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Earth Unaware (The First Formic War #1)
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 l...more
ebook, 304 pages
Published
July 17th 2012
by Tor
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Written as a prequel to the well-loved Ender's Game, Johnston's Earth Unaware tries to fill in some of the holes and unexplored history of the "Enderverse" and the first Formic War that led to Battle School, and Ender's adventures in vanquishing the "hormigas"/Formics. When this book works the most, it succeeds predominately on misplaced nostalgia for the earlier-published-but-later-in-the-chronology novels like Ender's Game, Xenophobe, Children of...more
Written as a prequel to the well-loved Ender's Game, Johnston's Earth Unaware tries to fill in some of the holes and unexplored history of the "Enderverse" and the first Formic War that led to Battle School, and Ender's adventures in vanquishing the "hormigas"/Formics. When this book works the most, it succeeds predominately on misplaced nostalgia for the earlier-published-but-later-in-the-chronology novels like Ender's Game, Xenophobe, Children of...more
Ender's Game is still one of my top 5 books of all time. While I didn't like the followup novels as much -- they didn't quite my satiate my reading tastes as much as Ender's Game -- I could still appreciate how well they were written. Earth Unaware, however, is a completely different beast. Seeing that the book was co-authored should have set alarm bells ringing in my head, but I was excited to read a new Card novel, so...
Earth Unaware is more of a series of short stories that are loosely tied...more
Earth Unaware is more of a series of short stories that are loosely tied...more
Oct 25, 2012
Unwisely
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012,
science-fiction
I didn't know this book existed until a coworker dropped it on my desk. I might have been happier then. I have read an awful lot of Orson Scott Card, starting in college when I came across Ender's Game in college and read it through in one sitting. (I did not sleep, I did not eat, I did not go to class, just read until I was finished. Luckily I'm a quick reader so it was a one day thing.)
I was skeptical about the Shadow books, but they were fine. So I was willing to give this one a shot.
It is *t...more
I was skeptical about the Shadow books, but they were fine. So I was willing to give this one a shot.
It is *t...more
Nov 19, 2012
Christina (A Reader of Fictions)
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audiobook,
dropped-series-graveyard
I've read Ender's Game two or three times, and I love it. Needless to say, the fact that it was getting a prequel series filled me with curiosity and trepidation in about equal measures. While finding out about first contact with the aliens could be interesting, Card could definitely much it all up with his asshole opinions. Turns out, though, that this was mostly neither. Card didn't assault me with a religious message, but this book also just was not that good.
The first chapters of Earth Unawa...more
The first chapters of Earth Unawa...more
1 like · like · see review
So many science issues it was distracting, either this book was written by the coaurhor with no real oversight by Card or I've lost a lot of respect for Card as an author.
The only other Orson Scott Card book I've ever read was Ender's Game. So I may not have the best background for determining if this was a good book or not. On the other hand, it may give the best background to determine if it was good.
Honestly, I liked Earth Unaware. It was full of intriguing plot-lines and characters, intense action sequences, and extremely interesting business models (space mining). Sure, it was a little far-fetched with ultra-intelligent teenagers inventing remarkably useful...more
Honestly, I liked Earth Unaware. It was full of intriguing plot-lines and characters, intense action sequences, and extremely interesting business models (space mining). Sure, it was a little far-fetched with ultra-intelligent teenagers inventing remarkably useful...more
As a huge fan of the Enderverse, I knew that I would like Earth Unaware. I was not aware (hah!) of how *much* I would like it- I found it gripping and nearly impossible to put down.
