In one of the most powerful and thought-provoking novels of his remarkable career, Orson Scott Card interweaves a compelling portrait of Christophe...
read full description
reviews
Mar 16, 2008
Hugh
rated it: 
This is a well-written work of science fiction, as are all of Card's works. Like his Rachel and Leah, however, the characters of this book who pretend to be historical are not very accurate. I enjoy good fiction and exciting narratives. I dislike fiction masquerading as history or a work such as this blurring the lines between history and fiction so thoroughly that it is impossible to see where the imagination ends and facts begin.
The idea that the voyage of Columbus changed the en More...
The idea that the voyage of Columbus changed the en More...
3 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
May 26, 2008
Bruce
rated it: 
This was recommended to me by a friend. It is an alternative history book rather than what I'd call a sci-fi book and I'm not really an alternative history fan. Pastwatch is an organization that does what it says. Via special machines Pastwatch personnel are able to tap into the past and watch history. One day one of the workers discovers that it may be possible to interact with the past and thus change the past (and everything in the future that follows from that change). It is later disco
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Apr 13, 2009
Ellen
rated it: 
Great, great book. I've mentioned recently in reviews that I've read some time travel books people have recommended as "as good as Connie Willis" and they never turn out to be; this is the only other book I can think of that I put on the same level as Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog (though I read it first, so really, it was more like reading Doomsday Book and thinking it was as good as Pastwatch). Highly recommended.
2 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Apr 10, 2008
Rhyd
rated it: 
No one can begrudge Card for using Sci-Fi as a field for propaganda: the medium itself (world-creation/world-defining) by nature almost requires it.
But unless you're rather fond of the idea that mormon "family values" are somehow universal, and extend throughout the whole history of humanity, than you might not go for this book.
I didn't.
If you're the sort who watches the history channel and finds it profound, somehow missing the propaganda with More...
But unless you're rather fond of the idea that mormon "family values" are somehow universal, and extend throughout the whole history of humanity, than you might not go for this book.
I didn't.
If you're the sort who watches the history channel and finds it profound, somehow missing the propaganda with More...
12 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
May 22, 2008
Regina
rated it:
Loved it!!! I LOVE time-travel/historical fiction/alternate reality stories. I am also in love with books that can broaden my horizons, tell a compelling story, and have great writing. This definitely fit the bill. It is well written, had a great plot, the characters were interesting, and it was thought provoking.
My love of this genre started for me with "the Magic Tunnel" where children travel back to 1664, when New York was New Amsterdam. I also loved "The Devil More...
My love of this genre started for me with "the Magic Tunnel" where children travel back to 1664, when New York was New Amsterdam. I also loved "The Devil More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 19, 2011
Josiah
rated it:
Such a headtrip for history buffs, this story invovles time travel, social culpability for genocide, archaeology, and more!
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 12, 2012
John
rated it:
Orson Scott Card can really tell a story, this much is certain. The book clips along and some of the ancient past segments are quite good. But this book is the epitome of white guilt hand-wringing, and is an unfortunate byproduct of the mid-1990s politically correct/historical revisionist movement. Its PC agenda and sympathies are so over-the-top, it is nauseating.
If you really like this book, and think "Oh, if only we could really do something like this," then I recommend More...
If you really like this book, and think "Oh, if only we could really do something like this," then I recommend More...
Feb 08, 2012
Maria
rated it: 
I almost gave this book 3 stars but that would have been in comparison to other Card novels. Comparing it to the books I read it deserves 4 stars.
I enjoyed the story and after awhile I couldn't put it down. Because most of the novel is preparation and only the very end deals with what the characters were trying to do it is a unique story. I can see how it might feel like the novel takes forever to get going, I even felt that way a few times. However, I think the preparation was More...
I enjoyed the story and after awhile I couldn't put it down. Because most of the novel is preparation and only the very end deals with what the characters were trying to do it is a unique story. I can see how it might feel like the novel takes forever to get going, I even felt that way a few times. However, I think the preparation was More...
Oct 10, 2011
Gill
rated it:
“I guess every writer who considers writing fiction occasionally has the experience of running across a book whose plot is one he was working on himself, thinking it an original idea.
I have had an idea for a SF novel very much along the lines of Pastwatch for at least 10 years. I never had the drive to bring the idea to life, just some sketches and development ideas. So I was shocked when I read Pastwatch. I realized how much of what we think is our own idea is just floating out there More...
I have had an idea for a SF novel very much along the lines of Pastwatch for at least 10 years. I never had the drive to bring the idea to life, just some sketches and development ideas. So I was shocked when I read Pastwatch. I realized how much of what we think is our own idea is just floating out there More...
