Rating: 
Summary: Good, but...
Review: This is a very good book. I thoroughly enjoyed it--but I still had problems with it. First of all, I really had a hard time swallowing the idea that an entire people would VOTE to wipe themselves from existence. And even if the majority agreed, is it really okay to force that decision on everyone else? This seems like a major logical leap, even if it is necessary to get the story going. My second problem was with the portayal of Columbus--let's not beat around the bush: historically, he was a brutal, power-hungry thug. This seems to be implying that he was really quite a swell guy, if only circumstances had been different. These problems annoyed me, but I still liked the book. It's well written and entertaining as hell. Well worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT, not-so-science-fiction-y science fiction work
Review: First off, I LOVED IT!! This book was reccomended by my dad and I wasn't too excited about it, but you know, I had a little free time and I figured, hey, right? So I read it. And I read it. I couldn't put it down. The premise of the book is that These futuristic people have invented a machine that can look back at the past. So, it delves into the life of Christopher Columbus as one of the lives they watch. I personally was more interested with the lives of the futuristic people, but I found the entire book well-researched, well-thought out and inspiring. I can't wait to get the next Card novel!!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, speculative, wish it could happen
Review: OSC writes a tale of man's inhumanity to man and in the end creates a triumpant story that gives us jaded modern-day people something worthwhile to think about. If only we could repair the more horendous rips in our social fabric!
Rating:
Summary: A book that lasted in my thoughts long after I put it down.
Review: I think this book is one of my top 5 favorite books of all time. I've actually read this book several times already. Sometimes while reading I had to put the book down and just THINK about the issues being discussed. Really, a very good read.
Rating:
Summary: What a great book!
Review: This just might have been my favorite OSC book! I do agree that the characters are not as memorable as those in Ender's Game, but the story line is unbelieveable. This book got progressively better with each page. The timetravel dilemas in this book go way beyond your average Michael J Fox problems. A well written story altogether. Don't pass this one up!
Rating:
Summary: buy it in hardback
Review: This book is a classic in waiting. Buy it in hardback to give to your grandchildren.Easily one of the best 10 books I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Not as great as The Ender's Game, but still *is* good
Review: I liked it. OSC tends to become a bit sleazy at times, but that's alright, as the book is very well organized and the story really draws your attention. Among defitiencies are, as said, sleaziness and too much of the "moral dilemma" things (but that is his usual thing -- that is what the wholy Ender series is about -- hope ther would not be the follow-ups to Pastwatch). His characters tend to be overly "clean" and unnaturally solid. But this does not kill the story, maybe even makes it more interesting. Still, the original Ender *is* better, but for those who lost hope in OSC after reading the Xenocide or whatever-is-the-last Ender story, this is a good one to revive it.
Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Blend of Fantasy and Historical Fiction
Review: I'm not really much of a fan of science fiction (I've only ever read one other sci fi novel and that's Lewis Shiner's "Glimpses," which is nothing like this) but I picked up this book because Orson Scott Card is a well respected cult figure, I found it on sale and the title sounded really interesting. Plus, despite my normal aversion towards sci-fi, I always like time travel stories (probably due to watching "Back to the Future" over and over when I was a kid) and I liked the way that was used in here. The first half of the book mostly has the characters observing the past through thier TruSite machines which is intercut with segments from Christopher Columbus' own life. One of the things that I liked about the book was how Card made Columbus into a sympathetic human character instead of just treating him as a heroic figure. This book is actually a far better study of Columbus than either of the two critcally panned 1992 biopics "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" and "1492: Conquest of Paradise." At times, though, I found the writing, especially here in the first part of the novel, to be a bit too heavy handed and complex. There are a few segments where Card gets way too bogged down in detail and this slowed me down considerably during the midsection of the book. The second half of the novel, though, is fast paced and entertaining as three of the characters actually travel back in time to try and change the course of history. Here we get even more insights into the life of Columbus and although the whole "time traveller from the future is thought to be a God" is a bit of a sci-fi cliche, it is handled very well here. So while I still haven't exactly been converted to a hardcore science fiction fan, I would reccomend this book to fans of fantasy, historical fiction and anyone who is interested in the subject of Columbus.
Rating: 
Summary: Not my type of book
Review: I bought this book for my father (who loves OSC's works), and, after finishing it, he told me to read it. I shortly found that it was not my type of book. However, I could also quickly tell that this book could be loved by some people. Problem is, nothing happened. Boring to the extreme. I lasted to page 100...
Rating:
Summary: Great weave of history and sci-fi!
Review: I see most of the reviews are positive but the couple that aren't mention the same thing - lack of antagonistic characters. Last I checked, there were more choices than man vs man in great literature. There is also man vs nature and that is what this is all about. Nature is personified as "the past" and it is up to the protagonists to conquer nature and change the future. One of Card's best, this one really left me pondering over the possible outcomes and paradoxes.
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