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

Fantastic!

I very much enjoyed this book.

I can see how people would be frustrated with it as a stand-alone story, but coupled with the other two this is very good.

it's a fantastic prequel, laying the foundation for OSC's universe. I love how he develops his characters and portrays them in such genuine fashion, really bringing you into the trials and tribulations of a future Earth at war.

good story to me

i dont give high rateings easy. if you see a 5 star rateing from me then its a great story.
i love ocs narraters, Stefan Rudnicki i like a lot.
you ca read the info from other reviews and from story info.
i rated this 4 stars on story witch is vary good.
also try the simple to get even more of an ideal and read the reviews.
and remember every one has there own tast in storys.
its a good ideal to find people that has the same tast in storys as you follow them and that will help even more. the one thing i will tell you on the story here is the war dont start yet here just how they meet and the build up start here just before it get to earth.
i think most will like it. the next book will be the first war witch i hate haveing to wait on O.o
but is a good story leading up to it.
Enjoy! :)

Another great work by Card

This was my second time reading this book after having listened to the most recent addition to the series and it hold up so well. Awesome scifi, action, space adventure. What more could you want!!

Cliffhanger endings and action packed

I agree with the other reviews. This series is a must read for Ender fans, but it stands on its own as darn good storytelling. I have read the second book in the series also, and each book ends with a cliffhanger. No fair -- I'm hooked anyway. Excellent narrators, fast paced, action packed. Can't wait 'til the next one.

So cool!!

I've read all the sequels to enders game and now to read the prequels and know the ending is exhilarating! Card and team are brilliant story tellers! Loved it!

Orson Scott Card delivers...as always

What did you love best about Earth Unaware?

Although the book starts slowly, the action and suspense mount as the author's character development and plot expand with every chapter. I have read Orson Scott Card since Ender's Game, and continue to rate him as an intelligent and very creative author in this genre.

Overall good book though lacks a great ending

If you could sum up Earth Unaware in three words, what would they be?

A good book to preface Ender's Game and provide a little insight to the entry of the Formics into our solar system.

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

The attack on the main Formic ship. Shadows of a hive mind as one Formic sees a previous enemy.

Any additional comments?

Like several of Card's books I think the ending was lacking. I have heard that this is supposed to be book 1 of a trilogy, but the ending left way to may loose ends. So I hope book 2 comes out soon to help tie up those ends.

Children of the Mind also had too many loose ends. At least we know that Shadows Alive should tie most of those up.

The story was good. It helps set up several key elements for the entire series and was tough to put down.

Great Prequel for Enders Game series!

I am so glad I stumbled onto Orsen Scott Card. I started with Enders Game and went chronologically through to Children of the Mind. Xenocide was my favorite so far (from a physics perspective) but this one was the most exciting. Can't wait to start the next one!

“Science” Fiction

He should NOT write about spaceflight. He lacks the most basic understanding of it. I have read all of the original Ender & Bean books and Ender’s Game multiple times. I love his writing. He just needs to completely steer clear of anything to do with spacecraft flight dynamics and orbital mechanics. Also, the first of the many narrators on this title sounded like he was reading to very small, easily distracted children.

Good story narrators lacked

Good story overall, but the narrators were too inconsistent. There was one excellent male narrator and one who I had to speed up 2x. His cadence was so annoying and over done I almost quit listening.