elephant in the room. The news is now out that your debut
novel, Ready Player One,
will be made into a film by Warner Brothers and legendary director Steven
Spielberg (set to debut in theaters March of 2018)! What did you do when you
got the news?
I pinched
myself a few hundred times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming—then I re-watched all
of his movies—including the Indiana Jones films, which helped inspire certain
elements of RPO’s story, along with E.T.
and Close Encounters, two Spielberg films
that played a large role in inspiring Armada.
His work has influenced me throughout my life and writing career, so it’s a
dream come true to have the opportunity to collaborate with him on the film
adaptation of a story that his work helped inspire.
2) What do
you think of the casting announcements that have been made already?
I
think they’re fantastic! I’ve been a fan of Ben Mendelsohn’s acting since the
’80s, and his portrayal of John Daggett in The Dark Knight
Rises is all the proof I need that he’s perfect for the role of
Sorrento. Olivia Cooke is amazing on Bates Motel
and in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.
She’s going to make a great Art3mis! And after seeing Tye Sheridan in films
like Mud and Joe,
I think he’s one of the most talented young actors working today, and that
he’ll do an incredible job playing Wade Watts.
3) For
decades, science-fiction writers have been predicting some of the most
incredible futuristic concepts that have become reality, such as debit cards,
video conferencing, ear buds, and even accurate details about men landing on
the moon. In Ready Player One,
the merging of virtual reality technology and social media that you write about
is now a reality with the Oculus Rift virtual reality company being bought by
Facebook . Are there any similar futuristic technologies in Armada
that you think will become reality in the next few years?
Yes, but the future is happening so fast now it’s getting
more and more difficult to stay ahead of it. Armada’s
plotline involves two concepts—quantum data teleportation and 3-D drone
printing—that were still science fiction when I started the book, and then
became a proven reality before I finished it. I need to write faster.
4) In
the novel, Zack’s Armada pilot
call sign is IronBeagle, an homage to the Snoopy vs.
the Red Baron album. Did you have fun creating the other
various call signs in the novel: RedJive, MaxJenius, Viper, Rostam, Whoadie,
AtomicMom, Kushmaster5000?
Pilot call
signs are always fun to create—like an avatar’s name in Ready
Player One; it’s a nickname a person creates for
themselves, so it invariably says something about their self-image and their
character—like each of the call signs you listed above.
5) Talk to
us about Xavier’s Raid
the Arcade mix playlist
in the book. How did you choose the songs, which became an essential part of
Zack’s Armada gaming ritual? Do you have any
rituals of your own when it comes to playing video games?
Many of those are songs from the mix tapes I used to make
to listen to on my Walkman at the local arcade. Some of the songs are from
movies that played a role inspiring Armada’s
story, like the song “Iron Eagle” by King Kobra, from the film of the same
name.
6) In Armada,
Zack and his father, Xavier Lightman, your novel’s two main heroes, are both
big science-fiction fans. The book is filled with references to sci-fi films,
such as The Last Starfighter, E.T., Aliens, the
Star Wars franchise. Dare
to share your all-time favorite sci-fi flick?
My all-time
favorite sci-film would have to be Star Wars,
aka Episode IV—A New Hope. The movie and
its sequels created the entire mythology of my youth, and altered the course of
my life and career.
7) In Armada, Zack soon finds out that the EDA
(Earth Defense Alliance), a top-secret global military coalition, is not just a
fictional agency featured in the videogames he’s been playing. If the EDA were
real (and we’re not saying they aren’t) and invited you to join their ranks,
would you? Would Moon Base Alpha be your first station of choice, or would you
prefer something closer to home?
Of course I would join up! If the EDA existed, I would
have to pitch in and use my gamer skills to help save the world. But I would
prefer to stay here in Austin and telecommute, so I could fight off the
invasion from the comfort of my couch, without changing out of my pajamas.
8) There
is a romantic plotline woven throughout the novel, albeit one that is a bit
nontraditional (boy meets girl as Earth is under attack from alien invaders,
girl is a kick-ass gamer who helps save boy’s butt during attack, you get the
gist). Did you feel it was essential to add this element, or did the
relationship between Zack and Lex come about naturally as you were writing the
novel?
It came
about naturally as I was writing. I love stories with strong female characters,
who kick just as much ass (if not more) than their male counterparts, so the
stories I write usually tend to have a few of them. I also believe that every
good adventure story also includes a little romance. And some rock and roll,
too.
9) If you
could meet anyone from pop culture—actor, singer, game creator—dead or alive,
who would it be and why?
Carl Sagan.
Because he changed my life by opening my eyes to the nature of the world and
the cosmos, and I’d love to be able to thank him in person.
10) The
first arcade game you ever played was Space
Invaders. Is there a game that you’ve been playing
recently that’s become a new obsession?
