Orson Scott Card is a well-known science fiction author, and his novel “Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus” is one example of his work.

This story revolves around time travel and altering history. It takes place in two different time periods, one in the distant future and the other during the time Christopher Columbus. The people of the future live in a doomed world, and the scientists have built machines that allow them to literally see into the past so that they can record what has happened for future generations. When two scientists, Tagiri and Hassan, discovered that it was possible to send something or someone into the past, they created a research group to find a pivotal point in history to change the future for the better.

This is where Columbus comes in. His famous voyage to the Americas is found to be the beginning of the end for the world. They send three volunteers to the past, one to strand Columbus in the Caribbean, another to pacify and strengthen the native tribes and the last to meet with Columbus and help him see the error in his ways.

This is in interesting book for any science fiction reader because it combines historical facts and scientific ideas. Before the scientist interrupt, many of the things that are said about Columbus’ life are true and make the historical portions more entertaining. The scientific concepts used in the novel, especially the ability to watch the past as if you were there, are very interesting and take a new spin on what the future could hold for technological advances. I encourage everybody, whether you prefer historical literature or science fiction, to read this novel.

Derek Musgrave is an employee at Empire Books and News at Pullman Square in Huntington.

The Herald-Dispatch

"Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus"

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