Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (Book Review)

So looking back at the history that was, does a man like Christopher Columbus—so great in many ways—need redemption for the crimes that he condoned? Card thinks so, as do the fictional historians in the future that was created by Columbus's discovery of the New World and the subsequent Spanish and European conquest. After reading Pastwatch, the reader may feel the same.

Filled with intriguing insights into the cultures of the Caribbean region and the Mexican peninsula during the 1400s, Pastwatch mixes fact and speculation in a way that engages the reader and realistically explores the question, What If? What if the natives had been on par with the Spanish technologically? What if the Spanish conquest and the subsequent European dominance of the world had never happened? What if the idea of slavery had been snuffed out centuries ago? All of these questions are raised as Card explores the history that could have been and the history that was.

Despite Card's well-meaning intentions to speculate on a world which would be "better" than the one in which we live, he does submit some ideals that not all readers will agree with. One of the most noticeable is the idea that a world in which Christianity swept the globe would be a world in which the evils that we know would be eradicated or at least kept at bay. For many this may ring true, but it is difficult to say that this would actually happen, and more importantly it is difficult to say that only Christianity could bring about this result. Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and the many other religions seem to be too easily dismissed here.

Some other aspects of the story with regard to the development of Caribbean society and culture, such as the rapidity with which the Taino population acquires command of Spanish, are overly optimistic at best. But given that this is science fiction, and the good-willed nature of the story, it is easily overlooked.

For those who are scientific-minded and up-to-date on modern theories, the underlying physics which is essentially the glue that binds

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