Pathfinder

What's got an interesting beginning, slow, but occasionally exciting middle, and an amazing, cliff hanger end? That would be Pathfinder, a science- fiction, by Orson Scott Card, all about some kid named Rigg.

Rigg is a young boy that works with his father, trapping animals for their pelts. But, as most main characters in books, Rigg is special. He can see anywhere anyone has been. He sees the path that they took, hence the title "Pathfinder". All of Rigg's life, he has used his ability to find animals, so he can take their fur. But, when his father gets smooshed under a tree and dies, everything changes.

The last instructions from Riggs dad is to go find his sister, that he's never seen, or even knew existed. On his way, he gets accused of being the long lost prince. That would be absolutely terrific, if it weren't for a few let downs, such as:

1) The Royals don't rule anymore. Ever since the revolution, the people have taken over, and the Royals can't own anything, and are only alive to be mocked. Sounds like a blast.

2) The male line of Royals is not allowed to rule. Only the female line can. So they tend to kill of the male line. Even if the people in charge of this decision say he should live, so many people are going to want him dead. Lovely.

3) This long lost prince is supposed to be dead. They've thought him dead for a long time. That will be a fun situation to be in.

So being this prince is actually kind of a bad thing, unless you're extremely fond of the idea of a one way road to death. Apparently Rigg isn't too fond of death, so he wants to find a way to get out of this royal pain. But, in his little adventure, his world is turned around.

In Riggs seemingly normal world, you learn the importance of learning, and discovery. You can also see the possibility that your world may not be what it seems. The only way to figure it out is to look yourself, not just listen to other people and their theories. In Riggs world, there are other worlds surrounding him, but on the same planet. There are living people beyond them. So, maybe there are some living people on planets far away from us. The possibles are infinite. Only we can figure it out. It's not likely that some aliens will show up to prove it for us.

Anyway, this book is really fantastic, but you do have to endure some slow parts throughout it. For most parts it's interesting, and makes you ask questions, and want to keep reading, like any good book. But the part I thought was the worst, is a killer cliff hanger. If you decide to pick up this book, and hit the middle and it feels like a chore to read it, keep reading it. It gets good. Really good. B