Wakers (The Side Step Trilogy Book 1)
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-02-24 07:19:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Orson Scott Card
- ISBN：B08W5G1JWP
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Daniel Lewis
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There was a good chunk of this book where I was ready to give it a 1 star review。 It got a lot better but OSC spent WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too much time going on and on and on about how each little thing affected how they felt about it， each other， their situation， others， their dogs etc。。 it was just endless。 It really hurt the book。 The book did get better， or maybe I just learned to tune that part out。 I have to say I am not sure I would read the sequel to this， it was just so frustrating。 T There was a good chunk of this book where I was ready to give it a 1 star review。 It got a lot better but OSC spent WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too much time going on and on and on about how each little thing affected how they felt about it， each other， their situation， others， their dogs etc。。 it was just endless。 It really hurt the book。 The book did get better， or maybe I just learned to tune that part out。 I have to say I am not sure I would read the sequel to this， it was just so frustrating。 They would be going on for what seemed like an eternity on well you feel this way or you did this because of how you think it will make me feel then finally something would happen and it would reset the this is how it felt to me barrage。 This was so frustrating， I hope this is now how he plans on writing from now on。 I cant believe they delayed the final Formic War book to write this， or maybe he did not write it because he was having writers block and this is the result。 。。。more
Tonja Drecker
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Written with grabbing details and background， this is a dystopian read which more than hooks into an alternate world。Laz can spring from one world to another to correct decisions or change them as he wants。 He's used the shifts since he first understood what was happening and has warped those moments in his life he didn't like。 But this time is different。 He wakes up in a strange facility， lying in a type of capsule bed among rows of beds just like his。 He finds he's still on Earth， but everyone Written with grabbing details and background， this is a dystopian read which more than hooks into an alternate world。Laz can spring from one world to another to correct decisions or change them as he wants。 He's used the shifts since he first understood what was happening and has warped those moments in his life he didn't like。 But this time is different。 He wakes up in a strange facility， lying in a type of capsule bed among rows of beds just like his。 He finds he's still on Earth， but everyone has died long ago。 He's alone and， somehow， must survive because while side-stepping still works to change the small things， it doesn't take him from the new reality。To say that the author has done his research is an understatement。 I think this one is even better laid out and support with real explanations than the author's other works， and that does make it a treat to read for fans of science。 And it goes beyond that。 Laz is caught up in a seemingly impossible situation with no real way out。 He faces danger upon danger， makes unexpected discoveries， and rounds it all off with a tense and exciting end。 I did enjoy the details and was surprised at how much thought went into the world and situation。 So much of the world around Laz was very well laid and slid along the harshness only reality can offer。 So， a huge thumbs up on this end。 While this was all more than well based， there were still holes in the general plot and characters' awareness or decisions。 I'm not going into specifics （no spoilers）， but from the very first 'I'm a clone' decision to several other big moments， Laz seems to decide something is fact without any solid evidence to strongly support it。 These felt like forced plot-tweaks and did bother me a bit。Laz's character is very well done， and we also get to know the others as they trickle in with time。 This does take awhile， since the first half or so of the read is about Laz settling， more or less， into the world。 And this part did draw out， especially for those who aren't into science and survival details。 I also never warmed up to his later 'friend'， but she was well fleshed-out。 The last third-or-so of the read is where the real action finally begins and leads to an intriguing twist with all of the tension a read like this needs。This is a very well done read， which will especially grab the interest of time travel， alternate reality， and physic fans。 For more relaxed readers， it may or may not be the right read。 I received an ARC and， of course， loved diving into this read。 。。。more
Daniel
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Faintly reminiscent， at least in the starting， of Phillipe Jose Farmer's To Your Scattered Bodies Go。 Diverges after that， of course。 As always， books from this author seem to be thought-provoking and philosophical at some level。 I would not call this YA fiction。 What would happen if you could time-skip or sidestep your way out of personal or planetwide catastrophe or doom？ Faintly reminiscent， at least in the starting， of Phillipe Jose Farmer's To Your Scattered Bodies Go。 Diverges after that， of course。 As always， books from this author seem to be thought-provoking and philosophical at some level。 I would not call this YA fiction。 What would happen if you could time-skip or sidestep your way out of personal or planetwide catastrophe or doom？ 。。。more
Vicky
