Review by Awortega2 -- Superhighway by Alex Fayman
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Awortega2
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Review by Awortega2 -- Superhighway by Alex Fayman
[Following is a volunteer review of "Superhighway" by Alex Fayman.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Superhighway is the first book in a 2-book trilogy written by Alex Fayman. It is a science fiction book featuring an eighteen-year-old orphan boy named Alex Fine who discovers that he has the unique ability to travel through the internet when he touches network cables. He soon realizes not only can he travel anywhere he desires; he can also access any information that is stored on the internet. The premise of Superhighway is very interesting, it sounds unbelievable, but the author does try to rationalize how Alex comes to have this remarkable ability instead of just giving him the power with no explanation.
The book begins with Alex Fine traveling through the dark tunnels of the internet until he arrives at his private Caribbean island. He continues to the beach where he contemplates the actions that have led him to be alone smoking weed on his island. At this point, the reader can see that Alex is a depressed and regretful young man suffering from the consequences of his past actions. The rest of Superhighway continues as a flashback detailing Alex’s life leading up to the point where he is lying alone on his island. He is living in an orphanage, after several failed attempts at finding a permanent family. Much to his delight the orphanage finally gets some computers right before Alex is supposed to leave from college. He soon discovers his talent while looking at a photo of Hawaii, after flying through the dark maze of the internet he finds himself near the spot where the photo was taken and incredibly hungry.
Alex continues to use his power to travel to different cities and countries. Quickly the problem of having no money becomes Alex’s main concern. He finds that he can access bank account information while traveling through the web after some thought Alex decides to only take money from people thought to be criminals. The first victim of one of these cybernetic attacks is the gangster, Henry Langhout, from which Alex takes enough money to start living his increasingly lavish life. Alex uses the money he takes from wealthy criminals to buy cars, houses and set up a charity for those less fortunate.
Money and women become a big part of Alex’s life. How Alex describes the women he meets and how he spends money really started to irritate me as the book went on. He is a very unlikable main character, with seemly no common sense or care for the people around him. His criminal life starts to collide with his personal life when a woman he is dating suffers the ultimate price due to his actions. I found myself constantly thinking, “Why is he being so stupid?” or “What is wrong with this boy?” There are also several inconsistencies in Alex’s personality and behavior. He is a selfish careless boy who decides to set up a charity, even though it risks someone tracing these money disappearances back to him. This charitable act seemed so unlike his character that I had a hard time believing he would do such a thing.
Even with my current busy schedule, I ended up reading all 255 pages of Superhighway in only a few days. Even though I found the main character very disagreeable, the suspense of how he ends up alone on an island is enough to make it hard to put the book down. Some of the dialogue also seems somewhat stiff and unbelievable, especially how the people around Alex just seem to accept the fact that he is an eighteen-year-old boy with a seemingly endless amount of money and no way to explain how he acquired it.
All in all, I found the book to be very captivating. The way his powers are explained actually works instead of the author just ignoring the origin of Alex’s abilities. There is quite a bit of action and suspense in Superhighway including kidnappings, gangsters, murder, weapons, and theft. This amount of action can have a tendency to degrade the storyline, but I think Alex Fayman did a great job balancing all the different themes. What I liked most about the book was the premise, the idea of traveling through the internet. What I liked least was Alex Fine himself and the inconsistencies in some of the characters behaviors and actions. I rate this book 4 out of 4.
******
Superhighway
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4 out of 4 stars
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Superhighway is the first book in a 2-book trilogy written by Alex Fayman. It is a science fiction book featuring an eighteen-year-old orphan boy named Alex Fine who discovers that he has the unique ability to travel through the internet when he touches network cables. He soon realizes not only can he travel anywhere he desires; he can also access any information that is stored on the internet. The premise of Superhighway is very interesting, it sounds unbelievable, but the author does try to rationalize how Alex comes to have this remarkable ability instead of just giving him the power with no explanation.
The book begins with Alex Fine traveling through the dark tunnels of the internet until he arrives at his private Caribbean island. He continues to the beach where he contemplates the actions that have led him to be alone smoking weed on his island. At this point, the reader can see that Alex is a depressed and regretful young man suffering from the consequences of his past actions. The rest of Superhighway continues as a flashback detailing Alex’s life leading up to the point where he is lying alone on his island. He is living in an orphanage, after several failed attempts at finding a permanent family. Much to his delight the orphanage finally gets some computers right before Alex is supposed to leave from college. He soon discovers his talent while looking at a photo of Hawaii, after flying through the dark maze of the internet he finds himself near the spot where the photo was taken and incredibly hungry.
Alex continues to use his power to travel to different cities and countries. Quickly the problem of having no money becomes Alex’s main concern. He finds that he can access bank account information while traveling through the web after some thought Alex decides to only take money from people thought to be criminals. The first victim of one of these cybernetic attacks is the gangster, Henry Langhout, from which Alex takes enough money to start living his increasingly lavish life. Alex uses the money he takes from wealthy criminals to buy cars, houses and set up a charity for those less fortunate.
Money and women become a big part of Alex’s life. How Alex describes the women he meets and how he spends money really started to irritate me as the book went on. He is a very unlikable main character, with seemly no common sense or care for the people around him. His criminal life starts to collide with his personal life when a woman he is dating suffers the ultimate price due to his actions. I found myself constantly thinking, “Why is he being so stupid?” or “What is wrong with this boy?” There are also several inconsistencies in Alex’s personality and behavior. He is a selfish careless boy who decides to set up a charity, even though it risks someone tracing these money disappearances back to him. This charitable act seemed so unlike his character that I had a hard time believing he would do such a thing.
Even with my current busy schedule, I ended up reading all 255 pages of Superhighway in only a few days. Even though I found the main character very disagreeable, the suspense of how he ends up alone on an island is enough to make it hard to put the book down. Some of the dialogue also seems somewhat stiff and unbelievable, especially how the people around Alex just seem to accept the fact that he is an eighteen-year-old boy with a seemingly endless amount of money and no way to explain how he acquired it.
All in all, I found the book to be very captivating. The way his powers are explained actually works instead of the author just ignoring the origin of Alex’s abilities. There is quite a bit of action and suspense in Superhighway including kidnappings, gangsters, murder, weapons, and theft. This amount of action can have a tendency to degrade the storyline, but I think Alex Fayman did a great job balancing all the different themes. What I liked most about the book was the premise, the idea of traveling through the internet. What I liked least was Alex Fine himself and the inconsistencies in some of the characters behaviors and actions. I rate this book 4 out of 4.
******
Superhighway
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Like Awortega2's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Twisted Threads by Kaylin McFarren
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Flowers123
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I've read Superhighway and found it to be quite intriguing. I do have some issues with the plot though. Who becomes rich overnight without raising some serious eyebrows, especially from his mother in the orphanage? That aspect was not taking care of in the book. Still, I think it was excellent work. Thanks for the review.
Latest Review: Fragments by Bruce K. Berger
