45: Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card (2010 hardcover)

I read Ender's Game 15-20 years ago, but I haven't read another book by Card since then.  I know he has a big following and many good books--even some Ender sequels, from what I understand--but he's just an author I never remember to look for.  So, when I came across Pathfinder in the Young Adult section of the local bookstore (If it was published today, I'm betting Ender's Game would show up there too.), I decided it was fate.  The novel offered me a way to reintroduce myself to an author I like in a genre that I'm currently reading  a lot of. 

Pathfinder is particularly interesting because it intertwines two story lines of different genres in each chapter.  Chapters begin with a piece of a SciFi narrative involving space ships, time travel, and humanoid robots.  From  there, they switch into fantasy mode, going back 1,100 years to a medieval-ish time. This is actually the primary story mode for the book, which features a 13-year-old boy named Rigg whose fur-trapping father dies in the woods, leaving him on his own.  He comes into previously unknown knowledge about his background and starts on a journey, where he meets two others who, like him, have special abilities.

When reading fantasy, I tend to like more contemporary settings (a la Gaiman or de Lint), so the SciFi aspect of this kept me more engaged than I may have otherwise been.  One other thing that kept my attention is that Card tackles interesting scientific theories regarding space and time but doesn't dumb them down for his younger readers.  The book is identified as being appropriate for those in grades 7 and up, and I imagine that kids in those lower grades will be stretched in both their thinking and their vocabulary with this book.  

Having read Pathfinder, I foresee more Card in my near future.  I think I'll likely reread Ender's Game and move through that sequence.  If you have other favorites by Card, I'd be interested in your suggestions.