Earth Unaware Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B008M21BWO | Format: PDF
Earth Unaware Description
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.
El Cavador has other problems. Their systems are old and failing. The family is getting too big for the ship. There are claim-jumping corporate ships 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. The first Formic War is about to begin.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 13 hours and 59 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Macmillan Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: July 17, 2012
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B008M21BWO
Earth Unaware really reads like a stripped down action book which has more to do with its comic book roots than with its relation the larger Ender Universe, with its rich and complex layers of worlds and characters, of cultural and philosophical insight.
The book lacks the depth of the rest of the Ender's series and the parallel Shadow series. The world of the asteroid mining culture is fairly well developed, but could benefit by more depth. The culture of earth hardly makes an appearance at all. The story falls short of creating the backstory world the gave rise to Ender and his life. There is actually one character in this story who appears in the Ender's Game series, but he is given a very peripheral treatment. One key element of technology is also introduced. The formics are here, of course, but we learn nothing new.
The parenthetical subtitle, "First Formic War," creates an expectation that is never fulfilled. That's all I'll say about the ending. This was a squandered opportunity to provide us with a deep, rich view of the world where Andrew Wiggin grew up. Where are the insightful commentaries on human nature and society? None of the characters have the complexity of the Wiggins Family or Bean.
The overall structure of the book is difficult to follow. Each of the first three chapters is about a totally different set of characters in different worlds, and the book bounces among them with little natural transition. Of course this is a technique that Card uses in his longer books, but here in this shorter story I found it jarring. Two threads are connected about 2/3 of the way through the book, and the other thread finally comes into juxtaposition , but never fully connects.
Earth Unaware Preview
Link
Please Wait...