The first major novel in Britain to put gay life in its modern place and context... A historic novel and historic début

Deserves first prize in every category... superbly written, wildly funny

The tautness and energy of Alan Hollinghurst's novel derive from its ambiguous status a it shimmers somewhere between pastoral romance and sulphurous confession, between an affectionate and credible rendering of contemporary mores and lurid melodrama...classic English prose...surely the best book about gay life yet written by an English author

Beautifully welds the standard conventions of fiction to a tale of modern transgressions.It tells of impurities with shimmering elegance, of complexities with a camp-fired wit and of truths with a fiction's solid grace

The Swimming-Pool Library is a perfect debut, in that it arrives confidently, with a fully formed style and bank of themes that the author would go on to explore for years to come

This bold and emotional story is a must-read

All round a cracking title and for me, a definite Sci-Fi favourite of the year.

Must-read summer blockbuster novel.

Compelling…a love letter to the eighties.

It's epic, it is majorly, fantastically geeky, full of wonderful pop culture references and most of all it is just an amazing joy to read…I loved this, it is one of these rare books that lives with you afterwords, one to be discussed over and over again, it is a modern classic.

In a style all his own, Cline takes his readers on another exciting, charming, mysterious, heartwarming, geek-fueled ride.

A solid sci-fi romp.

A work of geeky wonder

Massively entertaining

An enjoyable romp.

Definitely worth the wait

Fun, fast paced, action focused plot with massive appeal in terms of huge doses of pop culture references.

Video games come to life in this witty, extraterrestrial thriller

Cline once again brings crackling humor and fanboy knowledge to a zesty, crowd-pleasing, countdown-clock, save-the-planet tale featuring an unlikely hero, adrenaline-pumping action, gawky romance, and touching family moments.…Cline’s sly, mind-twisting premise and energetically depicted and electrifying high-tech battles make for smart, frenetic, and satisfying entertainment.

The obscure and the popular bounce around in Cline’s head like asteroids in the classic arcade game of the same name. And when these references are combined with Cline’s fantastic storytelling ability and manage to find their way onto a blank page, something special happens.

Another cracking adventure…a fun, affectionate homage to gaming, gamers and big splodey sci-fi action, and you'll read it with a grin on your face. And maybe shed a couple of tears, too. It definitely deserves a place in your suitcase this summer.

A quick witted, action-packed, nerdy dedication to the little gamer inside me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book…A definite recommendation to anyone!

Cline’s cast of characters and dialogue in Armada is superb. It’s action packed and the pace is relentless making for a fast read… Armada is heaps of fun and well worth the trip down memory lane.

The writing is fluid, filled with brilliant dialogue, a solid cast and lots of action…hugely enjoyable, especially the big dose of 80s- esque story that Armada serves up. It’s straightforward fun with little twist or turns but just like the movies it references, it’s awesome.

This book is absolute geek heaven

An extremely cool and quirky science fiction adventure, stacked full of hilarious and fitting pop culture references. Cline has created a fast paced and engaging story using a perfect blend of humour, futuristic tech and video-game like action sequences.

Ernest Cline is a genius in every sense of the word…This was truly wonderful, everything I had hoped it would be, and then heaps and heaps more.

Release your inner nerd and rejoice!

Armada is a gamer’s fantasy come true.

thriller-like plotting…immensely readable

It’s a hoot, from beginning to end

Literally everything I could ask for

A highly rewarding journey…thoroughly enjoyable fiction.

Armada is a journey towards emotional intelligence and understanding, a journey towards some questions answered, others posed – huge questions they are too. Armada’s a good ‘un.

A surprising thriller, a coming of age, space-fighting adventure which will thrill sci-fi fans and gamers alike.

It is often said that the best novels are those that don’t waste any time – the ones that grip the reader from the very first line. Armada does this better than perhaps any other book I’ve read.This book is a love-letter to the science fiction genre. It’s a concentrated shot of sci-fi nerdery that’s definitely worth experiencing.

Armada is fun, so go enjoy it for the first time… or the second.