Like Michael Flynn's "Wreck of the River of Stars", there is no question how the Formica wars turn out: very, very badly for the humans. We know that from the basic premise of the universe. So knowing the doom that is coming could lend a funereal tone to the work, but in Card and Johnston's hands it does not. The char...more
Like Michael Flynn's "Wreck of the River of Stars", there is no question how the Formica wars turn out: very, very badly for the humans. We know that from the basic premise of the universe. So knowing the doom that is coming could lend a funereal tone to the work, but in Card and Johnston's hands it does not. The char...more
When I saw Aaron Johnston listed as co-author on this book, I was ready for it to be something of the general quality of Invasive Procedures - in other words, poor. Indeed, I nearly gave it up after the first few chapters because I didn't think I could handle 350 pages featuring a host of emotionally damaged, introspective characters plagued by dysfunctional family relationships - written by someone other than Card - just then. Having no other book on my "must read" list ready to hand, I stuck w...more
The problem with reading a prequel is that you know how things turn out. Yes, I know that sounds obvious but seriously when you're sitting there watching this story unfold and you see them develop the "glaser" which is clearly the precursor to the (view spoiler) or testing Mazer Rackham (who by the way has too much foreshadowing) you feel like screaming at the book (view spoiler)...more
I picked this book up because I had read part of Card’s Ender series, and I had always wondered how and why humanity, especially young children, ended up the way we did. With Earth Unaware, Card and Johnston tells us how it all began. Many humans live in outer space, mining planets and asteroids, and starting colonies. Large, extended families live on mining ships that go from place to place mining for metals, and it is on one of these ships that the coming invasion of Formics is spotted.
The plo...more
The plo...more
I didn't have high expectations going into Earth Unaware. It's a collaboration, and even though Orson Scott Card's name is plastered on the front it's a good bet that Aaron Johnston did most of the writing. I wasn't particularly fond of their last collaboration, Invasive Procedures, where it felt (to me) like someone else writing a book based on an Orson Scott Card idea. For that matter, I haven't been overwhelmed by the recent Enderverse books such as Shadows in Flight and Ender in Exile.
Well,...more
Well,...more
What a great listen! We got this book on audio for our road trip to Cincinnati. I spent the road trip listening to another book, but listened to this one when we got back while painting and packing the house in preparation to sell it. I think it was my Aunt Robin who first introduced my family to Ender's Gamewhen I was just a wee tot, and it has been one of my all-time favorites ever since. This book is the prequel to Ender's Game, and a very worthy prequel it is. There is still a lot of the sto...more
I don't know why OSC felt the need to have a coauthor for this book. I was curious to see if it felt any differently than his other books since this one has a coworker, but I thought it read just like the rest of the books in his Ender series (multiple main characters, each with their own chapter, skipping around between main characters, occasional cliffhanger chapter endings, new slang, scientific gobbledygook that makes things sound realistic).
I couldn't put it down. The worst part was knowing...more
I couldn't put it down. The worst part was knowing...more
Aug 13, 2012
Eric Herboso
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
soft-science-fiction
I went into this thinking I'd be reading the story of the elusive Mazer Rackham. Without giving anything away, let me say that this is much more than that.
As the first in a planned trilogy, I am a little upset that I can't yet read the sequels which have yet to come out, but this is actually a very good sign when it comes to how good a novel is. I'm extremely pumped by the story, even though (since it's a prequel) I technically know what's going to happen.
Note that there are some marvel comics a...more
As the first in a planned trilogy, I am a little upset that I can't yet read the sequels which have yet to come out, but this is actually a very good sign when it comes to how good a novel is. I'm extremely pumped by the story, even though (since it's a prequel) I technically know what's going to happen.
Note that there are some marvel comics a...more
Aug 10, 2012
Rich Kulesus
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Die-hard Ender's Game Fanatics
Earth Unaware is to Orson Scott Card what "Lady in the Water" was to M. Night Shyamalan - The latest disappointing tale in a descending career abruptly punctuated by explanatory paragraphs to beat you over the head with every concept since he couldn't work it in more craftily. Ender's Game was Card's brilliant supernova of a novel, which, Like Shyamalan's Unbreakable and The Sixth Sense, expertly twirled the reader's mind an incredible twist ending that left one pondering the meaning for days to...more
Last week, I finished the 13th (and latest as of last month) entry into Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" series. It's probably my least favorite of the series, but not because it's a poor story so much as there being so many unresolved threads. So, what, I have to spend the rest of my life reading books in the Ender Universe? Get on with it already!
