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Pathfinder

by Orson Scott Card

The Pathfinder series by Orson Scott Card has 3 known books (3 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Pathfinder (2010). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Visitors.

Books
3 known books (3 novels)
Published
3
First published
2010
Status
completed
Shelved under
Science Fiction
Last checked

Start here: Pathfinder (2010) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Pathfinder

Pathfinder (2010)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Pathfinder

    Novel

    Pathfinder, published 2 November 2010, opens Orson Scott Card's trilogy at 672 pages -- its longest volume -- following Rigg, who can see the paths every living creature has ever walked, as his father's death sends him into a wider world entangled with time travel.

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  2. Ruins

    Novel

    Ruins followed two years later, on 13 November 2012, shorter at 544 pages, as Rigg and his companions discover they can create branching timelines by traveling into the past.

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  3. Visitors

    Novel

    Visitors closed the trilogy on 4 November 2014 at 608 pages, resolving whether Rigg's group can use their time-travel power to save a human colony from extinction.

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About the Pathfinder series

Rigg has grown up in the wilderness with the secret ability to see the paths every living creature has ever walked, trained by his father to keep the power hidden -- until his father's death sends him out into a wider world to discover both his own origins and the true nature of the paths he can see. Pathfinder (2010) reveals partway through that Rigg's world is a human colony planet whose past and present are more tangled with time travel than anyone realizes, turning what starts as a fantasy quest into hard science fiction about causality, parallel timelines, and the ethics of altering the past.

Ruins and Visitors escalate the stakes as Rigg and his companions discover they can create branching timelines by traveling into the past, and must decide how -- and whether -- to use that power to save a human colony from a catastrophic and possibly inevitable extinction event. Card builds the trilogy as a young-adult entry point into harder SF concepts, layering a personal coming-of-age story over increasingly mind-bending time-travel mechanics.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Pathfinder trilogy?

Three: Pathfinder (2010), Ruins (2012), and Visitors (2014).

What order should I read the Pathfinder books in?

Publication order: Pathfinder, Ruins, Visitors. It's a continuous story that should be read straight through.

Is Pathfinder aimed at young adult readers?

Yes -- it's marketed and written as YA science fiction, similar in tone to Ender's Game, but its time-travel plotting is genuinely complex regardless of the intended age range.

Is Pathfinder connected to Ender's Game?

No -- it's an unrelated setting and cast, though it shares Card's interest in gifted young protagonists navigating hidden truths about their world.

Does the Pathfinder trilogy have a complete ending?

Yes -- Visitors (2014) concludes the story; no further volumes have been announced.

Reading order last verified .