Friday Review: Softwires and Cylons!

Hard-wired for Geek? I'd rather be Softwired....
Sometime ago I read and reviewed 'Virus on Orbis 1', the first in the 'Softwire' books by P J Haarsma. Since then book 2, 'Betrayal on Orbis 2' has been waiting for me to pick it up. I knew that once I had started reading everything else would have to wait so I've been biding my time. Last Friday, though, there was no BSG and I decided that enough waiting was enough, so I dived straight in. The story starts not long after the end of the first book and we are picked up and propelled straight into the next challenge(s) for JT and his friends. As predicted, it proved to be an exciting and all-encompassing read! So much so, that the '100th Post...' almost didn't get posted...

What makes you care?
I've read a lot of books, some brilliant, some good, some bad, some indifferent. The brilliant ones make an impression that stays with you after you finish. Such are the Softwire books. They are very well-written and complete stories but there are so many things that you want to know more about. What happened with the SpaceJumpers? Why are the Nagools the way they are and how is this going to be of importance in the future? Is the whole of Orbis society on the verge of collapse? Of course, there are the obvious questions about what the future holds for JT, Max, Katheria and the other children, whose side is Charlie on and what will Orbis 3 be like? But the thrill for me is the detail of the time and space the Orbis books are set in. The way the society is set up is completely alien yet so believable. The interaction between the characters and their setting. Yes, PJ, I am hooked, so I hope you are well on your way to publishing Book 3 (see what PJ had to say about what is going to happen to JT in Book 3...! )

See, Hear
If you are still wondering whether these award-winning books are for you then how about listening to Chapter 1 of 'Virus on Orbis 1' read by Nathan Fillion? Yes, really! If you go to the Kids Need To Read MySpace page you can hear Nathan read the first chapter and I have to say it is an excellent reading. And you can also see an impressive promo video on P J Haarsma's website. I could watch a whole lot more of that video!

Did you say Cylons?
Well, BSG is back tonight. I'm interested, but not building my hopes up. I know what if I get too excited someone I really like will get the chop. I'm acting cool in the hope that it will save someone's neck. It could work....But on a happier note - do you live near Vancouver? If so, then you are in for a treat this weekend. The 13th Colony (Vancouver's Battlestar Galactica Fan Club) are undertaking a location scouting in the parks on the North Shore to find shooting locations for Caprica, New Caprica and Kobol tomorrow! I meet Val at the Firefly Meetup and she is a great advocate for BSG - and you will probably find that she looks familiar, too. They are meeting at 1.00 so go to their MeetUp page for more information and to sign up.

Books, reading, writing and MySpace

Kids Need To Read
Do you know a child who is a reluctant reader? Me too. If so, The Softwire books by P J Haarsma could be the answer. I've been meaning to order the first book (The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1) for a while and now the second one has just been released (The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2) so I've done the Amazon thing and ordered them. Of course, if I had thought about it I could ordered them direct from the author's website, but you live and learn! P J Haarsma has also developed an online game called 'The Rings of Orbis' that children can play (for free) that is set in the world of the softwire books. He also happens to be the co-founder (with Nathan Fillion) of Kids Need To Read. The great auctions for KNTR I mentioned are still on so visit the site and make a bid. You get a the chance to win brilliant items and you also know you are supporting an organisation that's helping lots of children to access books and enjoy reading.

When did you last get a free book?
I got one this morning. And before it was released to the rest of the world. Guess I must be special. If so, you can be special, too. Buffy Between the Lines put me on to the wonderful free PDF of Scott Sigler's new book 'Infected'. You can download it complete from the site from now until March 31st - how great it that? I've started to read it and it looks to be a great read, it grabs you on the first page. In fact, I had to close Acrobat down completely and not even leave open. I've got things to do today and if it was there, minimised, I'd have to go back and carry on reading. Download it now - what's to lose?

Question answered
And in great link from Whedonesque (I have to look there everyday, it's my way - don't knock it 'til you've tried it) I have one of my submitted Paley questions answered. Sort of. I wanted to know what Joss thought of fan fiction and the article from the ClickZ Network quotes the great man as saying "'I'd like to see fan fiction for Firefly,'". See, if you wish hard enough, you get the truth. Sort of.

Fanfictabulous

And the recent fanfic I read for Firefly was pretty darn good. 'My Own Kind of Freedom, A Firefly Novel by Steven Brust, PJF' is also a free book that's available to download from Dreamcafe.com. Even if you've never watched an episode of Firefly (and if you haven't, shame on you!) I think you will appreciate the writing style. There are no wasted words and the action sweeps you along. A Good Read (and I picked that one up from a link on FireFlyFans.net, just to prove it's not all Whedonesque...!).

Slinky-linkies
No, I can't think of a way to now add the fact that yes, I have got a MySpace account. I set it up a while ago. I haven't gone down the route of changing the background etc because I just can't decide on one - there is a lot of choice. Plus, I've seen some pretty horrible 'custom' MySpace accounts out there. Remember, the secret word to use is 'cybergeekspace' and then you can be a friend, too.