The Softwire : Virus on Orbis 1
Thirteen-year-old Johnny Turnbull has always known there was something different about him. It turns out he’s the first-ever human softwire — able to enter and communicate with computers with his mind. Now that JT and two hundred other orphans have been put to work in alien factories on the first ring of Orbis, things are going very wrong. The “perfect” central computer is malfunctioning, and suspicious eyes are turning to JT. Could he be the one responsible?
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Not a Fake Review,
So, some reviewers have rated this book “one star” just because there are so many five-star reviews that they seem fake? And they think the reviews are fake because they are “too well-written”??
Anyways, I have just finished reading book 3 of this series. I have read books 1 and 2 a short time ago, and I can’t wait to read book 4.
While reading book 3, I realized how well-planned out the plot lines are. You see everything start to come together in book 3, and you start to see the story arc of the entire series.
Book 1 really hooked me, and the rest of the series (so far) is just as good, or even better.
Recommended by N. Fillion to all his fans on twitter.
Sci-fi kids’ series, but enjoyable to read as an adult.
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|Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
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!
Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka “The Genius”
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|Great teen sci-fi (for all ages!),
I came across “Softwire 1: Virus on Orbis” while it was a free download for Kindle. The premise looked very interesting, so I decided to give it a shot. While I am a bit of a science nerd (aren’t all Chemistry majors nerds?) and possibly outside the intended age range of this series, I was thoroughly pleased with the intriguing plot, exciting characters and mysterious universe.
Teen readers (probably boys grades 6 and up) will love the plot, the rebel leading character Johnny Turbull and the non-stop action. The story picks up from the first two pages and remains upbeat and exciting to the closing words.
Some things I especially liked: The author doesn’t dwell on pedantic astrophysics yet he correctly applies concepts such as: wormholes, space-time, and dark matter. Furthermore, the “fictional universe” in which the novel is set could plausibly be our own universe (in a couple of million light years!) Even still, its a very creative universe with well-developed characters and environs.
If you’re a teen reader (or adult for that matter) who enjoys Star Wars, Harry Potter, the Matrix, or anything related to adventures in deep-outer space, don’t miss this novel and it’s sequels.
Overall: A+
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