Friend or Foe?

Outernet #1

by Steve Barlow, Steve Skidmore

A wild ride through strange galaxies and unexpected adventures. But watch your step -- and don't step in anything gross or smelly along the way!

The Outernet is a web of intergalactic computer networks linked through Servers on different planets.
As the series opens, we discover that the evil Tyrant and his henchmen (the FOES) are trying to take over the Outernet and use its powers to control the galaxy.
Our heroes, including several not-so-lucky Earth kids, accidentally connect to the Outernet via a lost Server. They must work with the Friends of the Outernet to keep freedom and liberty in the Galaxy. They are assisted (and often hindered) by a hilarious dog and cat team who are disguised agents of the Friends and the FOES.

Genres: Science Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2002

About the author

Steve Barlow (real name Steven Lowe) was born in Britain. He studied at Warwick University and Nottingham University, and worked at various times as a teacher, actor, stage manager and puppeteer. Then he went to teach in Botswana. On his return to the UK he met Steve Skidmore, collectively known as The Two Steves—are British collaborative writers who mostly work in the field of children's literature. They have written over 70 books together.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Outernet I: Friend or Foe is a pop adventure tale: imaginative, easy to read. Emphasis is placed on action, especially once the story gets rolling. There is no character development; you wouldn't miss it except that the story sets up interesting family dynamics for the three main characters. Ah well.

I have three cautions for you:

First, the story unfolds over several books: In this book you get the basic introduction to the characters and the world, and the conclusion is in Outernet II: Control.

Second, Outernet frequently drops references to other pop-culture Sci-Fi stories, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, X-Files. These may confuse younger readers.

Lastly, the book shows its age in a couple of ways. It mentions a companion website where kids can solve a variety of riddles using the book to, in essence, participate in the story. But that website is now offline. The book also mentions "computer disks," whatever they are.

The book was OK, easy to read, a good choice for readers who crave action. But track down the second book before you start the first one, or be prepared to write your own ending.

[Libri Sempra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember enjoying this series when it came out and I was about 11 years old. Based on other people's reviews, I probably wouldn't like it as an adult, but then again it may have been the time period with computers/ "cyberspace" being all new and fascinating to me when I first read it. Back then computers weren't as much if a central part of everyday life, especially for a kid that mostly read books and played outside. I don't remember much of this book, but I remember enjoying it and the others in the series when I was younger. That's my 2 cents!

[Brock Stonebraker]

i have never read a book like before. it has all kinds of strange things in the book. there's a talking dog and outer space laptops. my favorite part is when jack, loaf, and merele figure out its an outer space. this book is probably one of my favorite books and i would recommend it to people that like strange talking dogs and outer space laptops.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book was a waste of my life and my time! >:|

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very ‘immature’ story, with subplots left undone, parts skimmed without adequate detailing and lots of inconsistencies that make it quite a frustrating read. The writing method isn’t too bad (a bit different, so took a little getting used to). Parts of this came across really well and I constantly thought ‘oh here we go...’ but to no avail. Maybe if I read this when I was younger I would have had a very different view.

[Muhab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember really enjoying this one as a kid. It was a crazy adventure, there were aliens in it, and maybe that's what made me like science fiction for a while.

[AJ Torres · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was only one reason that I picked up this book to read. I was going through my closet to dust off some boxes of books and made the decision to read all the books that collected over the years that went without being read. This was one of those books...

Outernet: Friend or Foe? is a children's novel that seems to be written on the fascination of the "Internet". Thinking back on the year 2002, the year the book was written and the year I was attending the 3rd or 4th grade, I remember the Internet being a big thing that changed more and more everyday. Bells ringing and teachers urging us to go into the computer lab, it was a relief to get out of the classroom and enjoy the perks of the Internet. Doing homework assignments, typing up work, and even messing around on computer games seemed to be the "thing" of the generation. Wow, did I ever wonder the limits of such a remarkable quirk of the time.

Really... what would happen if we could log onto the Internet... only in space! The fascination and journeys that are bound at the endless seams of the universe. BLEH! This book was bad. The characters were one-dimensional, the story seemed to have no plot. It just... happened. There were no acts in the story. Main characters were hateable and cliche. It all just seemed like a terrible Nickelodean show that got cancelled after a few episodes. Don't even get me started on the ridiculous references on Sci-Fi pop culture. I just about gagged each time Star Trek was mentioned.

