The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2 [Hardcover]

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.

The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2 by PJ Haarsma continues the exciting adventures of the space orphans first portrayed in The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 (Softwire). The action begins in the very first sentence of the book and continues throughout the fast-paced book, but not without quiet moments of reflection interspersed to bring real emotional depth to the story.

In the first installment of this 4 book series, the protagonist, JT, and his fellow band of space traveling orphans, find themselves sold into slavery on Orbis 1, one of four alien-constructed rings situated around a wormhole used for trade. JT is discovered to have a very special ability not found in humans, which induces both fear and greed among the aliens living on the Rings of Orbis. It is how this gift is used or abused that propels The Softwire novels forward.

In Virus on Orbis 1, JT struggles to deal with the ability he initially resents, but then learns to embrace that which makes him different. In Betrayal on Orbis 2, JT's maturation is highly evident as he takes on the burdens his uniqueness brings upon him. He comes to realize that powerful capability brings with it powerful responsibility to all life surrounding him, good or bad. Compassion is this hero's true special ability.

Despite the narrative taking place on an imaginative world foreign to our own, everything about the emotions and reactions of the characters is identifiable to our own lives here on Earth. Most interesting is the downward spiral of some of the children as their slavery begins to take its toll on them. This is a realistic portrayal of the sadness and desperation that harsh conditions slowly bring about in people, but also the triumph of the human spirit to keep going despite it all. The winners in this story are the ones who move forward and look toward the hope they see for their future. The author never hits the reader in the face with these revelations, nor makes them too heavy for a young person, but they are there for the reader to feel as deeply as they are capable.

Although the plot revolves around JT discovering and stopping a betrayal of terrible consequences, there are smaller instances of loyalties betrayed among the children, even by the flawed protagonist. The consequences of these smaller betrayals are profound. The book is also filled with good, old-fashioned action as the various betrayals deepen. One scene in particular caused me to literally jump out of my chair in thrilled disbelief. I felt as though I was in a movie.

I look forward to the third installment of this series with great anticipation. Readers of all ages should enjoy this tale of a young boy who lights the way for others with his compassion, intelligence, perseverance and positive spirit.

In the second book of The Softwire, Johnny Turnbull and co leave the company of Weegin and must work under a new Guarantor on Orbis 2. Due to his Softwire abilities, Johnny is the only one who can talk with the Samirans: gigantic, aquatic, whale-like creatures who have cooled the moon crystals for many rotations and whose work rules are coming to an end. Now everything is at unrest, it was the responsibility of the Guarantor to come up with a new way of crystal cooling, so who knows what'll happen with an important crystal harvest coming up, the growing anger of the Samirans, and a city of escaped knudniks.

Orbis 2 isn't really an improvement over Orbis 1. I'll just give it the same rating I gave book one. What's the same? Well, P.J. Haarsma hasn't cleared up any of the detail-related questions that Orbis 1 had me asking. Also, since time is recorded in a different way, it's really hard to keep track of how much time has passed if you forget some of the time system. As of Orbis 2, it's been brought to mt attention that since we're on an alien world, something are very other-worldly and intricate, and so Haarsma's descriptions of what's going on can take a long time and are hard to understand, so much that I was thinking that maybe this should be a graphic novel series.

Honestly, I don't really like the premise at all. The Samirans have to use harnesses and bits to pull the crystals through the water, thus cooling them. The bit actually hurts and cuts their mouths. I have to ask, how could this be the only way to cool crystals? Didn't they have to do it before the Samirans came along? I mean, they could use robots, right? Also, why would these crystals fuse with the tank if they hit the bottom? And does that boil the water away? Finally, how could it be kept a secret that an entire city of escaped knudniks was in this tank? I'm not buying that at all.

Moving on, Orbis 2 does have a very compelling theme of political corruption, I got swept up in all the manipulation on The Rings of Orbis and how it parallels the real world. It was really thought-provoking and believable. This branching spiral of governmental intrigue adds a layer of complexity I didn't expect to see. These themes and messages are hinted at in book one, but here they meet their full fruition. What actually happens to the kids under their enslavement is also much more enticing now. One of the best parts was when JT's new Guarantor appoints him to be in charge of all the kids and orders him the punish Switzer with an electric shock device.

Unfortunately, good ol' John is still annoying and unlikable, making all the wrong decisions and getting on the bad sides of the wrong people. Theodore and Max are still pretty good characters, but they're underused and seem to be the same people they started out as from the very beginning. Switzer and his crony Dalton are expanded on and get to do more, but not enough.

A big complaint I have is the death of one of the characters. Actually, it's not the fact that they died, but rather, how it affected everyone else. Kind of like the Slopcrawler from book one, the death just didn't really affect them. It's like these characters just don't understand the concept. Remember that person you knew? They got snuffed out. They're never going to get to finish off their lives, because they died. But P.J. Haarsma apparently didn't think this death mattered at all. The characters don't react in any realistic way. It's just drivel similar to "So what, they were a mean person anyway!" or "Yeah...but they were still a person". Don't you guys get it?! They're dead!

My last complaint is that Orbis 2 doesn't advance the story at all. Johnny boy barely gets a glimpse into some information about his dad, that's pretty much it. Not only that, but is it just me, or after the climax, shouldn't the protagonists be in be big trouble with the trading council? Or something? Anything? This book seems almost self-contained, almost like what happened didn't even matter. Weird...

So The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2 does some things better than Virus On Orbis 1 and adds some new things, however, its premise is silly and there are a bunch of internal inconsistencies. Additionally, the characters really haven't developed at all and the story hasn't gone anywhere.
7 out of 9

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