Elitist Book Reviews

PATHFINDER, the first book in Orson Scott Card’s Pathfinder series (of which RUINS is the second book), kind of blew me away (read my review here). I am a big fan of Card’s older work. ENDER’S GAME is a classic. I loved the rest of the Ender series, (the Shadow series not so much) and I loved both WYRMS and TREASON. But I have had a hard time getting into his work lately. This series however feels like a bit of that Old Card coming through.

The plot, for those of you who haven’t gotten on board, follows Rigg a boy who can see paths, the paths that humans have traveled in and how recently. To some extent it lets him see the past, who went where and when they did it. I’m gonna get all spoilery of the first book in a second so if you want you can just jump down to the bottom of the review where I will tell you if this is a good book or not (hint: it is).

The first book, PATHFINDER, ends with Rigg having found his sister, who can manipulate time as well, though in different ways, and together with her, his friend Umbo and two ex-soldiers Loaf and Olivenko have crossed the barrier between their land and the land bordering it. RUINS deals with Rigg and his pals exploring some of the other lands that make up the planet Garden. The scope of the series is almost immediately widened and a bigger view of where the series is going as a whole is brought to the forefront. I thought maybe Card would spend this book dealing with just the one one new place and the problems that the new Wallfold faces, but I was wrong. Card wastes no time moving from one place to the next, and indeed even one time to the next. It was difficult at times seeing the characters go back and forth in time. The group would travel forward and backward in time to see certain events or bypass various obstacles. There was a lot of it and at times I wasn’t sure WHEN the book was happening. It didn’t matter. The story unfolded pretty smoothly and was a fun quick read.

During the book as Rigg and his friends go from land to land (called Wallfolds in the book), the group would discover something new, something that those particular inhabitants had spent the last ten thousand years cultivating and exploring. As I was reading I had an uneasy sense that I’d read that before. Card is plagiarizing someone else’s idea I thought. Then I realized where I had read the idea before. It was in a previous Orson Scott Card book called TREASON (an excellent book, one of my favorites of Card’s writing). The idea is still cool here and going from place to place to see what each different set of people had created or discovered was one of the joys of the book.

That being said, I think I enjoyed the idea a bit more in TREASON. The book was shorter, more action packed and to the point. That’s not to say that RUINS wasn’t a lot of fun (it was). Just that particular idea seemed better used in that shorter work.

RUINS is still a lot of fun. At a time where I had almost given up on Card’s work he comes out with this Pathfinder series to remind us all of why we liked him in the first place. This series isn’t destined to be another ENDER’S GAME. But then what is? RUINS is still fun and worth your while.

Age Recommendation: I dunno, whenever they want to read it I guess. The time travel stuff can be a bit confusing and the two boys Rigg and Umbo, are immature and make a few rude jokes, but nothing really offensive here.
Language: Not really
Violence: Nothing I recall was too bad
Sex: Maybe mentioned but nothing to get upset about.

Want to give this series a try? Here are your links:
PATHFINDER
RUINS

In a perfect world reviewers would read books with no biases at all and based the work completely on its own merits and not compare it to other books, or other works of the same author.  No prejudices would sway the reviewer for good ill.  Wake up.  We don’t live in that world and perfect as we Elitists are, we still have our biases.  That being said I’m going to give you a review of SHADOWS IN FLIGHT the latest work in the Enderverse by Orson Scott Card.  Firstly let me lay my biases out for you so you can know understand where this review is coming from.

1. Ender is cooler than Bean.  Always has been, always will be.  Any reference in any Ender book that says otherwise is blasphemy (even if Card writes it).

2. I have read all of the Ender books (ENDER'S GAME, SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, XENOCIDE, CHILDREN OF THE MIND, and even ENDER IN EXILE), but I haven’t read the Shadow books (those focusing on Bean).  I wasn’t interested in stuff happening on earth.  I wanted space, aliens and ships.

3. I didn’t like ENDER IN EXILE.  It felt like a shout out book where all these random character and circumstances kept popping up to remind the reader of all that cool stuff that happened in the Shadow books.

There are plenty more biases but you get the idea. We can start the review now, right?  Good, on we go.

Shadow’s in Flight follows Bean, who is now a giant whose body won’t stop growing and is in fear of dying soon, out in space on a ship traveling at near light speed with his children.  The plan is that while Bean and his children are traveling for a scant few years, a cure for the condition that Bean has and has passed down to his children, will be found on earth thus saving them all.  Complications ensue (of course) and plots are revealed.

I was worried that this book would be similar to ENDER IN EXILE, where we spent most of the time recalling stuff that already happened in other books.  I am happy to say that this wasn’t the case.  This story is much more self-contained.  The background information I was given was just enough to get me in on the plot.

As usual with Card’s writing, the pace was easy and quick.  I think I read the whole book in about 3 days (which is slow for a Card novel, but I was busy too).  I always wish for a bit more description of things, I mean it’s space ships and aliens after all, give me some details, but the reading is always enjoyable and the dialogue is fun and snappy.

