Pathfinder

Pathfinder, Book 1

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Kirby Heyborne, Don Leslie, Kristoffer Tabori, Scott Brick

Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him - secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.

Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent... or forfeit control of his destiny.

©2010 Orson Scott Card (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The implications of the boys' power to manipulate the past unfold cleverly…, feeding into the Machiavellian political intrigue for a pulse-pounding climax….Card's many fans will be thrilled by this return to his literary roots.” ( Kirkus)

Orson Scott Card only three words that matter

Ended meets lord of the rings. Yes it is just as epic as you imagine.

Typical Card

Would you listen to Pathfinder again? Why?

I will absolutly be reading this again for the simple fact that I feel like I missed details that would have allowed me to figure future events out sooner. I say this is Typical Orson Scott Card writing because he has a way to feed you so many useless details that all seem to crash together again at the end of the book and rape your senses. I was lost and confused through much of this book and at the end i felt retarded that I didnt see events coming. As intimidating as I have made this book seem, I will be reading it again and I can not wait for the sequel.

Another good one!

I love the combination of Orson Scott Card and Stefan Rudnicki. They are both such fabulous storytellers. This book was a fascinating listen, and a great beginning to a series. It was a little similar to Alvin Maker, but it was evolved to a new and unique level. I'm excited to hear the next one!

Interesting, but flawed

What did you love best about Pathfinder?

I enjoyed the multiple view points of events as they unfolded in the book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pathfinder?

Crossing the wall

Which scene was your favorite?

Crossing the wall

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

No

Any additional comments?

The author purposefully violates many of the accepted rules of time travel, which I found to be distracting, but overall the book caries a tone much like the Tales of the Otori series which I enjoyed. Pathfinder however was predictable in most cases and I am lacking any series interest in reading the second book in the series because I feel like I already know what will happen.

Another great book from Card

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

Top 10%

What other book might you compare Pathfinder to and why?

Other Orson Scott Card books.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Didn't like how the readers made Loaf's voice sound evil. I read the book a couple years ago, and my interpretation was that his voice shouldn't have an evil, snide streak to it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy science fiction with time travel, you will LOVE this book.

Time time time

Good read. Not sure I agree with all the time logistics, but the audio was great. Voices were great. Really brought the book to life.

fabulous!!!!

great story. a little slow to begin with but it got really interesting and attention gripping!

Good Read

I read a few comments about the confusion of narrators but it seemed clear to me that each narrator was simply a change in the perspective of the characters. It is not something I would expect but I think it makes it clear what story line you will be getting for the next section.

The time travel aspects of this book are very interesting but sometimes feel like cop outs. The book is written in a way to ignore most time travel paradoxes, and the situations are cleverly written but it basically takes a stance that anything can happen with few consequences if done correctly.

Overall enjoyable and the lack of romance was enjoyable though towards the end the author set some sort of a running relationship up.

Good OSC Stuff

This was a pretty good book. If you have read OSC before and like how he develops characters and plot then I think you will find this book being a typical Card book. Easy read and I only found a couple of difficult spots which I will touch on below after the spoiler warning. I know this is the first of a trilogy and overall I though the pacing was good but the ending was a little jarring for me. I will be reading the next one soon if not next.

*** SPOILER ***

Ok. I found the back story of colonization and the mishap through time pretty cool. I assume it was intended that the reader figure it out pretty quickly but it was still interesting and I looked forward to that part of the story at the beginning of every chapter.
I did find some of the time jumping difficult to follow once or twice and I am still not sure why the kids had the capabilities they had. I hope to figure it out better in the next book.

my mind is blown!

The time travel and time anomalies in this book kept me thinking and wondering long after I was done reading.