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I’m always ready to read something by Orson Scott Card。 This book， however， was not one of his more gripping ones。 Aimed at ages 14 and up， it features a teenaged protagonist trying to solve problems that impact all of humanity。 A teenaged protagonist， though， does not guarantee a good teenaged read。 This book hangs with Card works such as Xenocide and Children of the Mind。 It is much more philosophy focused than action focused。 Pondering the workings of alternate universe theory can be headache I’m always ready to read something by Orson Scott Card。 This book， however， was not one of his more gripping ones。 Aimed at ages 14 and up， it features a teenaged protagonist trying to solve problems that impact all of humanity。 A teenaged protagonist， though， does not guarantee a good teenaged read。 This book hangs with Card works such as Xenocide and Children of the Mind。 It is much more philosophy focused than action focused。 Pondering the workings of alternate universe theory can be headache-inducing at the best of times。 Had this had the pacing of Ender’s Game or the Bean books， it might have been a different story。I find it curious that Card has no mention of this book anywhere on his Hatrack River website。 It’s almost as if…he doesn’t want us to know about it？The first third of the book has Laz alone， attempting to survive as possibly the last man on earth， so there’s not much dialogue。 Once Ivy is awakened， there’s much more to see and do， of course， and the pace does pick up a bit。 Their quest to solve the problems presented to them， despite withheld information and questionable motivations， is interesting， although not gripping。 And of course， there’s no resolution， since this is the first of a planned trilogy。Possible Objectionable Material:Dicussion of bodily functions。 References to sex， nonspecific and definitely not graphic。 Some kissing。 Some animals are hurt。 Hunger， loneliness。 Taking items from stores in an abandoned city。Who Might Like This Book:Fans of the conundrums of alternate universes， those who like apocalyptic fictions。 Those who like stories with difficult friendships。Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my thoughts。This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious。blogspot。com/2。。。 。。。more
Carro Herdegen
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Language: PG13 （22 swears， 0 “f”）; Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PGLaz （17yo） wakes up alone in a box in a lab。 Getting out of his box shows that there are other boxes with people in them， but they’re dead。 Leaving the lab only raises more questions when Laz discovers that he’s the only living person in the city and that there isn’t any writing anywhere – no books， no magazines， no ads， no trash。 Is this all a coincidence， or is someone putting Laz through this on purpose？Orson Scott Card has Language: PG13 （22 swears， 0 “f”）; Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PGLaz （17yo） wakes up alone in a box in a lab。 Getting out of his box shows that there are other boxes with people in them， but they’re dead。 Leaving the lab only raises more questions when Laz discovers that he’s the only living person in the city and that there isn’t any writing anywhere – no books， no magazines， no ads， no trash。 Is this all a coincidence， or is someone putting Laz through this on purpose？Orson Scott Card has done it again – need I say more？ Somehow， Card is able to strike a balance between complicated plots and scifi imaginings without overwhelming his readers。 While I can’t honestly say that everything made sense and none of the theorizing went over my head， the questions that I have compelled me to keep reading to figure out the answers。 I have enough questions left for a sequel to be a welcome continuation， but the ending of Wakers is also conclusive enough to be satisfying and let me ponder my remaining questions on my own。 The mature content rating is for nudity and innuendo; the violence rating is for descriptions of corpses。Reviewed for https://kissthebook。blogspot。com/ 。。。more
Carrie
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Wakers by Orson Scott Card is a young adult science fiction fantasy novel。 Wakers is listed as the first book in the The Side-Step Trilogy although this first book read as if it could of been a standalone story。When he was younger Laz discovered that he had the ability to side-step。 Laz could jump his own consciousness to alternate versions of himself in parallel worlds。 This ability came in quite handy to Laz fixing mistakes he made in his life by finding a reality with the outcome that he want Wakers by Orson Scott Card is a young adult science fiction fantasy novel。 Wakers is listed as the first book in the The Side-Step Trilogy although this first book read as if it could of been a standalone story。When he was younger Laz discovered that he had the ability to side-step。 Laz could jump his own consciousness to alternate versions of himself in parallel worlds。 This ability came in quite handy to Laz fixing mistakes he made in his life by finding a reality with the outcome that he wanted to happen instead of the choices that could have bad consequences in his life。One day Laz wakes up in a strange box not knowing what or how he got there。 Laz discovers that while he feels like himself he is in a cloning facility so Laz is actually a clone of his former self。 To make matters even worse Laz finds that the town he woke up in is abandoned and has no idea what happened to the world around him。First， I will admit I was a little leary picking up Wakers by Orson Scott Card due to reading quite a few books with alternate realities and finding them usually confusing。 Finding one by such a well known and loved author though I couldn’t resist checking out Wakers and I’m glad I did。 The beginning is a tad slow but I still found myself engaged and wondering more and more what would happen and by the time the story takes off I was hooked。 Definitely a fun read and I would certainly return to the series。I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley。For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews。com/ 。。。more
