Pastwatch

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Summary: who needs characters?
Review: I read this book a few months ago, and I admit I can't remember the names of most of the characters, and when I recall what I loved about this book it is THE PAST. O.S.C. tells reasonable stories about what may have happened, and each one changes how I think about the world. There are big ethical questions, and little hints of "what if". I really enjoyed this book. (If you read this, and want to read more history in your sci-fi, try Connie Willis)

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Summary: It kept selling and selling and selling...
Review: When this book first appeared at the bookstore I worked in, I was interested in it. Suddenly, we had sold out our few copies, and through some accident, we had reordered what my manager had thought was too many copies.
It was at this time that I read it, approaching it not as a fan of science fiction, but as a fan of history. I had never read Orson Scott Card before, and did not know what to expect. It is probably one of the best historical works ever written.
I say this, despite the fact that it is fiction. My reasoning is simple: Mr. Card makes you think about history; he lectures, yes, but he also forces you to look at history differently. He makes you THINK, which is all too rare in a work of fiction these days. The inclusion of a bibliography is remarkable, and it encouraged me as a student of history to study further.
As for the extra copies, I convinced my manager not to send them back. And sure enough...they kept selling and selling, a couple here, a couple there--and that is the greatest testament to a book's appeal, not the initial rush to purchase, but the continuing sales week in and week out. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, but with some trepidation, because I believe it will be nigh-impossible for Mr. Card to top this work.

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Summary: An obscure but brilliant and thought-provoking book
Review: Pastwatch is a stunning accomplishment. Part science fiction, part historical drama, it is a masterpiece that makes you think -- hard -- about the moral questions faced by the protagonists. The level of detail supplied about the historical period is nothing less than staggering, and is as enveloping as I have ever read. The dialogue is wonderful -- at times, I found myself saying, "Yes, yes, that's how people in that situation must have spoken back then." This book is a sleeper, but it is spreading. I keep running into people who have already read it and are urging their friends to read it immediately. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

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Summary: An Outstanding Work!
Review: OSC obviously put a lot of his own deep spirit into this book. It was well thought out, richly detailed and with vibrant characterization. He left no stone unturned in the intricacies of Cristopher Columbus' and the Old World history , as well as an eminently logical and totally fulfilling alternate history through our future's intervention. You must read this book! - Bob Meads

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Summary: We need more Pastwatch novels from Orson Scott Card
Review: I hope this is the beginning of a continuing series of Pastwatcvh books by OSC. As many others have commented, it starts out much slower than many of his other novels, but does pick up steam. There is some great writing here. Unlike others, I felt the characteristics of the people from the future were appropriate for them. And made the contrast with Columbus and the natives that much more pronounced. I am looking forward to Card's Pastwatch visits to Moses and Noah and ...well who knows?

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Summary: Gave up on it after 200 pages.
Review: This is my first (and probably only) Orson Scott Card novel, but I think he's bit off more than he can chew. To write about people who lived 500 years ago would take a lot of skill and knowledge--I was never convinced I was reading about Christopher Colombus (I think calling him "Colon" in the novel was Card's token effort for historical veracity) or Queen Isabella. But all of the characters, including the future scientists, are too transparently unidimensional, cardboard constructs who can be described in a sentence. This was simply too agonizing for me to get through.

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Summary: Card plays his hand differently
Review: As an Orson Scott Card fan I was pleasently surprised not to see another biography of a brilliant, world changing child (Ender series, Alvin Maker, Wyrms, etc). Card appears to be most enchanted with the idea of time travel as a force of good. Perhaps because of this, the characters of this book are not quite as compelling as his others. Nevertheless, it is still Orson Scott Card's work. His writing and storytelling abilites (even when not his best) are far better than the majority of current SF

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Summary: Simply EXCELLENT!!
Review: I have never liked SF, but this book was really marvellous! I enjoyed it from the first page, and there was no way I could put it aside until I had finished it. The story itself is intriguing, special, new and different, but what impresses me the most is the way it is written. Orson Scott Card uses a language which is simple, yet he manages to express all emotions and reasons in a most subtle and at the same time powerful way. This is a book I highly recommend!

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Summary: Nice but deceiving.
Review: I clearly expected much better from the writer of the Ender series. Everyone here is just is just so nice and cold and impersonal... I mean, Colombus is a hero, alright, and all the scientists from the future are nice and want to better mankind but doesn't it lack some personnality, some drama? I admit there are good ideas and the writing is, as always, quite good, but the plot just lacks strength. Almost on of those read-and-forget books. I'll probably try Children of the mind anyway and hope that i'll be surprised and entertained more than in Pastwatch

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Summary: [e-mail]
Review: If you're not a science fiction fan, this novel can become a hard task. If you can overcome the science fiction aspect and accept the outer boundaries of reality, this novel becomes intriguing. Card, takes history, as we know it and transforms it to create a new future. The advance technology the characters have at their disposal provides them with the power to act as "GOD". Their moral dilemmas become your own. Card, keeps your interest alert throughout; this face-paced, mind boggling novel.