Earth Afire (2013)

Earth Afire is a science fiction novel by American writers Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston, and the second book of the Formic Wars novels in the Ender's Game series. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for science fiction.

Plot

A century before the events of Ender's Game, an alien spaceship enters the Solar System and soon makes known its hostile intentions by destroying harmless human ships. Then, it wipes out a ragtag fleet of asteroid miners who have banded together in a desperate attempt to stop it. All of the adult male members of Victor Delgado's extended clan die in the battle. The survivors are unable to transmit a warning, so Victor volunteers for a near-suicidal mission to try to reach Earth in a tiny, hastily converted unmanned cargo ship. He makes it to the Moon, but is unable to get the authorities to take him seriously. Thus, humanity is totally unprepared when the First Formic War starts.

The invading spaceship sends three enormous landing craft to southeast China. The Formics emerge and use gas to defoliate the surrounding areas. Despite suffering large loss of life, the Chinese government refuses outside help.

Before the landing, Mazer Rackham had been training the Chinese military on a new transport aircraft, the HERC. During the Formic invasion, he saves Bingwen, an extremely intelligent eight-year-old Chinese boy before his craft is shot down. Bingwen and Mazer then set off to destroy the nearest Formic lander.

The Mobile Operations Police (MOP), a small but elite international force, enters China without authorization. MOP Captain Wit O'Toole obtains a tactical nuclear weapon from anonymous Chinese officials who do not agree with their government's stance on foreign assistance. They destroy the lander, but then Captain Shenzu arrives and places Mazer under arrest.

Meanwhile, Victor and Imala (a Customs Agent assigned to Victor upon his unauthorized arrival) manage to drift close to the Formic ship, using a disguised ship provided by Lem Jukes (the only son of the richest man alive) to avoid being destroyed. Victor breaks into the alien ship through a gun port.

Characters

Victor Delgado, a young mechanic of great talent who, along with his father and a young apprentice, keeps the family mining ship El Cavador running

Rena Delgado, Victor's mother

Lem Jukes, son of mining magnate Ukko Jukes and captain of the Makarhu, a corporate mining vessel

Captain DeWitt Clinton O'Toole, commander of the Mobile Operations Police (MOPs)

Lieutenant Mazer Rackham, a Maori soldier whom O'Toole is interested in recruiting

Bingwen, a young child whose parents and grandfather are killed in the Formic invasion

Ukko Jukes, Lem Jukes' father

Imala Bootstamp, Victor's Luna Trade Department representative and auditor

Captain Shenzu, a Chinese military officer