This is the first prequel to the first novel and most probably not the last. It (eventually) will be an interesting telling of the events prior to t...more
This is the first prequel to the first novel and most probably not the last. It (eventually) will be an interesting telling of the events prior to t...more
Earth Unaware
The First Formic War
By Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
A Review by Eric Allen
More than twenty years ago, my father handed me a copy of Ender's Game. It is one of my favorite science fiction books, and I have read it so many times that I have lost count. I've read all of the books about what happens afterward, some of the novellas and short stories too. But the story that I REALLY wanted to read was the one about the wars with the Buggers, where humanity banded together to fight a...more
The First Formic War
By Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
A Review by Eric Allen
More than twenty years ago, my father handed me a copy of Ender's Game. It is one of my favorite science fiction books, and I have read it so many times that I have lost count. I've read all of the books about what happens afterward, some of the novellas and short stories too. But the story that I REALLY wanted to read was the one about the wars with the Buggers, where humanity banded together to fight a...more
1 like · like · see review
Earth Unaware: the First Formic War by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston is the first book that launches an Ender prequel trilogy. It covers the time directly before the Formics arrived in our solar system. For those of you who read comics, the Earth Unaware series is supposed to cover the material found in the Marvel Comics Formic War series.
The novel follows three different story lines but focuses mainly on the free mining families on the Venezuelan ship El Cavador, especially seventeen year...more
The novel follows three different story lines but focuses mainly on the free mining families on the Venezuelan ship El Cavador, especially seventeen year...more
Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johsnston
This book is a back story for Ender’s Game. If you have not read the Ender series, do so, you will not regret it. Victor is a mechanically talented young man in a mining clan thrust into the role of interstellar hero.
Card has the ability to create characters with utter realism. You may even think you have met some of his characters. Stretching the comparison, I was a small independent computer dealer in competition with corporate entities l...more
1 like · like · see review
I really wish you could give half stars here. I'd give it 3.5 - but on the low end. Not enough for me to bump this to a 4.
THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
As others have mentioned, I hate that this is the first of a trilogy because I want to know the rest ASAP. Even though I know the end, I like to read of how it all got there.
The events of this novel take place more than 70 years before "Ender's Game" - where Mazur Rickham is a noob in the New Zealand Special Forces (it makes me grin that...more
THERE ARE SOME SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
As others have mentioned, I hate that this is the first of a trilogy because I want to know the rest ASAP. Even though I know the end, I like to read of how it all got there.
The events of this novel take place more than 70 years before "Ender's Game" - where Mazur Rickham is a noob in the New Zealand Special Forces (it makes me grin that...more
What can you say when a book has all of the right components yet fails to work as well as it should?
Writing, once again, in the Enderverse, OSC attempts to go back and show the origins of the Formic war. It is important to note that this book is the beginning of a new series. It will not answer every question. It will not end with everything neatly tied up with a bow.
OSC really understands writing about people and motivations. Portraying internal dialogue that allows us to understand a charact...more
Writing, once again, in the Enderverse, OSC attempts to go back and show the origins of the Formic war. It is important to note that this book is the beginning of a new series. It will not answer every question. It will not end with everything neatly tied up with a bow.
OSC really understands writing about people and motivations. Portraying internal dialogue that allows us to understand a charact...more
Earth Unaware gets a solid 4 Stars as a SciFi YA adventure despite some minor distractions. This fills in the one big area missing in the Ender Saga, how it all began. We already know what the result of first contact is going to be but the story is exciting, nontheless. Several of the heroes are young kids thrust into critical positions. It's nice to read about youngsters who step up and take responsibility in critical situations. Distractions include a parallel story of a UN-style special force...more
As an Ender series fan, I was very excited when the prequel series exploring the First Invasion was announced. So far (this is only the first book of the trilogy), I am not disappointed, far from it.
