ARMADA

THE NEW NOVEL FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF READY PLAYER ONE Itâe(tm)s just another day of high school for Zack Lightman. He's daydreaming through another boring math class, with just one more month to go until graduation and freedomâe"if he can make it that long without getting suspended again. Then he glances out his classroom window and spots the flying saucer. At first, Zack thinks heâe(tm)s going crazy. A minute later, heâe(tm)s sure of it. Because the UFO heâe(tm)s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armadaâe"in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders. But what Zackâe(tm)s seeing is all too real. And his skillsâe"as well as those of millions of gamers across the worldâe"are going to be needed to save the earth from whatâe(tm)s about to befall it. Yet even as he and his new comrades scramble to prepare for the alien onslaught, Zack canâe(tm)t help thinking of all the science-fiction books, TV shows, and movies he grew up reading and watching, and wonder: Doesnâe(tm)t something about this scenario seem a little tooâe¦ familiar? Armada is at once a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien-invasion tale like nothing youâe(tm)ve ever read beforeâe"one whose every page is infused with author Ernest Clineâe(tm)s trademark pop-culture savvy.