3 out of 4 stars
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Superhighway 2 by Alex Fayman picks up where the first book left off. Alex Fine must escape the armed men storming his tropical island home, but that is only the beginning of his troubles. Not only is he in the crosshairs of a Russian oligarch, but the Russian President and the CIA both want Alex in order to exploit his abilities. The young man fakes his death and successfully hides out for more than a decade. In that decade, his foolish mistakes continue to pile up. He buys a wife from a Vegas pimp, and spirals into a coke-infused addiction that nearly destroys him. Only when the couple expects a new baby does Alex vow to clean up his life. If only it were that easy.
Like Superhighway, Superhighway 2 opens at a point later in the book, with the narrator going back and telling the story up to that point. It was a little funny (“ha-ha” funny, that is) to me that he didn’t open on the big cliffhanger capping off the first book. It should be no surprise that the character would get out of that situation. After all, there is an entire book to follow! I found it interesting how the author set up a hook even stranger than the scenario we expected him to lead with. The one disappointment I had with this book, however, was that the story didn’t come back to that opening scenario as seamlessly as the first book did. When the narrative caught back up to the narrator’s present, I didn’t realize it until I was well into the scene, and I didn’t feel like it unfolded as I thought it should have based on the opening.
Another negative draw many others have with the series is with the bad decisions Alex Fine makes throughout. To me, that was what made this character interesting. If you are looking for a pure hero, this story is not for you. This series is the story of someone who can’t handle the responsibility his superpower brings. This series is the story of one whose powers destroy him. At every stage, this series (especially this book) is a tragic tale. Though Alex tries to do good with his ability, he lacks the life experience to guide his choices. He lacks that one person in his life to guide his conscience. Ms. Jenkins was that person in some respect, but he pushed her out of his life early on as part of that growing-up-and-leaving-the-nest phase.
This sequel holds onto the descriptions of Alex’s flashy lifestyle along with the central theme of women and excess which defined the first book. Unlike its predecessor, Superhighway 2 manages not to get bogged down in the lengthy descriptions of meals and exotic locales. Fayman finds a balance between his character’s personal story and the action I come to expect in science fiction. In every way, this was the book I wanted to read when I picked up the first in the series. If you read the first Superhighway, enjoyed the premise, but hated the execution, then, like me, you will enjoy Suprehighway 2.
In some ways, Superhighway 2 is a superior story to the first Superhighway. It receives a solid 3 out of 4 stars from me. Unfortunately, the editing falls apart late in the book, as if the beginning received more attention than the end. I’m generally not bothered by a few oversights if they don’t ruin the flow of the story, or otherwise make it a chore to read, but there are many out there for whom the editing will be a deal-breaker. That alone is why I cannot give it 4 stars. Still, if the first book interested you in any way, I would strongly recommend putting this book on your to-read list.
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Superhighway 2
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