Reading Reflection On Superhighway By Alex Fayman

The first in a trilogy, Alex Fayman’s Superhighway is a cleverly imaginative story about an introverted teenage orphan, Alex Fine, who feels an almost supernatural draw to the internet. When he realizes he can travel through network cables and end up in real life almost anywhere he wants to go, Alex uses this ability to siphon funds from companies built on ill-gotten gains, bankrupting and ruining the ‘bad guys’. He not only uses these riches for a luxurious life, he gives away most of the money to people in desperate financial circumstances, and he establishes charities. As he gets used to this new life, he discovers many things; to his delight and dismay, girls and relationships are among those discoveries. Alex also gets some long yearned-for information about the circumstances of his birth. His astonishing backstory adds revenge to his life goals, but things may turn out to be much more complicated than he’s ready to handle.

As a matter of fact, the story starts with Alex’s attempt to kill himself over what he’s done. He changes his mind, and tells us his story. Fayman’s descriptions of the various settings were detailed and enticing. Alex spent time in lush beach paradises, big cities with interesting sights to see, and luxury homes. It will make you either be able to imagine you were there, or at least wish very much that you were. And if you know men and their relationship with food, here’s something for you, about Alex and another guy: “Both of us quietly admired the colossal sandwiches. . . ” So authentically male! There’s a good use of scientific explanation to add credibility to the otherwise incomprehensible idea of a human traveling through a cord. It’s well-done, not that you’ll necessarily believe it can happen in real life, but you might just consider the possibility after you read this. The genetic component was quite interesting. It helps too, that the financial collapse of Lehman Brothers, being a real event, is part of the story. The fact that Alex – the character, not the author (unless author Alex F. has a secret… ) – often acts impulsively and irrationally makes sense because he is only 18 and has lived a quite restricted life. Book knowledge helps him greatly, but real life doesn’t always work like he expected. We see Alex grow a bit in understanding that his impulsiveness and acting purely on emotion can have dire consequences, but he doesn’t handle the results very well. This book is for adults, or at the very least, older teens. There is an excessive use of alcohol and drugs, and a couple of sex scenes.

The latter weren’t overly graphic but none of this is suitable for a young audience, or for anyone who would be disgusted by these things. There are a few instances of wrong or missing words so another edit would help. I also was taken aback by a scene where two security guards tried to physically attack Alex, a teenage boy, without ever asking him any questions first. It was in a place where he could very well have belonged, and the guards certainly would have first asked where his parents were. I rate this 3 out of 4 stars. If the errors are corrected, I would definitely rate it a full four. The story is exciting and compelling, full of action, anticipation, worry about what’s coming next, and who has what ulterior motives. The science and the financial workings were very interesting. For anyone with an interest in genetic experimentation, high finance, and just plain adventure, this is for you. Parents may find themselves wanting to snatch Alex up and yell at him to “Think!” though.