Jan 26, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
I'm a big fan of Orson Scott Card. His books show that he has one of the most imaginative minds out there. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus is no different.
It starts out with a small prologue, that explains how the world has ended up in the not so distant future. We learn that many species and many humans have been wiped out but despite this, humanity has taken a turn. It has become, while not Utopian, a more understanding society, interested in learning from mistakes. More...
It starts out with a small prologue, that explains how the world has ended up in the not so distant future. We learn that many species and many humans have been wiped out but despite this, humanity has taken a turn. It has become, while not Utopian, a more understanding society, interested in learning from mistakes. More...
Oct 16, 2010
Jason
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 13, 2010
Katie
rated it:
As usual, Card writes compelling, page-turning fiction. In this case, we are dealing with the rather heady concept of time travel. Specifically, how to slightly affect the past to obliterate the existing future and create a desired new future.
Only two criticisms of an otherwise excellent book:
1) There is basically no action in this book. None. Nearly the entire story consists of people thinking about things or discussing things. Even so, the fact that Card was able to w More...
Only two criticisms of an otherwise excellent book:
1) There is basically no action in this book. None. Nearly the entire story consists of people thinking about things or discussing things. Even so, the fact that Card was able to w More...
Jul 02, 2010
John
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 25, 2010
Lady
rated it:
Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, and this book really cemented his reputation as a master of Science Fiction, in my opinion.
Pastwatch is an organization in the future that has discovered the technology to be able to watch every second of every day ever lived in the history of the world. Many people who work for Pastwatch have their own projects. While researching slavery, it is discovered that someone has previously sent future things into the past so as to change the More...
Pastwatch is an organization in the future that has discovered the technology to be able to watch every second of every day ever lived in the history of the world. Many people who work for Pastwatch have their own projects. While researching slavery, it is discovered that someone has previously sent future things into the past so as to change the More...
Apr 11, 2010
Beth
rated it:
This is an idea book, not a character book. In this book, Card is exploring the idea that a group of people would deliberately go back in time to alter events in such a way that human history would work out "better." The height of hubris, definitely, for any group of mortals to think they could predict future events accurately enough to know what to "improve." I think that Card is right that humanity would have to be in the brink of extinction before they would permit such an
More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 09, 2009
Jake
rated it:
This is only the second Orson Scott Card book I’ve read. When it comes to sci-fi, I’m an Arthur C. Clarke fan all the way, and don’t dabble in much else. As with Ender’s Game I came to Pastwatch via a friend’s recommendation. She had others of Card’s books she liked more, but I opted to try this one because of the subject material. I was curious to see how Card would depict Columbus, a prominent figure in Card’s (and my) native culture of Mormonism.
In short, I didn’t find the book More...
In short, I didn’t find the book More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 21, 2009
Wendy
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Feb 13, 2010
Claude
rated it:
Recommended by Jocelyn and Joje. It's a science-fiction, utopian novel as well as a thoughtful and well-researched reflection on History and its twists, a moral tale filled with lovely, compassionate and clever characters. At some point in my reading, I thought that the story was lacking a major villain (there is a minor one) to make the plot even more exciting and a little less heavy on the politically correct, but this may have been my wicked mind speaking. In the end, I came to realize that a
More...
Aug 12, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
I read this on the suggestion of a friend and would never have touched it otherwise. The idea of Pastwatch, an organization able to review and later intervene in the events of the past is a pretty cool concept, and the resulting philosophical debate over time travel fairly engaging.
As for the focus on Christopher Columbus, it was a struggle to care about what was going on for the first half of the book. Card draws you into CC's origins, motivations and triumphs, clearly trying to pu More...
As for the focus on Christopher Columbus, it was a struggle to care about what was going on for the first half of the book. Card draws you into CC's origins, motivations and triumphs, clearly trying to pu More...
Jan 07, 2010
Katie
rated it:
This book starts out with people from the future gaining new technology to see into the past. The people who watch the past are called the Watchers, and study history. Then as new technology arises, there is a question of whether or not the watchers can actually alter history. The Watchers work on The Columbus project to study whether or not changing history during Columbus's time would have made the world a better place in the future. They study to see if they could have avoided so much sla
More...
Sep 11, 2010
Celeste
rated it:
With Orson Scott Card It can go either way with me, some of his books I love and some of them I hate. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus ranks with the "hate it" category. It was very interesting in the beginning, then started to turn weird, and ended down right disturbing. Basically, the premise is that Christopher Columbus, and Europeans in general, were the cause of all the heartache in the world, most importantly slavery.
It is also written from a non-Chri More...
It is also written from a non-Chri More...