I'm glad I didn't waste my time as a kid on reading or visiting this books website. It wouldn't have been worth my time, nor would it have influenced me more into reading more books. If anything, it probably would've aided me into hating reading. At the very front and back of the book, there's a website that is clearly being advertised, almost to a desperate "check out my website!" kind of way. Just type in www.go2outer.net and you could end up on a fantastic website that encourages you to learn more about this interesting universe! Oops. Seems like the site domain may be for sale... I wonder when that happened.

The ending seemed to leave on a "cliffhanger". It seems obvious that we should pick up the next book in the series to see what happens. Yeah... not happening. I'm just going to assume that our three young main characters found their parents stash of weed and consumed it all in one sitting. Kids these days...

1/5 Bad - Not Recommended

KHAAAAAAANNNNNN!!!!!!!!

[Param Singh]

Uternet Timeout is the books name. The authors are Steve Barlow & Steve Skidmore. I liked the book. I liked the book because it had cool creatures and interesting stuff they did. The main setting of this book is it was took place in tree planet Vered 2 it was a place in space where they live is Epsilon Sector that's were the setting was took. The main characters of this book is Jack, Merle, Loaf, Selenity are the main characters. The main conflict of this book is they are trying to figure out the complex of the trousers of time known as theoretical trousers. I would recommend this book. I would recommend did it to my little cousin. Why I would recommend it because he loves reading stories about space that's why I would recommend it.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a young boy named Jack who is desperately yearning for a computer. When his birthday approaches he gets what he wished for in the form of a laptop but he also gets more than he bargained for. He meets the FOES, Bitz and Googie, shape-shifters from another planet who take Jack on a whirlwind of an adventure. The FOES make sure that Jack's world is never the same again.

This book's language is great for young readers. The book can ignite the imgination and captivate it's readers well. With simple words and punctuation it is easy to follow. I'd recommend children of an of 6+ to read this book to help them develop their reading skills and expand their ability.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has definately, absolutely must be the worst book I've ever had the displeasure to read. It's about a guy who gets a computer. From space. And, instead of logging on to the Internet with it, he logs on to the "Outernet." If you ever buy this book, knowing full well what it is about, you have my permission to shoot yourself in the foot. If anyone disagrees with me, well, good for you. Hope you have you fun with your "Outernet."

[Wesleyxiao]

This story was talking about the earth and galaxy. There were many theories as to its purpose: an astronomical calendar, a prehistoric temple, a burial ground. In the middle of the maelstrom, two figures appeared. The energy vortex collapsed and died out with an odd crackle and fizz. Their late-night snack abandoned, the startled rabbits hurtled toward the safety of their burrows, aleady anticipating the nightmares they would have.

[Casey811 · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a scale of one to five I would give it a solid four. I liked this book and recommend the book to everyone. The book is based on discovery adventure and mystery. So anyone that likes the following genres would like this book. The book keeps you excited and has you sitting up in your chair. It was a great book and I thought that it was very funny and exciting.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really good. It is somewhat juvenile now but it still is somewhat interesting. It is about three unlikely friends who find a laptop and discovers it is not what it seems. The laptop is actually a server to the Outernet a galaxy wide internet.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of an internet with extraterrestrial life was a good idea. It funny, but I felt there could have been more substance to the story.

[Sojin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast book to read if you are waiting for your friend to finish his so that you can read that one.

[Tweller83 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't a great book. Interesting concept but...

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F BAR outernet bk. 1

Science Fiction

[Carlos Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very interesting book and I really enjoyed it. If I had to re-read it I would be glad to.

[SilverdeThug · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ouernet reminded me of a video game and i liked reading it. When i was reading the outernet it sounded like a tell tale video game and i liked reading it.

[H. Givens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute, but the online game portion is no longer operational, so it was a letdown.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too silly.

[Dexter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little scifi adventure reminiscent of the eighties. My favorite part is actually the cover.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with a tutoring kid.