Annette
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WAKERS by Orson Scot Card is the first book in the new Side-Step trilogy set in multiverses。 As a clone in an alternative universe， Laz struggles to survive in a barren world with a pack of dogs and a sleeping companion。 He must solve the mystery of his existence and figure out how to move among parallel worlds。 Fans of Card will enjoy the new universe and novice readers will be quickly drawn into his intriguing world-building。 Adults and teens alike will enjoy the fascinating premise， compellin WAKERS by Orson Scot Card is the first book in the new Side-Step trilogy set in multiverses。 As a clone in an alternative universe， Laz struggles to survive in a barren world with a pack of dogs and a sleeping companion。 He must solve the mystery of his existence and figure out how to move among parallel worlds。 Fans of Card will enjoy the new universe and novice readers will be quickly drawn into his intriguing world-building。 Adults and teens alike will enjoy the fascinating premise， compelling characters， and deep science。 。。。more
kim baccellia
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Intriguing plot of teen side-stepper， Laz， who is able to step into different timestreams or different realities。 It's kind of like someone manipulating string theory where there are millions of different possibilities out there。 Laz wakes up in a coffin-like pod in a deserted cloning facility and finds he's alone。 Most of the pages here are Laz's reflections on what happened to others and why is he in a cloning facility？ Then he finds there is another person， a girl， in the facility who is asle Intriguing plot of teen side-stepper， Laz， who is able to step into different timestreams or different realities。 It's kind of like someone manipulating string theory where there are millions of different possibilities out there。 Laz wakes up in a coffin-like pod in a deserted cloning facility and finds he's alone。 Most of the pages here are Laz's reflections on what happened to others and why is he in a cloning facility？ Then he finds there is another person， a girl， in the facility who is asleep。 Once Ivy wakes up， together they try to make sense of what is going on to the Earth they once knew。 。。。more
Sherry McGhay
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After reading Ender's Game， I was super excited to receive a Netgalley review copy of this book。 Laz wakes up in an unfamiliar place， and quickly realizes that he is alone and something bad has happened in the city and maybe the entire planet。 With no one around to give him information， and no books， papers， or internet， he struggles to survive and learn all he can about what has happened。 Eventually， he figures out that he is a clone。 I love stories involving cloning， so I was hooked from the b After reading Ender's Game， I was super excited to receive a Netgalley review copy of this book。 Laz wakes up in an unfamiliar place， and quickly realizes that he is alone and something bad has happened in the city and maybe the entire planet。 With no one around to give him information， and no books， papers， or internet， he struggles to survive and learn all he can about what has happened。 Eventually， he figures out that he is a clone。 I love stories involving cloning， so I was hooked from the beginning。 He later finds one other clone who is alive， but she has not woken up yet。 Through the first part of the book， you find out that Laz has the ability to "side-step" into other time streams。 Insert groan here。 I'm not a huge fan of time travel science fiction， but I kept reading because I wanted to see how Laz， and maybe the female clone he found， were going to survive and if they would figure out why they were cloned and left in an empty city。Ivy， the female clone， wakes up and they start to unravel the mystery。 Basically， the survival of the human species is in danger， and it's up to Laz and Ivy to find a portal to a different time stream where the planet is not in danger of annihilation。 I enjoyed some of the banter between Laz and Ivy。I did not enjoy the last half of the book， however， because it focused a lot more on the details of side-stepping into the different time streams。 Laz and Ivy have to experiment to learn how to navigate the time streams。 There are some other characters， lots of secrets， and a few questions that don't get answered by the end of the book。Don't get me wrong。 If you like stories that involve parallel worlds and time travel， you will probably enjoy this book more than I did！ The story is great， it's just not my favorite kind of reading。 I am still a Orson Scott Card fan！ 。。。more
Teri
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Clones， parallel worlds， and a teen with the ability to “side-step” into those worlds。 I was eager to see what this author did with the concept。After Laz wakes up surrounded by hundreds of dead clones， his loneliness is palpable。 Although he remembers living in California， he finds himself in Greensboro， NC and seems to be the only human around。 A pack of four dogs he comes across are his only friends until he discovers one other clone who survived。 Once she wakes， their primary goals are one， t Clones， parallel worlds， and a teen with the ability to “side-step” into those worlds。 I was eager to see what this author did with the concept。After Laz wakes up surrounded by hundreds of dead clones， his loneliness is palpable。 Although he remembers living in California， he finds himself in Greensboro， NC and seems to be the only human around。 