The characters are always smart (very smart normally) and often reflect on how much smarter they are than anyone else.  I’m OK with that most of the time, but here I found it a bit much.  Three of the four main characters are 6 years old, and yet they bicker and fight like adults in Joss Whedon’s worlds.  They occasionally throw tantrums and it just felt like a slap in the face at times.  “I’m super smart, but I’m also 6, get it?”  Then of course there are the action sequences that again, because of the age, pushed my limit of credibility.  I have a few kids and even if they were super smart (they’re plenty smart, they’re my kids after all, just not SUPER GENIUSES), I still don’t think they would be coordinated enough to pull of stuff like here.

These are minor complaints.  All in all, SHADOWS IN FLIGHT was fun.  Right on the edge of "Mediocre" and "Like".  I was worried about it, and yet it turned out to be quite enjoyable.  I wouldn't pay the full price for a book that felt more like a novella (it’s quite short, a little over 200 pages, with really large type), but if you happen across it, you won’t hate yourself for picking it up. It will likely depend on how big a fan you are of Card's Enderverse.

Age Recommendation: 12+  Nothing really to complain about here
Language: Maybe a few words.  Nothing harsh that I can recall
Violence: A few scenes, mostly involving aliens.  Once scene of kids beating the crap out of each other.
Sex: Mentioned a few times, more from kids who think it’s gross.

Here's your link if you want to pick it up:

SHADOWS IN FLIGHT

WARNING! PATHFINDER is not a fantasy book, it is science fiction. I repeat. PATHFINDER is not a fantasy book, it is science fiction.

I know what you're thinking. Wait a minute. It totally looks like a fantasy book. Yep. I read the premise, it sounds like a fantasy book. Yep. Doesn't it take place in a fairly medieval setting? Yep. You know, horses and wagons, swords and magical type stuff happening? Yep. I mean doesn't it even have a sword on the cover for Pete's sake? Yep. And you still think it's a science fiction book? I do.

Am I going to explain myself to you? No I am not. Don't be ridiculous. It would ruin the story. And let's be clear from the get go here, this is a fun story. Orson Scott Card is one of those writers who has written brilliant, wonderful stuff (ENDER'S GAME, SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, TREASON)…and then he's written some stuff that pretty much sucked. He's VERY hit-or-miss. So when I read the premise for PATHFINDER I was simultaneously intrigued and a little wary. I decided to check it out (even though it's a YA book that clocks in at over 600 pages—seriously, 600 pages? YA?). In the end, I'm glad I did. This is the Orson Scott Card that I love.

The story follows Rigg, a young Cardian protagonist who's had an interesting upbringing (being raised in the wild by a man he call's father) and who's good at basically everything. The real fun thing about Rigg is that he can see paths. He can see the paths that people, animals and any other living thing have taken. Depending on their brilliance he can determine how old the path is and even who/what made it. As you can imagine, this is very useful for a tracker. He can see animals that have crossed his way. He can find the most frequented paths and even follow things around using the most recent routes. Pretty cool stuff.

Soon enough Rigg's world is turned upside down (again I won't tell you how) and he is sent on a journey across the world in search of his mother and sister whom he didn't even know existed. Along the way he meets several other people, some of them having strange powers like himself. I really don't want to get into it any more because the discovery of this world and how it works is so much fun.

As usual of Card's good novels, his prose is above reproach. His writing style is clean and effortless. This is the type of book you loose yourself in. I was easily able to sit and forget everything but Rigg and his adventures for several hours. This is true of any of Card's best books. I've always been very focused on them while I was reading them. He writes in a way that makes you want to turn just one page more, and then just one page after that until the book is done. It's only at the end that you sit back and reflect on what you've read. Some of Card's stories have stuck with me (the ones I mentioned above) and others haven't.

This is one those stories that sticks with the reader. It's the first book in a series (I believe I heard mention of a three book series), but that shouldn't put you off. This story comes to a satisfying conclusion. There are questions left unanswered (so many questions) but at the same time the characters have concluded a very definite story arc and are about to begin a new one. I wouldn't say that you could read it as a complete stand alone, but I wasn't ready to beat Card up for leaving me hanging right in the middle of a story (think Pat Rothfuss, who I love, but I need more Kvothe! I digress, sorry).

The only problems this book has are the same as with any of Card's books. Rigg is brilliant, he's wonderful at everything he does and you never get the sense that he is in much danger because his foes are never worthy of him. Kinda Mary Sue. He also draws conclusions about certain very key elements of the story based on very flimsy facts. Like I said, it happens in all of Cards books. Think of Ender. If you had a problem with him, then you won't like Rigg. If on the other hand you thought Ender was one of the cooler characters ever written, then this is certainly a book for you.

I'm glad I gave PATHFINDER a shot. Is Card always going to hit it out of the ball park for me (or for you)? Probably not, but I'll certainly be picking up the rest of this series.

Recommended Age: 12+ although it is a bit complicated in parts. Still, I would have loved this as a kid.
Language: None to speak of really.
Violence: Nothing major here either. Fights and stuff, but nothing gruesome.
Sex: None.

I read and loved, with certain reservations, Orson Scott Card's EMPIRE. So when I found out there was a sequel pending for imminent release I was excited to see how the franchise was handled.

