Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
I'm the first to admit that science fiction has never been my favorite genre, but I wanted to give VIRUS ON ORBIS 1 a try. I have to say that I'm very glad I did. Besides having an interesting and entertaining story, the true beauty of the book, at least for me, is the fact that I never felt so overwhelmed with the new world the author created that I wanted to give up. There weren't a thousand crazy names I had to figure out how to pronounce, or a million-and-one gizmos and gadgets that made no sense. With this book, Mr. Haarsma has created a world that even young teens will relate to, and that adult fans of science fiction are sure to enjoy, as well.
Johnny Turnbull, thirteen, is a resident of the seed ship Renaissance, along with his eight-year-old sister, Ketheria, and about two hundred other children. Children, and no adults, since all of them died and left the children as orphans. In Johnny and Ketheria's case, their parents had signed a contract to work on the Rings of Orbis (four rings surrounding a wormhole) for four years. Unfortunately, since the children have been on a ship with only a computer called Mother supervising them, no one knows what will happen once they finally arrive at the Rings of Orbis. They do know, though, that they'll be at the mercy of its citizens.
There's a problem, though, as there usually is. Johnny has recently discovered that he's a human Softwire - the very first human able to directly communicate with any computer using just his mind. He's been trying to warn the citizens of Orbis that a virus is attacking their central computer, but few are willing to listen. Actually, few are willing to even take the fact of his being a Softwire seriously at all. But it is that fact that could possibly be the only thing that will spare Orbis -and its inhabitants, including the orphans - from destruction.
VIRUS ON ORBIS 1 is the first book in THE SOFTWIRE series, and it will be interesting to see where the author takes Johnny next. The majority of this story features him battling both the Trading Council and Orbis's rulers, the Keepers. After reading this great first installment, you'll definitely be ready for the next book in the series. I know I am, and I'm not even a science fiction fan!
I'm the first to admit that science fiction has never been my favorite genre, but I wanted to give VIRUS ON ORBIS 1 a try. I have to say that I'm very glad I did. Besides having an interesting and entertaining story, the true beauty of the book, at least for me, is the fact that I never felt so overwhelmed with the new world the author created that I wanted to give up. There weren't a thousand crazy names I had to figure out how to pronounce, or a million-and-one gizmos and gadgets that made no sense. With this book, Mr. Haarsma has created a world that even young teens will relate to, and that adult fans of science fiction are sure to enjoy, as well.
Johnny Turnbull, thirteen, is a resident of the seed ship Renaissance, along with his eight-year-old sister, Ketheria, and about two hundred other children. Children, and no adults, since all of them died and left the children as orphans. In Johnny and Ketheria's case, their parents had signed a contract to work on the Rings of Orbis (four rings surrounding a wormhole) for four years. Unfortunately, since the children have been on a ship with only a computer called Mother supervising them, no one knows what will happen once they finally arrive at the Rings of Orbis. They do know, though, that they'll be at the mercy of its citizens.
There's a problem, though, as there usually is. Johnny has recently discovered that he's a human Softwire - the very first human able to directly communicate with any computer using just his mind. He's been trying to warn the citizens of Orbis that a virus is attacking their central computer, but few are willing to listen. Actually, few are willing to even take the fact of his being a Softwire seriously at all. But it is that fact that could possibly be the only thing that will spare Orbis -and its inhabitants, including the orphans - from destruction.
VIRUS ON ORBIS 1 is the first book in THE SOFTWIRE series, and it will be interesting to see where the author takes Johnny next. The majority of this story features him battling both the Trading Council and Orbis's rulers, the Keepers. After reading this great first installment, you'll definitely be ready for the next book in the series. I know I am, and I'm not even a science fiction fan!
This wasn't a bad read at all. It was one of the books I listened to on my Kindle on my way to and fro from Nashville to Atlanta. It had a good premise, fairly gripping from the beginning, and had a lot of things that you remembered in passing and had a HUGE part in the story towards the end. That was more of a con since I was listening to my Kindle read it, but I don't think it's a big deal if you're ACTUALLY reading it.
Johnny is a great character, but Ketheria was my favorite. I might just have a thing for silent but strong characters, but to me, though she didn't say a word, she was the best. His friends Max and Theodore were okay, but I was more interested in the ability he has and why he has it. Pushing into computers was described so that I could literally feel what that might be like. It wasn't like four to ten pages of description, but tiny bits comparing it to normal senses humans have really made the whole process real.
The world was an interesting blend. It didn't come to life for me quite like some other books have, but then again, the world wasn't what J.T. was exploring; it was the characters he encountered. They were done well, twisted even. The bullying got a little old, I must admit, but this book is aimed for children who are probably experiencing something like it not for college students who are die hard sci-fi fans.
All in all, I thought the world was done well and the characters were likeable. Not awesomely loveable, but you can't expect to love every book you come across. Story moved fairly well too. The end seemed just the tiniest bit rushed, but was satisfying. Took me about 6 hours to listen to the whole thing.
Johnny is a great character, but Ketheria was my favorite. I might just have a thing for silent but strong characters, but to me, though she didn't say a word, she was the best. His friends Max and Theodore were okay, but I was more interested in the ability he has and why he has it. Pushing into computers was described so that I could literally feel what that might be like. It wasn't like four to ten pages of description, but tiny bits comparing it to normal senses humans have really made the whole process real.
The world was an interesting blend. It didn't come to life for me quite like some other books have, but then again, the world wasn't what J.T. was exploring; it was the characters he encountered. They were done well, twisted even. The bullying got a little old, I must admit, but this book is aimed for children who are probably experiencing something like it not for college students who are die hard sci-fi fans.
All in all, I thought the world was done well and the characters were likeable. Not awesomely loveable, but you can't expect to love every book you come across. Story moved fairly well too. The end seemed just the tiniest bit rushed, but was satisfying. Took me about 6 hours to listen to the whole thing.
