1 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Alex Fine returns for the second installment of the Superhighway Trilogy. Battling his inner demons, drug addiction, and the government, Alex finds himself in Vegas married with a baby on the way. Is the past doomed to be repeated or will Alex beat the vicious cycle of having to abandon all he cares about?
I harboured such high hopes for Superhighway 2. In my first review, I mentioned my love for the idea electroportation and that it was the main reason for the high rating I gave the first book. With all the problems the first book presented, I held out. I had hope that Alex would gain maturity and grow out of the hormonal teenager phase.
Alas, I was disappointed. The first couple of chapters offered a ray of hope with Alex questioning his actions. He even displays some real wisdom. A quote from the book that had me super excited was, “I stole the money, and in turn, it stole my common sense.”
I was fist pumping and I was genuinely delighted. I wanted this to succeed so much. But then the dreadful hormones kicked in again. I was left reading pages and pages of Alex spending money, getting high, and falling in love/lust with every woman he meets. And still, I held on, my fists clenched in hope. I knew this book would span a couple of years and I was praying that age would bring forth better characters and some maturity.
Alex is in his 30’s when the book ends. Yet he is still the same kid that stole billions of dollars, that slept with every woman he could get his hands on, and that was hiding his extravagant spending habits behind a veneer of ‘I am a philanthropist’.
I don’t even want to start on how the women are written. Alex finally starts appreciating Mrs. Jenkins, but it felt shallow. The women were, again, all written as objects of 'sensual appeal'. Even Yana, an integral part of the book, was reduced to her looks and nothing more. If you don’t want to put in the effort to write a real, human female character then rather don’t write one at all.
I want to be kinder to this book. If you have read my first review, then it will be obvious how much I loved the premise and how lenient I was. The writing is good, and I enjoyed the few parts that dealt with science fiction and action. It’s clearly professionally edited, and I only found about three minor writing errors. But I cannot excuse the way the women are written or Alex Fine’s selfish and immature actions.
I rate Superhighway 2 1 out of 4 stars. I honestly don’t like publishing a negative review, but I do not recommend this book to anyone.
******
Superhighway 2
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like JR Mercier's review? Post a comment saying so!
