Earth Unaware

By: Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Stephen Hoye, Arthur Morey, Vikas Adam, Emily Janice Card, Gabrielle de Cuir, Roxanne Hernandez

Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A hundred years before Ender's Game, humans thought they were alone in the galaxy. Humanity was slowly making their way out from Earth to the planets and asteroids of the Solar System, exploring and mining and founding colonies.

The mining ship El Cavador is far out from Earth, in the deeps of the Kuiper Belt, beyond Pluto. Other mining ships, and the families that live on them, are few and far between this far out. So when El Cavador's telescopes pick up a fast-moving object coming in-system, it's hard to know what to make of it. It's massive and moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light.

But the ship has other problems. Their systems are old and failing. The family is getting too big. There are claim-jumping corporates bringing Asteroid Belt tactics to the Kuiper Belt. Worrying about a distant object that might or might not be an alien ship seems…not important.

They're wrong. It's the most important thing that has happened to the human race in a million years. This is humanity's first contact with an alien race. The First Formic War is about to begin.
Earth Unaware is the first novel in The First Formic War series by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston.

©2012 Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“The somber basso voice of Stefan Rudnicki and two well-chosen players march through the story, with a young man's voice particularly effective in segments featuring the angst-ridden teenager. This is an outstanding job, with more to come.” —AudioFile Magazine

“As the narration passes from character to character, the talented cast... easily keeps listeners intrigued with skillful characterizations that feature unique voices, accents, and dialects. And by the time the huge alien ship arrives and the story kicks into high gear, listeners will be utterly captivated by this exciting adventure.” —Publishers Weekly

Good Stuff !

Pure Orson Scott Card. Good reading per usual. Story ties Enders Game story together. I was not disappointed.

One of Card's Best

I am a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, but I, like many of his fans, worry that he's overdoing the series. There comes a point when I hear he is writing a new Enderverse book and I just groan.

That said, the books are always fantastic, and this one may seriously be my second favorite Ender book (aside from Ender's Game, of course). The characters, the plot depth, it's all vintage Card. I expected it to be rushed, but aside from the ending, it wasn't.

The producers always get the best out of a fantastic narrating cast as well. Props to them for continued excellence.

The ending was rushed, yes. We'll have to see in the final two books if the whole thing could have been stuck together in one book, especially considering WE ALL KNOW HOW THIS ENDS. But it wasn't a let down, it's vintage, fantastic Card.

one of the best books since Ender's Shadow

It has been some time since I've written a review, but I feel compelled to now. I loved this book. The writing was up to Scott Card's best works; well developed and many layered characters, exciting battle scenes, and a great set-up for the sequel. The promo description may to some to be misleading, but I took "the Formic War is about to begin" at the end of the description to mean that the book was building up to the event, not about the event itself.

building up to something... but I'm not sure what

Where does Earth Unaware rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've listened to far more engaging stories. For me, some of the characters seemed flawed, while others seemed interesting, but their interaction in the storyline was too brief. I may purchase the next in the series, but perhaps not. The last couple chapters pulled me in better than the first 80% of the book.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I enjoyed the family interactions of the free miners. I found some of the characterizations of corporate types too shallow for most of the book.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I'm afraid much of the dialog would seem very trite if I had started reading the book. The actors did a good job in putting meaning into sometimes weak dialog.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The last chapter pulled me in more than the rest of the book. I enjoyed seeing the family relationships of the free miners, but it didn't draw me in like I hoped it would. I was impressed by Vico's relationships and outlook on life.

One of his best

I have read or listened to nearly all of the Enderverse, but I had not made my way to this series yet. I am so glad I did. This is one of Orson Scott Card's best books. Within the first chapter he crafts an entirely new human society and it only gets better from there. Give it a listen. You won't regret it.

perfect

Another amazing story by Orson Scott Card with characters that feel real to the heart.

Great Book!

I loves the different narrators for each of the characters although the one for Lem made me think he was quite old and he is not. The story kept me entertained and I kept wondering what might happen next. The end of the book left me very excited to read the 2nd in the series

Solid and worth it.

What made the experience of listening to Earth Unaware the most enjoyable?

Really enjoy the character development in all of Card's books - he's on point with this one.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Earth Unaware?

Raw emotion. I won't spoil anything, but Card knows how to capture true emotion.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes - love Rudnicki and was impressed with the other narrators as well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Toward the end - Lem's complete confusion at Concepcion's willingness to delete the files.

Any additional comments?

This is great. I'm a long-time Card fan who had avoided these because they were co-written - realizing my mistake. Take the leap, you'll be glad you did.

A must listen to fans of the Enderverse

This novel fills much of what you are left wanting for in Speaker. It's a bit longer and deeper but that doesn't detract from your enjoyment.

A book that fixes flight delays

Such a capturing story and the voice of the narrators are perfect. Especially Stefan Rudnicki! This universe is something to fall back too whenever you have time, especially when travelling for work.