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Pathfinder  By  cover art

Pathfinder

By: Orson Scott Card
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Kirby Heyborne, Don Leslie, Kristoffer Tabori, Scott Brick
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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)

What listeners say about Pathfinder

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,991
  • 4 Stars
    1,782
  • 3 Stars
    615
  • 2 Stars
    160
  • 1 Stars
    90
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,667
  • 4 Stars
    1,358
  • 3 Stars
    473
  • 2 Stars
    114
  • 1 Stars
    73
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,617
  • 4 Stars
    1,379
  • 3 Stars
    493
  • 2 Stars
    134
  • 1 Stars
    72

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Thank You OSC

I have always been a huge fan of Orson Scott Card's writing style, he writes his books like he intends them to be read out loud. The Ender Series is by far his best work (Speaker for the Dead takes the cake), but this story is so unique and enthralling that I could not stop listening. I usually sit and multi-task while I listen to my book, doing homework, working, driving etc. but this book I would stop other things and just sit and listen. OSC did a fantastic job creating another whole new universe and magic system, and plays around with the laws of time travel. Nothing is too confusing, which is rare for a Time travel book. My final word: Well done Orson Scott Card, This book is a keeper for my audio folder as well as my shelf.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Odd

First the book, a weird blend of fantasy and sci-fi that doesn't really make any sense until close to the end of the book. I really enjoyed parts of the book but I got really tired of all the pointless social and political posturing that no young teenager would do and I got tired of all pointless theoretical physics that the author seems to love. The cool abilities of the main characters are interesting but the author rambles on about ramifications and theories about time traveling. Even though it is the first book of a series it does have a reasonable ending that provides a story for the rest of series without leaving you hanging.

There are a few narrators for the different characters and some of them are OK but others suck. The guy in the sample does most of the book so if you like him don't worry about the narrators.

I probably won't buy the rest of the series but I might rent the hard copies.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

You will need a ton of patience

What would have made Pathfinder better?

I've enjoyed other Card books, but this one doesn't make the list. I felt that the author needed to explain each persons powers or the events surrounding them is such detail that is was pretty unbearable to listen too. Card takes the explanation of moving through time to such a level that it makes this narration almost unbearable. I do not recommend this book.

What was most disappointing about Orson Scott Card’s story?

I've enjoyed other books, so I had high hopes for this one. I was very disappointed.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The narration was good when done by the primary person, but the addition of two more people made the story disjointed and annoying to listen too.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Pathfinder?

I would trim down the scenes discussing the abilities. I appreciate that Card tried to detail the abilities of the characters and not water down what was happening, but it was such a tedious amount of detail that it was hard to keep my interest. I don't like it when an author say's 'and he time-traveled' and that is the end of the description, but the minute by minute accounting of how something was done became very annoying.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Easy to predict, yet a great read...or listen...

I'm a huge OSC fan, and Pathfinder has seriously whetted my appetite for the following books in this series. Some may feel that this book is a bit too predictable...which it is. But looking at the book from the end, it seems an elaborate set-up for the rest of the series. OSC has created this really neat world with all it's very interesting complexities, but the explanation of it all takes a lot of set-up.


I will say that it took me a while to straiten out the different stories that run through the book. At first it was a bit confusing, but it works itself out. I really enjoyed the different narrators narrating from the different perspectives. It gave the book some nice flavor. I just wish Scott Brick had a greater roll in the narration. Stefan Rudnicki's voice takes a bit to ease into, but I found that I always welcomed his narration when the story switched back to his perspective.


I can't wait for Book 2!

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A huge disappointment for this longtime fan.

DISCLAIMER (FEEL FREE TO SKIP): First off, let me just say that I read extensively in the genre (20 - 30 books per year), and that I am a HUGE fan of Orson Scott Card. This book didn't change that. However, I feel he did a lot of things with this book which he did not do before, and it really didn't work for me. I feel like this warrants a poor review, because I do believe that this book appears to be marketed at adults of a certain reading level, but fails to rise to it. I'm all for guilty pleasure reading from time to time, but this book's flaws were simply too glaring—too irritating—to get past. I don't wish to "flame" this book in any way. There are plenty of positive reviews, and I just think it's important for there to be a helpful negative one to represent an alternative perspective.