A pack of four dogs he comes across are his only friends until he discovers one other clone who survived。 Once she wakes， their primary goals are one， to survive， and two， figure out why they were cloned。The first part of this novel fascinated me， and I marveled at side-stepping and everything it entails。 Laz can step into another version of himself in a parallel world and retain his memories while also absorbing the memories of his new self。 Pretty cool， right？ Some of his stories of when and why he’d chosen to side-step are amusing。 Awkward moment with a date？ Side-step。 Get into too much trouble at school？ Side-step。 Once he and Ivy learn why they were cloned and what’s expected of them， the story takes a turn。The banter between Laz and Ivy is sometimes witty but can go on for pages， and I occasionally struggled with pacing。 The same can be said about the science of their combined abilities。 Especially in the last 40% or so， the dialogue becomes very science-heavy and can be difficult to keep up with， but the high concept held me enthralled。With incredible world-building， a likeable， sarcastic main character， and a clever concept， this is a book I enjoyed， but I would only recommend it to true sci-fi fans。I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley。 Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own。 。。。more
Mrs。 Kenyon
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Laz has just woken up and found himself in a cloning facility。 No one else is around， except a girl who is still in her cloning pod。 He has memories of his life but doesn’t know why he has been cloned or who woke him up。 Laz also can move into the consciousness of himself in a parallel world。 He has memories of doing it “before，” yet him being alone in an abandoned world cannot be fixed with any side-stepping。 Laz thinks that the girl in the other pod will be the answer to why they are left alon Laz has just woken up and found himself in a cloning facility。 No one else is around， except a girl who is still in her cloning pod。 He has memories of his life but doesn’t know why he has been cloned or who woke him up。 Laz also can move into the consciousness of himself in a parallel world。 He has memories of doing it “before，” yet him being alone in an abandoned world cannot be fixed with any side-stepping。 Laz thinks that the girl in the other pod will be the answer to why they are left alone。Wakers is a stand-alone science fiction novel that was unique without being confusing。 There were a lot of scientific theories embedded throughout the story， yet it wasn’t enough science to distract readers who didn’t fully understand them。 The post-apocalyptic story was far-fetched and completely possible at the same time。 Card created characters that were easy to relate to and I found myself wishing the book would read a little faster because I wanted to know how it was going to end。 A fun read that might be a good start for a new sci-fi reader。 。。。more
Haley Smith
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So with this book I had to put aside my love for his Ender’s Game series in order to not compare it。 It’s a new work and new world and it is beautiful。 The loneliness of our main character is sad he talks to himself and the dogs and has debates with himself on whether or not he should wake the only other person he knows to be alive。 He’s left pondering on the morals and he explores the town he’s left in with his newfound pack of dogs。 Finally has no choice but to wake her up and they learn from So with this book I had to put aside my love for his Ender’s Game series in order to not compare it。 It’s a new work and new world and it is beautiful。 The loneliness of our main character is sad he talks to himself and the dogs and has debates with himself on whether or not he should wake the only other person he knows to be alive。 He’s left pondering on the morals and he explores the town he’s left in with his newfound pack of dogs。 Finally has no choice but to wake her up and they learn from each other。 Once awake they hide from the New Place and try to figure out why they are cloned。 They eventually are told what they are meant to do ， but not what they’re originals had done。 All I can say without spoiling anymore is this is going to be next required high school reading in another couple of years。 This is such a great book！ 。。。more
Amanda Cresse
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I was excited to read something new by Sci-Fi great， Orson Scott Card。 The opening of the story grabbed my attention and I was drawn to Laz as he "had risen into a life" as a clone。 As he found solutions and workarounds for how to navigate this isolated place he discovered himself， the reader bonds with his thoughtful actions and inner dialogue。 And， even as the story unfolds to include others， I was still hanging on; interested in how this would all turn out。。。 however， at about 60% it just bec I was excited to read something new by Sci-Fi great， Orson Scott Card。 The opening of the story grabbed my attention and I was drawn to Laz as he "had risen into a life" as a clone。 As he found solutions and workarounds for how to navigate this isolated place he discovered himself， the reader bonds with his thoughtful actions and inner dialogue。 And， even as the story unfolds to include others， I was still hanging on; interested in how this would all turn out。。。 however， at about 60% it just becomes too much science to be an escape。 My brain hurt trying to keep up with what was developing and I just wasn't enjoying the plot as much。 Eventually， by the end of the story， I've rediscovered my love of the characters and who they are， but。。。 wow。。。 could have done with getting there a little faster。 Orson Scott Card may just be too brilliant to be considered entertaining in this latest standalone。 。。。more
Jessica
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