Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Sci Fi Review: Earth Awakens (The First Formic War #3) by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

Earth Awakens (The First Formic War #3)
by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston


Description:
The story of The First Formic War continues in Earth Awakens.

Nearly 100 years before the events of Orson Scott Card's bestselling novel Ender's Game, humans were just beginning to step off Earth and out into the Solar System. A thin web of ships in both asteroid belts; a few stations; a corporate settlement on Luna. No one had seen any sign of other space-faring races; everyone expected that First Contact, if it came, would happen in the future, in the empty reaches between the stars. Then a young navigator on a distant mining ship saw something moving too fast, heading directly for our sun.

When the alien ship screamed through the solar system, it disrupted communications between the far-flung human mining ships and supply stations, and between them and Earth. So Earth and Luna were unaware that they had been invaded until the ship pulled into Earth orbit, and began landing terra-forming crews in China. Politics and pride slowed the response on Earth, and on Luna, corporate power struggles seemed more urgent than distant deaths. But there are a few men and women who see that if Earth doesn't wake up and pull together, the planet could be lost.


My Review:
Exciting and politically charged conclusion to The First Formic War.

Ok, what I liked most in this were the thrills and the acts of heroism in the face of impossible odds. Then add in the excellent narration, consistent with the first two books, and the believable characters. I even found a soft spot for Lem in this, though it was hard earned.

This book wraps up the war in a satisfying way, but sets up for a trilogy that does not yet exist, as far as I can tell. I must say, I will be thrilled when it does.

Overall, excellent book, but it does have its fair share of politics, some of which might pique at a reader’s sense of fairness, in a not so pleasant way.

Anyhow, I seriously did not want this to end, even as I was rooting for the home team. Highly recommended for fans of Orson Scott Card and especially his Ender’s Saga.

I borrowed the audiobook from the library.


About Orson Scott Card:

Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret.

Orson Scott Card Author Links:
www.hatrack.com
Twitter@orsonscottcard
Goodreads


About Aaron Johnston:

Aaron Johnston
Aaron Johnston is a New York Times bestselling author, comics writer, and film producer. He cowrote the novels Invasive Procedures, Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, Earth Awakens, and the other forthcoming Formic Wars novels with science-fiction legend Orson Scott Card.
He was also an associate producer on the movie Ender’s Game, wherein he makes a cameo appearance as an officer of the International Fleet. Blink and you’ll miss him.
Aaron’s comic credits include Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, Formic Wars, League War, and Mazer in Prison, all for Marvel. His screenplay adaptations include Alvin Maker, Sarah: Woman of Genesis, The Multiple Man, Feed the Baby of Love, and others. His play Lifeloop, an adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s short story, was featured at Western Illinois University. A longtime stage improviser, Aaron is a former member of LA’s Improv Factory, Santa Clarita Improv, and the Garrens Comedy Troupe. He and his wife are the parents of four children.

Aaron Johnston Author Links:
http://www.aaronwjohnston.com/
http://www.twitter.com/AaronWJohnston
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55830.Aaron_Johnston

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