Review by britt13 -- Superhighway by Alex Fayman

[britt13]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Superhighway" by Alex Fayman.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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What superpower would you have if you could have any superpower? This is a pretty common question people ask each other to make conversation. Prior to reading Superhighway, I probably would have said something like invisibility. Now that I have read this amazing book, my answer would have to be traveling through the internet.

Superhighway, written by Alex Fayman, is the best book I have read recently. The storyline follows Alex Fine, an orphan who is about to start college, as he discovers an out of this world ability he possesses. He is able to transport himself through the internet just by pulling up a picture on a website and grabbing onto the network cord. This allows him to almost instantaneously be anywhere in the world! He also is able to make changes to data while inside the internet, which allows him to steal money from some really terrible people in order to help those who really need it. Needless to say, this definitely changes the course of his life. It would be hard to just go to college and live a normal life while having this opportunity to affect so many lives.

The plot of this novel is absolutely riveting. It sounds cliche to say, but it literally had me up at all hours of the night unable to put it down. What pairs with the plot so well is Fayman’s ability to manipulate language. I was constantly calling my husband in to point out elements of the language that impressed me.Just his basic vocabulary (I say basic, but it was anything but that) was very interesting. The words used are very colorful and descriptive. On top of that, he makes great use of imagery. One of the best examples of this is the constant uses of light imagery. Sometimes it is very obvious, such as while describing Alex’s journey through the internet, and others are just sprinkled into his life while in the habitable world. This does a great job of creating continuity throughout. It also helps generate the feeling that he is a different person now that he has this power, and that it affects how he carries himself.

Something else I found interesting is that Fayman, the author, was born in the Soviet Union and came over to the United States as a refugee. Obviously, our experiences shape our work and I think that is very present in this book. Alex has to deal with some Russians that are not painted in a favorable light at all. It makes me curious about the author's experiences. I love when a book can do that. It means that it feels very realistic. That is even more impressive when dealing with science fiction. I kept having to remind myself that Alex and his story were not real.

Despite this novel apparently not being professionally edited, I only found two mistakes. That, paired with how much I enjoyed it, is why I am rating this book a 4 out of 4 stars. If it was possible, I would give it even more than that! I am so happy that it is the first of a trilogy because I look forward to reading more of Alex’s story. I have recommended this book to several people already and would do the same to anyone on here.

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Superhighway
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Like britt13's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Cristina Chifane]

I am glad you noticed the light imagery and the author's use of his personal experiences in the book. You have an acute sense of observation. Thank you for your review!

[britt13]

Thanks so much!!!

[KLafser]

I loved this book too! You did a great job summarizing the imagery - one of the things that popped out for me was how he used the visualization to really discuss how a computer network is set up. I work in an IT-related field so, to me, he did a really great job of simplifying the explanation while remaining true to the environment. I thought the descriptions of the banks and the library were especially well done.

Wonderful review! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[BriennaiJ]

I didn't pick up on the author's own experiences being put into this book. Thanks for bringing this important tidbit to my attention.

[britt13]

I didn't pick up on the author's own experiences being put into this book. Thanks for bringing this important tidbit to my attention.

No problem! I always like to look at the blurb about the author to see how things are tied into their writing. I started noticing this stuff when I started directing.