If you haven't read EMPIRE, here's a quick rundown. The possibility of a civil war, in America today, becomes very real when the President and all his staff are assassinated. Reuben and Cole become pawns in a conspiracy to an American revolution. The ending leaves us with a Princeton professor leading both the Democratic and Republican parties, and taking the office of the President with more than just a few suspicious events to those with a keen eye (Read: The main characters) in his resume.

HIDDEN EMPIRE picks up three years after EMPIRE left off, with more of the exploits of Captain Cole, Cessy Malich, Averell Torrent and Reuben's jeesh. The jacket of the book talks about President Torrent, and how Cessy and Cole are the only ones who can bring his machinations to light. The story was something of a surprise. After EMPIRE ended, and after reading the book jacket, it was obvious what the plot of this sequel would be, or so I thought. In the opening chapter of this book that all changed when the readers are exposed to Africa and a new epidemic of civilization-crushing proportions.

Wait. What about Torrent? Exactly. What about him? Tracking down evidence of his dangerous ambitions and the means he uses to certain ends is only a very small part of the plot. The majority is spent in Africa dealing with the outbreak of the deadly virus, and the government there.

That said, I have to admit I admire Card for his strict adherence to the story he chose and the necessity of the plot, no matter how painful. Now, I don't mean painful in the way of Dan Brown or the Terrys. I mean painful in the way of when Wash dies in the movie Serenity (seriously, the statute of limitations on this movie is long past). There were some moments that were pretty wrenching, and perfectly done.

While Card adheres to the story wonderfully, he breaks convention in other ways. For example, it is common knowledge that thrillers are very character light (If you didn't know this before, you're officially part of the "In-the-know" group. Welcome). However, Card delivers a political thriller that, while not character dense, has some decent progression in that regard.

There is an excellent use of moral viewpoints from the characters. Meaning there isn't a lot of gray area here, and a lot of very defined black and white, but everyone's view on what is black and white is different. It was very cool to see an interesting perspective like this in a day when gray morality is king. The main characters think what they do is good, and know that what the antagonists do is fueled by their reasoning that they, themselves, are good.

A couple gripes I had about the book were fairly large and irritated me all the way through, and some of them have been the criticisms that Card always gets, and is probably used to.

The main one is: Why is it so impossible for Card to write a believable viewpoint for a child. OK impossible may be the wrong word--Chinma could very well be accurate--but the rest of the kids drive me crazy. In what world can a 10 year old debate politics with her Advisor-to-the-President mother, and come out ahead? In what world can a 10 year old comment on the particulars of life in Africa with irony and sarcasm? Seriously Card? Every single one of Cessy Malich's five children border on genius. They make Cessy, who is supposed to be brilliant, look foolish a number of times. I find it interesting that all these years after Ender we are still subject to Card's inability to write the viewpoint of children. I think that Card knew he needed to have Cessy show her thoughts and feelings through dialog, and there was no one to fit that role, so he forced the kids into that shape. They swing back and forth between irritatingly childish and political masterminds. This was seriously disappointing. It wasn't until the end when the story left the younger kids and focused on Mark and Chinma that it became believable.

Speaking of the dialog with Cessy. The next biggest complaint was the fact that she starts talking to Chinma (who is a native African), in English, which is his fourth language by the way. No big problem here, until you actually see the implementation. We are shown multiple times Chinma's inability to speak English very well, such as not knowing simple words, like fever. Yet Cessy talks to him about infanticide, and abortion, and gives detailed history lessons of Christian behavior, and while he may not agree with what she is saying, he certainly understands it. Get a hold of your dialog Card, so I can retain hold on my sanity! This is just sloppy.

Oh yeah. So is messing up the name of one of the pivotal characters in the first book. Her name is DeeNee, Card, not DeeDee. This kind of mistake doesn't speak well for the editing done for this book. It only happens once, but was noticeable enough that I pulled EMPIRE off my shelf to make sure I wasn't mistaken.

The last big issue I had with the book was that writers choose their words carefully, and Card has included enough very specific phrases that are acerbic enough to make sure this novel, a thriller, remains politically charged, and only for that reason it would seem.

There was one final part of the novel that rubbed the wrong way. It was the obligatory "Africa-scenes". I get why Card set the majority of the story in Africa (though I think it would have been interesting to be daring and set it elsewhere), because it created all sorts of moral and political dilemmas. I also get why he included the "Africa-scenes", which include tossing an infant in the air to use as target practice with an automatic rifle, the village raid complete with rape (though, this is never actually happens on screen), etc, but I also wonder if they were needed.

The book is an extremely quick read, about three hours worth. When I put the book down I had, at the same time, a desire for more about Torrent and his political machinations, and a feeling of satisfaction for what the book did include. (Conflicted! Such drama!)

Will you like the book?
If you're a fan of Card, this is fairly standard fare for him, so you will know what to expect. If you are a fan you will like this book. It's basically Tom Clancy-Lite, with better, and more interesting characters and resolution. If you like the political thriller genre, chances are you will be entertained.

Card's website is here, go check it out, and give him props for a, despite it's flaws, really good book.