Ruins

Pathfinder, Book 2

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Orson Scott Card, Stefan Rudnicki, Kirby Heyborne, Emily Janice Card

Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Features a new exclusive introduction read by author Orson Scott Card.

From the author of Ender’s Game, the major motion picture!

A complex fate. A deadly path. Book two in the New York Times bestselling series Publishers Weekly calls “an epic in the best sense.”

When Rigg and his friends crossed the Wall between the only world they knew and a world they could not imagine, he hoped he was leading them to safety. But the dangers in this new wallfold are more difficult to see. Rigg, Umbo, and Param know that they cannot trust the expendable, Vadesh - a machine shaped like a human, created to deceive - but they are no longer certain that they can even trust one another. But they will have little choice. Because although Rigg can decipher the paths of the past, he can’t yet see the horror that lies ahead: A destructive force with deadly intentions is hurtling toward Garden. If Rigg, Umbo, and Param can’t work together to alter the past, there will be no future.

The adventure, suspense, and time travel continue in this second installment in the critically acclaimed New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestselling Pathfinder series.

©2012 Orson Scott Card (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A good follow-up, but could have been better

What did you love best about Ruins?

I guess the characters and wanting to find out what happens with them after crossing through the wallfold.

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

Finding out what's in the other wallfolds, but unfortunately you only learn about a few of them. The least interesting thing was maybe some of the needless banter between the characters.

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

I really like Stefan Rudnicki's voice and characters. Kirby Heyborne and even Emily Janice Card did a good job. But having different chapters done by different narrators throws you off a bit - but not as much as in Pathfinder.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, not really. It was okay, but at the same time kind of blah, and drawn out.

Any additional comments?

I'm invested now, so I will probably get the next book when it comes out. That's kind of funny actually. I didn't know this was a 3-book arc until the very end of this book, when I heard the music that only plays at the beginning and then the end. I was like, WHAT, that's the end. Then I realized that... oh, it's "to be continued".

Overall I thought it was way too long and drawn out for not much happening really. Then some things just didn't make since. I hate to give a spoiler, but at one point in the book they are ready to go to a different wallfold only to find thousands of people waiting excitedly for them on the other side, waving. They don't want to cross over into a mob of thousands even if they look friendly, so they travel back in time a few days before the mob arrives. But then they find that only two people are their liasons and NO ONE ELSE wants anything to do with them for years. That just didn't make since.

Don't get me wrong, It was entertaining, just a bit too much fluff and some plot issues in my opinion. Then also, the problem with any time-travel story where you can do it willy-nilly, you have to wonder why they don't use it more to fix things. They DO in many cases, but in others they don't and you have to wonder why not. OSC does a decent job explaining the why and why nots at times, but sometimes it just doesn't add up. Again, that's the issue with time-travel stories.

Who's on First?

An enjoyable sequel. I enjoyed setting and plot -- .especially liked the ending. In fact, most of the book is pretty boring -- characters spent 90% of their time bickering-- until the ending. The drama in this book all about the characters and their inabilities to trust each other, leaving the reader to wonder who's the hero and what's the book's objective goal ? Why did I read this, again? The constant leaps in time left me wondering what day it is...and I gave up on that. I'm invested, so I'll go on to the third book of the trilogy.

Book 2 excellent

What made the experience of listening to Ruins the most enjoyable?

The personalities of each one

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ruins?

Each time Rig has an awaking in his adventure

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

The expressions each one in the book had

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

Yes but I paced myself

Ahhhh, that ending!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It has very well developed characters, crisis, world, and logic.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ruins?

The abrupt ending was unexpected and irritating.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

I liked the variety of performances each narrator contributed for each character- Stefan Rudnicki deserves special praise for the accuracy, precision, and variety of his performance.

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

Loaf's "handicap" sceen

awesomely amazing

loved it and super sad that was the end. i can't wait to start another book by O.S.C.

well written for how it was written

suspend disbelief and ignore the paradoxical problems. other than that, leaves me wanting more.

Enjoyable continuation of story -

Orson Scott Card is one of my very favorite authors, but this series doesn't leave me quite as awed and exciting me as some of his others. Lots of interesting plot twists tho.

intricate plot lines

What did you love best about Ruins?

well developed characters who do not always do what you expect

What did you like best about this story?

the twists and turns and the relationships between character the love hate if you will

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

good narrators bring the characters to life

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

the moments of conflict between the characters that showed they wanted to take other directions but could not leave each other

Any additional comments?

card is always a good read if you do not mind the hint (only a hint though) of religion

A solid 4 from me

Story: While Pathfinder felt like a linear adventure novel, I found myself remarking a few times how Ruins was very small in scope yet with much larger consequences. The story and understanding of the worlds events feel perfectly aligned with how Rigg interprets it. I look forward to Visitors for the mystery of the destroyers has been my main page turner for this entire book.

Too many “what if” rabbit holes, but still enchanting.

Series is great, but several times I got bored and had to turn it off. On several occasions a few characters go into “what if we did this or that or another or that or lied or told the truth”. Yes it’s a time shifting sci-fi model, hence we all know there are endless possible outcomes, don’t list them all and put us to sleep. The second narrator of the first book, an older guy, ruined that section of the book for me. He gave all the voices a “pirate” sound. Keep him on Caribbean books. Otherwise a very immersive and creative tail that is rather enchanting.