The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2 Book

On Orbis 2, Johnny Turnbull has a new home and a new job, one that pushes his softwire abilities to painful limits. JT is the only one who can communicate with the Samirans, large aquatic aliens who have cooled the crystals on Orbis for nearly two thousand rotations. But as the Samirans' work rule ostensibly comes to a close, they have grown dangerously agitated, and JT must find out why. What he learns is that the prosperity of Orbis is built on a brutal system of enforced labor --- and that everyone seems to have something to hide. Can JT appease the Samirans before their threat is realized? And if he doesn't, will his friends survive? In this second episode of THE SOFTWIRE, PJ Haarsma takes readers on another lightning-paced, cyber-fueled ride through the amazing universe he introduced in THE SOFTWIRE: VIRUS ON ORBIS 1.

Sci-fi fans will tear through this new adventure as Johnny Turnbull --- first human softwire --- finds more danger and intrigue on the next ring of Orbis.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9- A sequel to The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1 (Candlewick, 2006). Johnny Turnbull, 14, is a "softwire" who can use his mind to communicate with any computer. He and fellow "knud-niks," who were enslaved to alien Guarantors on the Rings of Orbis to pay off their parents' debts, are sent to Orbis 2 now that their duties on the first ring are complete. Here they encounter harsher conditions, crueler Guarantors, and a web of political intrigue centered around the harvest of valuable crystals. JT is the only one capable of communicating with the Samirans, the gigantic aquatic aliens who have been cooling the crystals for many rotations and are now showing signs of unrest. The story and mysteries are compelling but complicated, and a working knowledge of the first book's events and vocabulary is essential. The characters are recognizable types, but the actions are morally nuanced: in one of the most memorable scenes, cruel Odran puts JT in charge of the other young human workers and forces him to punish Switzer, a bully, with an electric-shock device. Themes of family, political maneuvering, tension between races, and the desire to escape captivity are palpable throughout.-Megan Honig, New York Public Library