Earth Unaware (First Formic War) [Hardcover]

I find it hard to believe that Card had anything to do with this book, other than to take his cut of the royalties. It is poorly written and riddled with errors. It confuses speed and acceleration throughout, keeps talking about spacecraft coming to a dead stop, ships can't dock or undock because they are going too fast and a trip from the Kuiper belt to the Moon takes just a few months when the speed or velocity or whatnot mentioned in passing would seem to indicate something of the order of five to ten years depending on the trajectory. Lastly the Formics apparently have facial expressions that are easily interpreted by humans as soon as they encounter them! Amazing! Description and characterisation are also clichéd.

If you liked Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead et al then avoid this rubbish like the plague. I've read it and I can't un-read it, but I wish I could.

I have read all of Orson Scott Card and I am currently working my way through the graphic novels. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if I were to get bored with the Ender thread, but apparently not. This novel held me spellbound as usual. In particular, because this is a back story, I can enjoy the foreknowledge of what will happen next, and Card's skill as a writer meant that this knowledge enhanced my reading. I would highly recommend this to someone who is familiar with the series. If not, then the book will be a good read, but I would suggest going back to Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and read through the novels from there. You will most certainly not be disappointed.

Victor Delgado may only be a teenager, but he and his father are the best mechanics on the ship. The big corporate miners have stores of spare parts and resources on their ships. As free miners, Victor's people make do with what they have. If something needs fixing, they pull out the junked parts and use their imaginations. Victor is a genius innovator. His inventions keep the family operation running smoothly in the Kuiper Belt. His life forever changes when Edimar "Mar" spots something odd in space.

Fourteen-year-old Mar is an apprentice spotter. Her job is to watch for movement in space: comets, asteroids, anything that might pose a collision threat to the ship. Mar notices an insanely fast mass moving in the far distance. Its velocity decreases over time and natural objects in space do not slow down on their own. Her gruff father would belittle her if this turned out to be nothing, so she contacts Victor. He agrees with her assessment. This object could very well be a near-lightspeed alien ship.

First contact is deadly. The aliens seem to be descended from insectlike creatures, so the free miners begin calling them "hormigas" (ants). These technologically superior creatures have no regard for human life. They have unimaginable firepower, a proven malicious intent, and are rocketing toward Earth. There is no way for the free miners to warn Earth and Luna and everyone in the Belts of what is coming. If ever there were a time to think "outside the box", this was it. The fate of humanity will rest on one of Victor's crazy ideas.

***** FOUR & A HALF STARS! My synopsis only touches the alien sections of this incredible story. This novel began as a back story to "Ender's Game". If you have not read Ender's infamous story, please do so! "Ender's Game" is one of the very best science fiction novels of our time (imho). You do not have to read "Ender's Game" in order to thoroughly enjoy this book. After all, this tale takes place long before Ender is even born. Yet for those who have read about Ender, you will receive glimpses of major players in their younger days. For example, Ender knows that humanity lives due to the brilliant tactical maneuvers thought up by Mazer Rackham. In "Earth Unaware" I am allowed to see which special military team would choose Rackham as a possible candidate, who would train him, and how.

It is obvious that Card had given some serious thought into how the whole asteroid mining industry would work. This was not just a few ideas slapped together and presented to the public. Card & Johnston explain the economic infrastructure that exists to make survival in the Belt possible. They explain the amazing tools the miners use in their everyday lives. Then the authors up the ante by having Victor test a new gadgets and ideas that he dreams up on the fly. How the items work and why they were needed is detailed for the reader.

Fans of Robert Heinlein would especially enjoy the "Ender's Series", as well as this new story, "Earth Unaware". The meticulous thoughts and beyond-his-time-ideas in which Heinlein penned into his novels can be found in Card's as well. As with Robert Heinlein, the name of Orson Scott Card has made my short list of "Must Read" authors. And this new Formic War story is going to win awards - just watch. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.