Pastwatch

Since I had previously read and loved Ender's Game, I had high expectations for this Orson Scott Card novel.  However, I was surprised by some of the religious ideas that the book presents -- which I'll discuss in a minute.

The book cover, should you feel compelled to read it yourself. 

I do like this book -- I have recommended it to others, which often takes a certain degree of respect for the book on my part.  The novel is based in the far future, after a series of extreme meteorological happenings and a lot of wars; in this future, a group of scientists use new technology in order to view the past in real time.    Some of those scientists gradually become obsessed with Christopher Columbus and his legacy, which they perceive to be largely slavery, disease, and poverty, among other problems.  So they decide, essentially, to change the course of history.

The very idea of playing around with Christopher Columbus and his legacy stuns with its daring.  In American culture, Columbus seems to be often treated (especially by schools) like some sort of god-like figure, someone who did amazing things entirely on purpose as opposed to completely be accident, and is given credit for massive discoveries that in reality he didn't make.  Instead, Scott Card has drawn a vision of Columbus as a man driven by purpose, yes, but who largely operates by luck and the good fortune bestowed on him by others with more power.  The events of the novel intertwine Columbus's life with the story of Pastwatch, the group of scientists who study and ultimately try to change the past, so as a reader I was able to watch Columbus's growth as his life progresses.

Those scientists attempt to change the past in order to eliminate the institution of slavery and its ongoing horrible legacy (untouchable castes, sex slavery, human trafficking, etc., and those are just the modern 2013 examples -- don't forget that the novel takes place far, far into the future).  They are motivated by this goal, but also by the forthcoming death of the planet; the previously mentioned wars and weather issues essentially destroyed the planet's resources and humanity's abilities to survive.  I find myself drawn to this goal; it speaks to the bit of hippy in me, the part of me that loves peace, wants to help preserve the earth, all of those types of environmentally friendly things. In a way, I started to hope while reading this book that this kind of future might be possible, when humanity will finally realize its mistakes and try to fix them for the future.

And Scott Card's writing style is so beautiful.  His skill with the written word allows him to intertwine the story of Columbus with the plot of the novel in a intricate, clean way that is easy to follow.  The background of the story seems colorful and full, which I love. It is a part of what makes a talented writer -- the ability to intertwine the world around the story in such a way that the story becomes truly real.

As much as I found this story fascinating, I also found one included element rather unusual.  That element is the overarching presence of Christianity; one of the major themes of the book seems to be that embracing Christianity will not only help save the world, but also eliminate major human issues like slavery, war, and other tragedies.  Now, don't get me wrong: I understand that Scott Card is incredibly involved in the Mormon faith -- he is on record as opposing all sorts of right-wing issues.  I don't have a problem with this.  But it is surprising for a science-fiction writer, especially one as well-known as Scott Card.  If, after reading Ender's Game, someone had asked me what I thought his religious leanings might be, I would have told you that likely Scott Card wanted nothing to do with religion.  And so I find it interesting that he 'limits' himself in such a way.  On average, I don't mind the inclusion of religion in what I read; in fact, more often than not, I find myself defending the value religion holds for humanity.  But what I don't like is religion that is forced down my throat, and with such an obvious theme, that's certainly how this novel comes across.  Ultimately, after such a good book, I was disappointed to find Christianity as a savior to humankind as the theme.  There were so many other valuable lessons from the novel, so much else that I could have elevated to a "favoritism" level, that were overpowered by this theme.

I find it interesting that both religion and fantasy, religion and creation, really religion and all that goes along with good science fiction writing can exist together. Maybe this is something I have to overcome before I read another Orson Scott Card novel.