Pathfinder

Orson Scott Card

Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him—secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.
Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two faction, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.

If you've never read a book by Orson Scott Card, you ought to give it a go. He is a master at creating new and believable worlds. Pathfinder is no exception. I was hooked the moment I read the prologue to the first chapter that had an alternate story featuring a young man named Ram, from our earth. Ram's story entertwines with Rigg's very tightly as you learn a little more at the beginning of each chapter. I admit, I skipped ahead and read the beginning of each chapter because it was killing me. But Rigg's own adventure is quite the doozy, losing his father and trying to figure out who he really is and what it was that his father wanted him to do. Rigg meets others who have strange talents like his pathfinding- a way to view the past- and they help each other to find their destinies. A great adventure story filled with mysteries and great characters. I thought this was a stand-alone book, but found in the notes after the book that it is yet another series...man I know how to pick 'em! Yet another one I'll have to wait patiently for. I've never been much for science fiction, but Mr. Card sure does spin a good yarn!