Friday, August 7, 2009

The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 - PJ Haarsma,



Description:

A human boy with an uncanny link to computers finds danger and discovery on the rings of Orbis in this riveting sci-fi adventure.

Thirteen-year-old Johnny Turnbull has always known there was something different about him, even before he and two hundred other kids landed on the first ring of Orbis. But once their spaceship lands, he is identified as the first-ever "softwire" -- a human with the ability to enter and communicate with computers through his mind -- and becomes the focus of intergalactic intrigue. Johnny and the rest of the refugee orphans are put to work in alien factories, and very quickly things go very wrong. When the all-knowing, all-controlling, and technologically "perfect" central computer starts malfunctioning, suspicious eyes turn to Johnny. Is he the one responsible? This action-packed, fast-paced sci-fi novel will keep kids on the edge of their seats.

Something in this made me think of Orson Scott Card and "Ender's Game." Certainly not as complex and much warmer, still struck the same nerve that made me love "Ender's Game." It felt unfinished (gee, maybe because it is the first of a trilogy), but I didn't find that off-putting, I simply ordered the next book.

Definitely worth reading.