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Characters: It's important to develop characters that are interesting. Giving a character superpowers doesn't automatically make them interesting, though. Just ask anyone who saw Superman Returns. There needs to be a sense of gravitas to the main character. Rigg is flat as a pancake, though. It's also important to drop a main character into the "thick of it," which Card does do. I'll give him that. The scenario of the characters is sadly clichéd, but at least it's a proven formula for success. I won't spoil it with details. Finally, a character needs to be RELATABLE. Even the best villains are relatable in some manner. Don't expect yourself to find Rigg relatable, though—or anyone else in this book, for that matter. Most characters are so stupidly stubborn, so exceedingly arrogant, and yet so ignorant, that I doubt many such people exist. If they did, they certainly wouldn't be the type to read books. Hence, the characters are unrelatable. I docked 1 star for this.

Plot: The plot is contrived. Again, I don't wish to spoil anything, so I won't go into much more detail. If you know what "contrived" means, you will likely find this plot to be such. It's got a few twists of originality in the details, but on the broad scope it's a story I've encountered far too many times. I can't really dock it for this, though, as many people may not have read as widely as I have. I just thought it was worth mentioning.

Storytelling: This is by far the worst part of this book. I have (as I write this very review) Orson Scott Card's book "How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy" sitting on my desk here. It's fantastic, so I know the man knows his stuff. However, he breaks all of his own rules, and I can't figure out why. There wasn't a single piece of description in the first chapter, and very little in the second chapter. Why? Exposition. Card is so pleased with his constructed scenario, that he uses the WORST INFO DUMP I've read in probably 10 years. Funny, because he has a section in his writing guide that states, "Too much raw information up front, and the reader can't keep it all straight…The audience quickly learns that you don't know how to tell a story, and you've lost them. Instead, information must be trickled into a story, always just enough to know what's happening." You can construct the most interesting scenario in the world, but if the story isn't told well, you will fail to create a good book. I docked 2 stars for this.

Narration: You can decide for yourself from the sample if you can tolerate the narration. I personally didn't mind it all that much, but to each their own.

Competent readers, beware. This is probably Card's worst book to date. Try Ender's Game or Bean if you're looking to get started. You won't be disappointed in those. I promise.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant. Madeleine L'Engle would be jealous.

Card is a master, and this new series can testify to that. Card mixes sci-fi/ fantasy with philosophy and physics so neatly that you'll walk away feeling refreshingly challenged. This is no cliche adventure tale, although there *is* adventure and suspense, of course. It *is* Orson Scott Card we're talking about, here.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good to listen to.

This was a good story. The people below probably like the predictable "romance novel" story theme. The narraters were not perfect, but I have heard MUCH worse (Cujo). This was a good fun book, I have listened to alot of books and this one ranks at the top. If you want a good paced mindbender this is a must read.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

I didn't care for this book. For me, it lacked convincing character development, had a flat/linear plot line and portrayed characters with almost comical superhuman abilities. Be sure to preview before you wade into this book to get a peek at the writing style which I found sorely lacking. Also, why so many readers - they don't take on the voice of individual characters but just read a section of the book. I'll be sure to avoid O.S. Card in the future.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely wooden.

My god, really? This is the author everyone fawns over.

It was my first OSC card book, and likely my last.

It's like listening to a chess match. UGHGHhhhh. The characters about as real life as Greek theater.

Honestly thought I was listening to a young adult book. Was I, and just missed it?

I tried. Really I did. I muscled through 3/4 of this thing, but it finally just wore me down.

And STUPID character names. LOAF? UMBO? Really? gahhhhh.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

SURPASSES MY EXPECTATIONS!

Because of all of the positive reviews I expected this book to be good but it actually exceeded my expectations. I liked virtually everything about it from the complexity of the plot, to the abilities of the characters as well as the relationships between them. The only thing that was a little unrealistic was the psychological development and understanding of a person in his early teens, but this observation did not really take anything away from the story. The story is crazy creative and highly imaginative not to mention one of the most unique books I have ever read. For these reasons and the fact that it was well written, and perfectly executed the book deserved to be given five stars.

I didn't find the book confusing or difficult to follow, but I definitely had to pay attention. What was confusing was the narration, the characters started out with one voice for the first half of the book, and then it changied as the book progressed. You had different narrators for the characters changing every few chapters. The tones varied widely and didn't represent the characters at all. I can't imagine why this was done but it was the most unprofessional narrating I have ever heard.

With that said, I have never read an OSC book and after reading this one, I am looking forward to reading more. Even with the bad narration I highly recommend this book. It is refreshing in it's originality and makes for an interesting and entertaining read.

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3 people found this helpful