Book Review: Earth Awakens

Earth Awakens, by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

Science Fiction, prequel to Ender's Game

4 out of 5 stars

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Awakens-First-Formic-War/dp/0765367386/

The final book in the First Formic War trilogy, Earth Awakens continues the story of humanity's struggle against not only the Formics, but also against itself. "Earth Awakens" is a great read, but if you're looking for surprises, you won't find many. This is a problem with prequels in general: you know the most important outcomes already. On the one hand, this allows you to focus more on the whos, hows, whats, and whys of the story. On the other hand, you also know that the story has to come to a satisfying close before the trilogy ends.

Earth Unaware, the first book in the trilogy, set a great tone and pace, building mystery and suspense while paying excellent homage to Ender's Game. Earth Afire confronted the horror and desperation of war, especially due to humanity's inability to effectively unite in the face of danger. Earth Awakens restores hope for our species through unlikely heroes. These extraordinary humans are able to exploit the Formics in much the same way they surprised the humans, finding blind spots and weak points.

Although a bit formulaic, Earth Awakens provides plenty of character development, fun and innovative action, and even a few clever and scary twists in the final stanza. It is as well written and easily readable as the other two books, and very enjoyable. Best of all, Earth Awakens sets everything up for a great segue into the Second Formic War (The Swarm, due out this August).

Now I have a dilemma. When I picked up Earth Unaware, it gripped me, compelled me to read. The few days I had to wait for Earth Afire to show up were torture, such that I made sure to get Earth Awakens at the same time. I'm not sure I can go through that again. Should I read The Swarm in August? Or should I wait for the whole Second Formic War trilogy to be released to minimize the suffering?

Decisions, decisions.