Now we get to it. The battle for Earth and the Sol system begins in earnest. The book follows multiple story lines throughout with plenty of characters to root for or against. While the Earth gets ravaged, the politicians screw up plenty, and its up to the little people to make big differences. It was worth wading through the first book to get to the second.
When this came out I was glad the Enderverse was expanding to cover the events leading up to Ender’s Game. The first in the series is a setup for the rest of the series. It’s clear that the book was meant to be part of a greater story, and with that in mind, it serves its purpose. It sets up the state of affairs in our solar system before the Buggers arrive and gets you ready for the action that follows. If you’re a fan of Ender’s Game and are expecting a version of that, you’ll be disappointed. What you should expect is a new series with a new angle and few familiar names.
Book one was interesting enough for me to continue with the series. And the cliffhanger at the end of this book should have been interesting enough for me to finish it out with the third book, but I never got around to it. I just really wasn’t that invested in the characters to care to finish.
Though Orson Scott Card’s big hit, Ender’s Game, has a child main character, and is one of my all-time favorite books because Ender’s character is so compelling, you’d think that would be a specialty for Card. He’s certainly written a lot of books with child protagonists, including more in the Enderverse. However, the child main characters in this series fell flat for me. I didn’t event continue on after the second book. I also thought the fantasy/sci-fi crossover was interesting, but still, I didn’t carry on after the first book. We’ll see, maybe I’ll get back and finish it. This is not a flat-out “don’t read” it’s just a three-star series that will neither waste your time nor change your life.
Orson Scott Card must have something with child protagonists. I guess with “Ender’s Game” being his most famous and popular piece he decided to stick with what works? I’m just speculating. The Pathfinder series is an interesting fantasy/sci-fi crossover. I’ll classify this book as fantasy based on my own arbitrary designation. Whatever. On to the review. It’s a decent enough book, and while not quite in the young adult section, it’s not quite at the depth of other fantasy or sci-fi novels. The premise is interesting, and the pacing well enough to keep me interested enough to grab the second book.