Free Pathfinder (Pathfinder Series) Ebooks To Download
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.
Series: Pathfinder Series (Book 1)
Audio CD
Publisher: Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1455847852
ISBN-13: 978-1455847853
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.8 x 5.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (425 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #2,266,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #20 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Card, Orson Scott #766 in Books > Books on CD > Children's Fiction > Fantasy #1192 in Books > Books on CD > Children's Fiction > General
Age Range: 12 - 17 years
Grade Level: 10 - 12
First things first: this book is being marketed as a young adult fantasy novel. It is no such thing, though I see no reason why any young adult would not enjoy the book. PATHFINDER is science fiction, though at first glance it does appear to be a fantasy story. Orson Scott Card has a dual mastery of both the science fiction and fantasy genres--few authors can bring worlds to life like Card can, and it speaks to his strength as a storyteller that through the very different mechanics of worldbuilding in the two genres, he never struggles. You will find all the things in this novel that you find in many of Card's best books: a prodigy of a child hero, Rigg, too smart for his age; political intrigue with Rigg in the thick of it; heavy theoretical and philosophical conversations between characters, etc. The conversations in PATHFINDER often deal with the nature of time travel as it is possible in the realm of the story. Indeed, if the Shadow series was Card's political science series, the Ender series his first contact saga, or the Alvin Maker series his fantastic alternate history series, then this book begins his "time travel" series.And boy does Card do time travel well. Slow to start, the world of this book envelopes you through its 600-some odd pages. I finished it three days ago, and my first reaction was, "Well, that wasn't Card's best work. But not a bad story at all." My brain has not left the wallfold, however, and my imagination continues to be captivated by the story of PATHFINDER. I absolutely cannot wait for the rest of this series to be released. It has been a very long time since I have been as excited about new work from Mr. Card as I am for the continuation of this series. PATHFINDER will grow on you, if you do not fall in love with it immediately.
I went into Pathfinder as a relative OSC novice. After having read Ender's Game just recently, I was excited to hear that a new Card book was coming out! It certainly did not disappoint. This is a complex look at the tried and true sci fi theme of time travel and time manipulation. We meet Rigg, a young boy who has recently lost the man he has always known as his father and is now off on a quest to discover his heritage. Along the way he picks up Umbo and Loaf, and together they head off to discover the secrets of Rigg's inheritance and his strange ability. At the beginning of each chapter, we also meet Ram, the only human astronaut awake aboard a ship full of sleeping humans off to colonize a new world. I must admit that I didn't figure out exactly how these two stories connected until about 200 pages in when a light bulb went off and I finally began to see some connections. These are all great characters and the author does quite a bit of world building by just letting us in on what is going on in their heads.Rigg's relationship with his father and his then masterful handling of the political intrigue that he finds himself immersed in are a shining testament to the power of not merely education, but an education in critical thinking. Reading the character of Rigg is highly entertaining. His verbal sparring with bankers, politicians, and even his friends is so incredibly well written, it turns a book that is essentially driven by a scientific concept into a compelling page turner that I did not want to put down.This is an adventure tale told in a fashion that will be a bit subtler than some teens are used to. There's plenty of excitement, interesting science concepts to ponder, and memorable moments to keep any sci fi fan reading away.
Let me begin by saying that I am a huge Orson Scott Card (OSC) fan. I think OSC's work is as good as it gets when it comes to exploring ethical dilemmas and character development in the context of a hugely entertaining story.By OSC's lofty standards, Pathfinder is pretty pedestrian and would probably deserve about three stars. However, if it is placed in the context of the work produced by the best active 20 SF writers, I think it deserves a solid four stars.Pathfinder is aimed at a young audience. The sentence structures used in the first couple of chapters have been simplified. I can't comment on whether this carried forward throughout the book, since I became more engrossed in the story and stopped paying attention to the grammar. On the other hand, the vocabulary didn't seem to be restricted.Some other reviewers have complained the book and/or the way time travel operated was so complicated as to detracted from the story. I did not find this to be the case. The way in which time travel paradoxes are resolved is not any more complicated than any other SF novel that features time travel and attempts to resolve those paradoxes. I also didn't find the way the two plot lines came together to be especially obscure. I thought it was pretty clear how they related to each other about 10-15% of the way into the book.The good (in no particular order):Pathfinder is an entertaining story. It is aimed at a juvenile audience but I would also recommend it for adults.Character development is good by most standards but falls short of other OSC work.There is some exploration of ethical dilemmas and human motivation (more below).
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