It's been a long time since I read any Orson Scott Card. And this was definitely not what I remembered.
I had previously read the first few books in the Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow series and the first couple Alvin Maker books. And those always stuck me as action stories with fantasy and sci-fi roots. Of course, that was years ago, so maybe my perspective would be different if I read those books now. But I definitely wasn't expecting a book as thoughtful and slow-paced and beautiful and brilliant as Pastwatch. I'm not even sure how to describe this book. It was definitely science fiction, but so much more touching and lovely than other science fiction I've read. And it was so beautifully written.
Maybe beautiful is the perfect word to describe this book.
The development of this story caught me off guard in the best possible way. The characters were also unexpected and wonderful. I could understand and relate to the characters while they still kept their strong personalities. And these characters put the good of humanity (even a possible alternate humanity) above all else. They're smart, they're courageous, they're caring, and they're everything a good hero/heroine should be without being perfect.
Card's writing is beautiful. And his world building is incredible. I'd forgotten how immense he can make his worlds, but this made me want to be immersed in more of his books. I would love to live many aspects of the world he built and it was a fascinating way to combine an apocalyptic future with historical fiction.
This book also brought together sci-fi, morality, ethics, history, and the ultimate good of humanity in a nice bundle that also shatters your heart slightly, but is also fantastic and beautiful and so much more than that. I loved that this book could appeal to so many people - not just science fiction readers.
I loved this book and I'm now trying to find another sci-fi book that will touch me in the same way. I think I'll be hunting for awhile.