Finishing
this book has been my only obsession for the past few years. But during my
research, I did play a lot of space combat and flight simulation games, both
old and new. The problem with playing videogames as “research” for a novel is
that you never want to stop playing to go off and actually write it.
11) Many
people look back at the ’50s and ’60s as a watershed moment for science-fiction
writing, but do you see the ’70s and ’80s as an even richer epoch for
inspiration with the confluence of all the new videogames introduced and some
of the best science-fiction TV and movies ever made (to my mind!)?
The ’70s and
’80s are a rich era for sci-fi inspiration (at least, for me) because that was
the dawn of the computer, videogame, and Internet age—the one we still live in
now. It was also a golden age for movies and television shows, which may be why
every property from that time is being reimagined or rebooted right now.
12) Armada is dedicated to your brother, Major
Eric T. Cline. What is your relationship like and why did you choose to
dedicate the book to him?
My
brother and I are very close, and have been our whole lives. He’s always been a
huge inspiration to me. He joined the Marine Corps as a lowly private, and over
the past two decades he has worked his way up through the ranks to become a
major while he traveled all over the world helping people and risking his life
for his country and his comrades. Seeing all the sacrifices he and his family
have had to make during his various deployments was part of the inspiration for
Armada’s story and
characters.
13) There is
a rumor you now own not one but two DeLoreans. How on Earth did that come
about?
I bought a second DeLorean to give away as the grand
prize in the Ready Player
One Easter Egg Hunt. A few years later, the contest winner decided to
sell the car to pay off some unexpected medical bills, so I decided to buy it
back from him. Then I gave it to my brother, Eric, so now I’m back down to just
one time machine, which is plenty.
14) Is it
true that George R. R. Martin once borrowed your DeLorean to help promote the
opening of his new bar (complete with a Back
to the Future
screening)? There has to be one heck of a story here. Please explain!
George and I had met at a convention, where he had sat in
my car. So when his theater decided to screen BTTF,
he thought of me and asked to borrow my DeLorean. I said yes, of course!
15) For
your Ready Player One book tour
you drove your time-traveling DeLorean across the country. Did you take it out
again for Armada?
No, I think
one Time Machine Book Tour is probably enough to last a lifetime. I discovered
that it’s not really safe to drive a tricked-out DeLorean on the interstate
highway system, because the people around you are often swerving/driving
recklessly while they attempt to snap a photo of your car to post on Facebook.
There are safer ways to travel.
16) It’s
been a few years since you were last out on a book tour. Were you surprised by
the fan response at your events this time around? Did it feel very different
from your initial experience with Ready
Player One?
Yes, the
huge turnout for each of my Armada
signings really floored me. It’s incredibly flattering and humbling to see
hundreds of people cram into a bookstore just to hear me speak, and then to see
all of those same fans wait patiently in line—sometimes for an hour or more—to
get their books signed. Taking the time to do that is one of the biggest
compliments you can pay any artist. I’m incredibly grateful to have my work
reach such a wide audience, and to have so many people respond to it with such
enthusiasm.
17) Are
there any particular moments or fan interactions that stand out to you from the
tour?
This was the first tour where I had fans show up at my
signings sporting Ready
Player One–themed tattoos. It really blew me away. When someone pulls up
their sleeve and they have three keys or three gates tattooed on their arm, I’m
always awed by that level of enthusiasm. And moved that something I created
could mean that much to them.
18) We have
to ask: As a serious Star
Wars nerd, what were
your feelings about The
Force Awakens? How
about the choice to pass the baton to Rian Johnson for Episode VIII?
I enjoyed the hell out of that movie. I’d been waiting to
see Han, Chewie, Luke, and Leia together again on the big screen since 1983,
and living up to 30 years of geek anticipation is no small feat. I thought J.
J. Abrams knocked it out of the park. And Rian Johnson is one of the smartest
and most gifted writer-directors of my generation—the generation that grew up
with Star Wars. He’s
such an exciting choice. Kathleen Kennedy really knows what she’s doing.
19) What’s
your dream Star
Wars spinoff movie? Any
character or storyline you’re itching to see explored?
Yes! How about a whole movie
covering the origin story of Saun Dann, the character portrayed by Art Carney
in the Star Wars Holiday
Special? He was a secret agent of the Rebel Alliance masquerading as a
trader on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk after the Battle of Yavin. You know
that dude must’ve seen action during the Clone Wars, too. I’d also pay good
money to see a stand-alone Star
Wars flick about Willrow Hood."
ERNEST CLINE is a novelist, screenwriter, father, and full-time geek. His two novels, Armada and Ready Player One, were both New York Times and USA Today bestsellers, and Ready Player One is currently being adapted into a film by Warner Brothers and director Steven Spielberg. Ernest lives in Austin, Texas, with his family, a time-traveling DeLorean, and a large collection of classic videogames
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- Jocelyn
