Omegaball

by Robert J. Peterson

Two sisters. Two worlds.

Meet Laurie and Helen Everett.

They’re identical twin sisters living in the year 2176. They’re mirror images of each other. Laurie’s a genius. Helen’s a problem child. Laurie uses a wheelchair. Helen’s a track star.

They fight. They compete. They hate each other. They love each other. Y’know—typical sisters.

But Laurie has a secret. She escapes her life by visiting the Darknet, a virtual reality that’s as big as the solar system. There, she’s a superstar at the sport of Omegaball, a deadly mashup of football, basketball, and Mega Man.

Laurie’s world changes when two men approach her with promises of a better life. One is Glenn Booker, an executive with the Chicago Dreadnoughts Omegaball team here in the real world. The other is the mysterious hacktivist Mr. Chalk, chief architect of the Darknet. Glenn wants to draft her. Mr. Chalk wants her to join his personal army.

Laurie must decide whether she wants to live in the real world or the Darknet, all while Helen tracks her every move, and Mr. Chalk plots his own sinister agenda.

Packed with action, suspense, humor, and a healthy dose of pop culture, Omegaball is the second novel from Robert J. Peterson.

Genres: Disability, Science Fiction

286 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Robert J. Peterson is writer and programmer living in Nevada City, Calif. His works include The Odds, The Remnants, and Strong Bones.

Reviews

[Bookie's Chicago · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fast-paced, told in a series of something akin to blog posts from three different characters. The characters are interesting and pretty fleshed out. Fans of Ready Player One and Feed will find a familiar territory here. The story takes place in Chicago, so that definitely kept my interest. The world the author built -- a constantly-connected one where objects can be had with the swipe of a hand -- is pretty cool. The sport of Omegaball is interesting, though when all was said and done, I didn't feel as if I really knew the sport the way I know how Quidditch works. I think teens who liked the aforementioned books will enjoy this one as well. I received this as an uncorrected proof, and I sincerely hope the editor does correct it, as it had some glaring typos -- misspelled character names, dropped words, repeated phrases. I read it quite quickly, though, so I obviously enjoyed it! I would actually give it an extra half star, maybe 3/4 if I could do so here. I am back after a minute feeling truly remiss about having not mentioned something. I'm also adding another star. I truly enjoyed the fact that one of the characters -- truly the main character -- is an individual in a wheelchair. It made for some interesting development of both plot and character.

[Disability in Kidlit]

“It’s crucial to realize that for disabled readers who struggle with internalized ableism, Laurie’s recurring self-hating voice could very well be triggering, or, at the very least, painful. If the narrative had countered or done a better job acknowledging the nuances of internalized ableism, that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem; again, it is a difficult reality for many. But the narrative continually reinforces the ableism underlying Laurie’s self-hatred, signaling to disabled readers, however subtly, that Laurie should – that they should – feel this way.”

Read editor Kayla Whaley's full review at Disability in Kidlit.

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary

Omegaball is a YA science fiction about rival twin daughters of radically different impairments playing hyper robot football with a backdrop of future VR internet & terrorism. It’s a well crafted story that -though its reach occasionally exceeds its grasp- works more than it doesn’t.

Longer Review

One of the things I most liked about Omegaball is that it is stuffed full of great ideas; from the well visualized future VR internet based on an utterly unique (and story relevant/evocative) interface of ‘jacking in’ to other individuals to a completely plausible future robot sport. Omegaball never suffers from ‘lack of cool.’ While introducing these concepts it manages a nice balance of informing the reader while keeping the plot moving forward.

The characters were well realized, although the depth of the antagonism between the two twin sisters felt unreal, soap-operatic. Likewise, the book suffers most from a few too many layers of plot trying (and failing) to do that Hunger Games trick where the ‘sport’ the players are engaged in ends up having massive socio-political consequences.

Also, in my opinion, it sabotages the natural moment of emotional resolution, the twin sisters playing ball against one another for a pseudo-reconciliation based on both being in mortal danger by the bad guys). Even with the ‘commentary’ levels of narrative the terrorist part of the plot feels stapled on, a graft weakening the main body of the story.

That said, Omegaball is worth your time as a fun young adult romp with cool tech, well realized characters who move past the stereotypes of their impairment, and bitching VR and Robot sport scenes.

[Meg Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I enjoy most about Robert Peterson's stories is his ability to throw you right into a new world, with little to no exposition, and ground us through the language of the experience. I've started his other book "The Odds" and love that that book also throws us into a new place, and exposes us very naturally to the world of the story. We're thrown vocabulary like "chyron" and "scoobie" in their natural context, and pick them up very easily. This is so tricky in sci-fi, and many great concepts are bogged down with unnecessary exposition, so I'm very impressed with how quickly I felt "my feet" in the world of "Omegaball."

I love the convergence of physical and gaming sports—it s a really interesting concept. I'm not really into sports, but in the world of this book, I know I'd definitely be an Omegaball fan! I loved Laurie so much and connected with her right away. The characters felt very real and personal, and kept me invested in the story. The chyron/scoobie relationship was one of my favorite concepts--and reminded me of fusion in Steven Universe.

While I enjoyed the video game references, I wish there had been less--at times it felt distracting. I also wanted to know more about the world beyond Laurie and Helen's context: the intergalactic martian governments that are briefly mentioned, yet integral to the overarching conflict of the story. I wanted to understand Mr. Chalk's cause, but felt that I had little context for it--what I knew was the world of Omegaball, and the world of the internet, but not the galaxies beyond that. I'd love to see a sequel (or prequel) that builds off this universe! This world is so intriguing, I would definitely be interested in reading more!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omegaball takes you on an exciting ride through the futuristic world of twin sisters Laurie and Helen, who are opposites in many ways, and who battle each other in the real and virtual worlds when Laurie, a wheelchair-bound introvert, becomes a superstar Omegaball player, first in the underground Darknet, and then in IRL. The sisters are well-drawn and believable characters, and the virtual worlds are exciting - and clearly and visually depicted. Like 'Ready Player One,' this is sci-fi even for YA readers who don't necessarily think they're into sci-fi - once you get hooked in, you're along for a suspenseful and emotional journey!

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this as a Goodreads contest. Really inventive and fun read.