3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Superhighway 2, by Alex Fayman, is the second installment of the Superhighway trilogy. It is the continuation of Alex Fine’s journey into the exciting world of elctroportation; the ability to travel through networked internet connections. Alex’s story picks up right where it left off at the end of the first book, with an assault on his island home. Alex made his fair share of enemies in the first book, but it quickly becomes apparent that the attackers work for the Russian criminal Sverdlovski.
While the first book was more focused on Alex’s discovery of his powers and his past, Superhighway 2 focuses on the consequences of using those powers. Due to his poor choices, Alex now finds himself being hunted by two groups; the Russians and the CIA. Is there any way for him to repair the damage he has done? Can Alex turn his life around and find a way to live happily, or is he destined to remain on the run like his father before him?
For all his power and wealth, Alex is still a teenager at the start of the book, which means he makes a lot of stupid decisions. He also makes some really good ones, which makes him an interesting character. It can be difficult at times to decide if you like him or hate him. This same back and forth exists even after he becomes an adult.
If you’re a fan of compelling dialogue, you will not find it here. When the characters do speak, their conversations are short and don’t offer a lot of substance. Also, I found the character development to be lacking in some ways. Most of the secondary characters come across as one-dimensional, and this makes it hard to relate to them. Alex’s personality does go through a lot of changes during the story, which is nice, but I would have liked to see similar development with some of the other characters.
This isn’t a series that I would recommend for young readers. Although the main character is a teenager, there is still a lot of adult content throughout the story that I would not consider appropriate for younger age groups, namely the sex and constant drug use. Older teenagers and adults would be the proper audience in my opinion.
I did find a few grammatical errors, but overall this book seems to have been edited better than the first one. It is always nice to see an author’s writing improve over time. It shows that they are serious about their work.
I rate Superhighway 2 as 3 out of 4 stars. The plot is interesting, and if it wasn’t for the poor dialogue and character development, I would have rated it as a perfect 4. It’s a quick, but enjoyable read, for any lover of science fiction.
******
Superhighway 2
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like JHuschle519's review? Post a comment saying so!
