Another Orson Scott Card book. Ah, the wonder. Because of the Ender's Game series, I am a major fan of his books. Because of that series, I have begun to love the amazing world of science fiction where almost anything one can dream of is possible. Since reading Ender's Game, I've been reading much more science fiction than I ever cared to do in the past.
Once again a result of my endless time surfing through the library books. I have to say that even though it's a highly inefficient method of finding interesting books, it works nearly 85% of the time.
The cover-
Rigg can see the paths of the people around him. Like little colored areas in front of him, he can trace how a person traveled from place to place. Even animals have their own paths which he can see and use.
After a big misunderstanding between a friend over the death of a loved one, two unlikely companions find themselves on a journey to the ancient city of Aressa Sessamo to find Rigg's sister and secure the throne for him.
However things are not as simple as they seem. The city is divided into those who want Rigg to rule and those who want him dead. In fact, when his great grandmother Aptica Sessaminka was queen, she wanted every male member of the Sessamoto family killed. Even when little babies were born, they were slaughtered for the crime of being male. In this new place in a foreign city, Rigg must not trust anyone, being supported by those who want him crowned and constantly hunted by those who want him dead.
Life just becomes a battle to survive to see the next day for him as he thwarts the queen's evil plans and saves his sister to regroup with his true allies, an inkeeper named Loaf and a boy named Umbo who can shift time. The four of them, aided by a scholar who personally knew Rigg's father try to escape their only home before the queen and her Army commander get to them first.
My thoughts-
It's an extremely long book and a thing that should be read in chunks. Obviously the size shows that reading it will take a while. It took me about two and a half weeks. I often wonder how long it took to write a book like that.
The beginning is a little boring and the first two hundred or so pages seem to drag on forever. What really made it so slow was Umbo's initial mistrust for Rigg after seeing him "kill" his younger brother Kyokay. Rigg tries to reason with him multiple times that Kyokay's death was bound to happen. That boy was so adventurous that eventually it was going to kill him. It was as simple as that. But Umbo insisted that Rigg murdered him, leading a mob with his father Tegay to storm down the door to Rigg's house so he could be killed.
After this, it takes a while for them to form a bond that could be considered friendship. When the fighting in the beginning is over, the plot is very speculative and one can finally realize what makes up a society and what can so easily tear it into pieces. I like how both Rigg and Olivenko keep making good points with Param always confused and Loaf and Umbo bickering all the time. It added a bit of humor to the rather serious plot and the real danger they were being put in.
To me, Rigg and Olivenko show that the brightest of scholars can come from the most unusual of places. Param shows that the status that someone was born into does not necessarily secure a comfortable life. Loaf and Umbo show that even those who work for their bread can achieve as high of a status as the royals in their opinions.
The first book is sort of a lead-in to the rest of the series, and now looking back and trying to explain it, it's impossible without giving the end away. But as something to look for that I really enjoyed, all the answers to the questions are given right at the end of the book. Soon they figure everything out and can continue with their quest.
What seems right by the theories the characters have come up with at the end of the first book seems completely nonsensical by the time their ideas change at the end of the second book. So nothing is ever clearly right or wrong. To put it in analogy, it's like a tunnel that forks into a left and right passageway. If they go one way, they will be eaten up by a monster and if they go the other way, they will get to go through the path to freedom. What's so interesting about this book is that, in case they pick the wrong turn and are faced with the monster, Rigg and Umbo can just pop their crew back in time so that they can try the other path and get out, leaving the previous version of themselves to be swallowed by the monster. Except they also have multiple rules to be followed, like how they must not their previous selves see them and other things.
Movie Rating- PG-13 for violence, brief bouts of strong language, some disturbing scenes
((I highly recommend reading the sequel. It deepens the mystery even more, adding a new problem to the arsenal of them. Look for Ruins, book two in the Pathfinder series. And once that's finished, the third and final book, Visitors will end the story.))
Once again a result of my endless time surfing through the library books. I have to say that even though it's a highly inefficient method of finding interesting books, it works nearly 85% of the time.
The cover-
Rigg can see the paths of the people around him. Like little colored areas in front of him, he can trace how a person traveled from place to place. Even animals have their own paths which he can see and use.
After a big misunderstanding between a friend over the death of a loved one, two unlikely companions find themselves on a journey to the ancient city of Aressa Sessamo to find Rigg's sister and secure the throne for him.
However things are not as simple as they seem. The city is divided into those who want Rigg to rule and those who want him dead. In fact, when his great grandmother Aptica Sessaminka was queen, she wanted every male member of the Sessamoto family killed. Even when little babies were born, they were slaughtered for the crime of being male. In this new place in a foreign city, Rigg must not trust anyone, being supported by those who want him crowned and constantly hunted by those who want him dead.
Life just becomes a battle to survive to see the next day for him as he thwarts the queen's evil plans and saves his sister to regroup with his true allies, an inkeeper named Loaf and a boy named Umbo who can shift time. The four of them, aided by a scholar who personally knew Rigg's father try to escape their only home before the queen and her Army commander get to them first.
My thoughts-
It's an extremely long book and a thing that should be read in chunks. Obviously the size shows that reading it will take a while. It took me about two and a half weeks. I often wonder how long it took to write a book like that.
The beginning is a little boring and the first two hundred or so pages seem to drag on forever. What really made it so slow was Umbo's initial mistrust for Rigg after seeing him "kill" his younger brother Kyokay. Rigg tries to reason with him multiple times that Kyokay's death was bound to happen. That boy was so adventurous that eventually it was going to kill him. It was as simple as that. But Umbo insisted that Rigg murdered him, leading a mob with his father Tegay to storm down the door to Rigg's house so he could be killed.
After this, it takes a while for them to form a bond that could be considered friendship. When the fighting in the beginning is over, the plot is very speculative and one can finally realize what makes up a society and what can so easily tear it into pieces. I like how both Rigg and Olivenko keep making good points with Param always confused and Loaf and Umbo bickering all the time. It added a bit of humor to the rather serious plot and the real danger they were being put in.
To me, Rigg and Olivenko show that the brightest of scholars can come from the most unusual of places. Param shows that the status that someone was born into does not necessarily secure a comfortable life. Loaf and Umbo show that even those who work for their bread can achieve as high of a status as the royals in their opinions.
The first book is sort of a lead-in to the rest of the series, and now looking back and trying to explain it, it's impossible without giving the end away. But as something to look for that I really enjoyed, all the answers to the questions are given right at the end of the book. Soon they figure everything out and can continue with their quest.
What seems right by the theories the characters have come up with at the end of the first book seems completely nonsensical by the time their ideas change at the end of the second book. So nothing is ever clearly right or wrong. To put it in analogy, it's like a tunnel that forks into a left and right passageway. If they go one way, they will be eaten up by a monster and if they go the other way, they will get to go through the path to freedom. What's so interesting about this book is that, in case they pick the wrong turn and are faced with the monster, Rigg and Umbo can just pop their crew back in time so that they can try the other path and get out, leaving the previous version of themselves to be swallowed by the monster. Except they also have multiple rules to be followed, like how they must not their previous selves see them and other things.
Movie Rating- PG-13 for violence, brief bouts of strong language, some disturbing scenes
((I highly recommend reading the sequel. It deepens the mystery even more, adding a new problem to the arsenal of them. Look for Ruins, book two in the Pathfinder series. And once that's finished, the third and final book, Visitors will end the story.))
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