Earth Unaware follows several characters from very different backgrounds, in particular Victor, a mechanic from a "free miner" family, born and raised on a spaceship; Lem Jukes, heir of the wealthiest and most powerful mining corporation, leading a research mission in space; and Wit, in charge of rec...more
Earth Unaware follows several characters from very different backgrounds, in particular Victor, a mechanic from a "free miner" family, born and raised on a spaceship; Lem Jukes, heir of the wealthiest and most powerful mining corporation, leading a research mission in space; and Wit, in charge of rec...more
Orson Scott Card is a dream author. He writes an amazing book that you adore, and he doesn't just stop there. He keeps writing about the characters you love and introduces you to even more characters you will come to love.
When Ender's Game began, there had already been two Formic wars and they were preparing for a third contact with the alien species. Earth Unaware goes back in time to before humans knew the buggers existed. It introduces several new characters and their first contact with the...more
When Ender's Game began, there had already been two Formic wars and they were preparing for a third contact with the alien species. Earth Unaware goes back in time to before humans knew the buggers existed. It introduces several new characters and their first contact with the...more
Before Ender Wiggin & before battle school comes the untold tale of the Formic Wars in this new prequel series to Enders Game. In "Earth Unaware", we meet Victor Delgado & his family aboard the ship El Cavador which is doing mining work in the Kuiper Belt. When an unknown object is discovered headed toward Earth, the questions begin to abound as to what exactly it is & how to deal with it. Around this area we meet the crews of other smaller ships that too are aware of this unidentifi...more
I think right out of the gate I am a little biased about this book. I've been reading Scott Card and his Enderverse for a looooong time now. And I've loved everything I've read. This book was no exception which I'm a little surprised at since I was a bit leery of the fact that it was co-authored.
Earth Unaware is a prequel to the widely acclaimed Ender's Game, the story that started the saga. Ender's Game starts off with the human race already in the midst of an interstellar war with a race we ha...more
Earth Unaware is a prequel to the widely acclaimed Ender's Game, the story that started the saga. Ender's Game starts off with the human race already in the midst of an interstellar war with a race we ha...more
This book is a real mess. This new series is the back story for the "Ender's Game" universe, and really it probably just should of been material left for the readers to imagine. It doesn't work as it's own story in any way and is unintelligible for anyone who hasn't read "Ender's Game" and/or "Speaker of the Dead." It even has a plot cul de sac with Mazer Rackham as if to say "Hey, yeah, this IS the Ender universe!" The secondary plot involved with Racham isn't even related tangentially to the m...more
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book so I can't say I'm surprised by it. Earth Unaware is backstory for all the rest of the Ender Universe. It's an engaging story with some likable characters. EU is not however a complete story. We'll have to wait for Earth Afire to see how it ends. The point of view changes from chapter to chapter, which to me made the read a little awkward. Card has created a solar system inhabited my miners (and some minors) that is reminiscent of Ben Bova.
Possible spo...more
Possible spo...more
So, I have a suspicion that much of the actual writing of this book was done by Mr. Johnson. He has some talent, but is certainly not at the level of OSC in writing fully cohesive and compelling entries into the Enderverse. My biggest complaint was that the story would periodically get bogged down inside a character’s thoughts on a specific topic for way too long. An example of this is right in the opening pages as we read Vico’s internal reaction to the news that Janda’s being sent off-ship bec...more
Although this is shelved in the adult section, as the pre-cursor to Ender's Game, a YA book, I put it in that category. The plot revolves around what happened in the beginning - when the first alien ship is noticed as a blip on the radar when a young person manning the Eye - the station that keeps track of possible debris and rock chunks that might damage them. She likes to look beyond the ecliptic, and sees, way out there, past the Kuiper Belt where they are mining, a shape, moving fast. So she...more
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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 Th...more
More about Orson Scott Card...
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 Th...more
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Those that simply read rev...more
updated Apr 07, 2013 12:42pm
That is so loving and open minded.
Apr 07, 2013 09:24am