Mar 21, 2009
Brandan
rated it:
This book is a fascinating read. If you liked Cryptonomicon you will like this. This is a view into a future civilization that has perfected the ability to look back over history, following individuals and analyzing their decisions. It plays with the concept of the possibility of changing a moment in time and perfecting their own timeline.
Unlike other time travel books this one doesn't gloss over or sugar coat the decision to change the past. The decision is hard but it is made for, More...
Unlike other time travel books this one doesn't gloss over or sugar coat the decision to change the past. The decision is hard but it is made for, More...
Sep 09, 2010
Stacie
rated it:
I honestly had no idea what this book was about before I read it. I even considered not reading it, but finished my other book before I could check another one out from the library. I'm so glad I read it. I've always been an 'Ender's Game' fan, but Orson Scott Card has never wowed me since then. This book definitely wowed me. It didn't 'Ender's Game' wow, but it definitely came close. I love it when a science fiction author can create something that I could really see as happening. It brings a n
More...
Feb 01, 2011
Darell
rated it:
One thing that I'll always like about Card: he's mentally stable, unlike many other sci-fi writers.
You take time travel, historical fiction, characters hopeful of eradicating darker spots in the history of man, and combine them all into a 400+ page book. This is Pastwatch, the Redemption of Christopher Columbus. Card takes the time to work out the historical details best he can, and the characters react to this alternate timeline in a mostly believable manner. To Card's credit thoug More...
You take time travel, historical fiction, characters hopeful of eradicating darker spots in the history of man, and combine them all into a 400+ page book. This is Pastwatch, the Redemption of Christopher Columbus. Card takes the time to work out the historical details best he can, and the characters react to this alternate timeline in a mostly believable manner. To Card's credit thoug More...
Nov 28, 2010
Steven
rated it:
Pastwatch is an incredible read. If you enjoy Scifi (at all) or history (at all) you ought to read this. And I do mean AT ALL. It's not dense, or incredibly technical- but rather fun, and interesting. And I PROMISE- you'll come away with a different perspective on history.
Card is a Christian, and his perspective on Columbus is incredible. Rather than being an apologist, or an advocate, he contextualizes Columbus; but Card is REALLY good at tricking us. I used to hate his O. Henry aspi More...
Card is a Christian, and his perspective on Columbus is incredible. Rather than being an apologist, or an advocate, he contextualizes Columbus; but Card is REALLY good at tricking us. I used to hate his O. Henry aspi More...
Apr 02, 2010
Bjoern
rated it:
The idea behind this book is absolutely fascinating! Future historians have learned to use a time machine for watching how the actual deeds were done and follow the traces of developments throughout the millenia...
e.g. one of them finds out WHO the historical figure behind "Noah" was and when and where he lived... just by watching the place he thinks of as the most plausible for a great flood.
Another scientist discovers that there must have been a large scale intervention i More...
e.g. one of them finds out WHO the historical figure behind "Noah" was and when and where he lived... just by watching the place he thinks of as the most plausible for a great flood.
Another scientist discovers that there must have been a large scale intervention i More...
Mar 21, 2011
Steven
rated it:
I listened to this book on CD in my car as I drove to work, etc. I found that I wanted to keep driving around and sitting in the driveway or parking lots to hear more of the story. This is a thoroughly engaging work, but a little different than the typical alternate histories in Sci-Fi. This alternate history comes about within the story as the staff at "Pastwatch," use machines first to study the past, and then in an unprecedented move seek to travel back to the past to change the cou
More...
Jan 10, 2009
Nickie
rated it:
Why this book for an American History class? I think there are so many good reasons I don't even now them all. I get the feeling it's intended to sort of set a stage to show me that what is written and what has really happened is based upon the author and reader perceptions.
I would never want to live in a time where it was possible to go back in time and change history, although I can't be completely sure of that. It would to nice to have the ending of this book occur and no slavery More...
I would never want to live in a time where it was possible to go back in time and change history, although I can't be completely sure of that. It would to nice to have the ending of this book occur and no slavery More...
Feb 11, 2012
Liz
rated it:
It started out Sooooooo sloooooowwww. Trying to remember characters, family lines, etc. Whew! I almost quit reading it! I didn't because I knew my husband would give me such a hard time about it since he loved the book so much. So I kept plugging away... and WOW!!! It was AMAZING!!! One of those books that really makes you think about the question, "If you could go back in time and change one thing.... what would it be?". If you are reading this or thinking about reading this:
More...
Aug 20, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
Been at least a year since I last read this, but none-the-less I think it is a fascinating book from all perspectives. And that's exactly what it is - a book all about perspective. Consider if you existed in the future, and the world was dying. There was nothing you could do about it - past generations have caused too much damage. But you discover you have the ability to touch and affect the past. Would you trade your existence to change one pivotal moment in history? How do you determine
More...
