Earthborn (Homecoming Saga)

Earthborn (Homecoming Saga)
by Orson Scott Card

Earthborn (Homecoming Saga)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Orson Scott Card
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1996-05-15
ISBN: 0812532988
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: Tor Books

Book Reviews of Earthborn (Homecoming Saga)

Book Review: Worst of the series
Summary: 1 Stars

So you've read books one through four. You were impressed by Card's fascinating premise in book one, started to get really turned on to his idea of "god as a machine" in book two, loved the fantastic revelations and conflict in book three, and were intrigued by the first-hand narratives of diggers and angels in book four. I guess I should see how it ends, you say to yourself.

Don't be a fool. This book is utter dreck.

In retrospect, I can see how the series suffered a gradual, inexorable decline as Card kept writing, how the wonderful premises with which he began (far-future human evolution, god as a machine) were slowly subsumed by his frankly simplistic mysticism and allegorical Mormon proselytizing. But I only recognized this trend about halfway through book five, the one you're thinking about buying. Like you, after reading book four, although I wasn't that impressed with the strength of that volume I wanted to see how it all turned out.

Let me save you the trouble: angels and humans and diggers get along after all, and God loves you.

All the careful characterization of books one through four is thrown away, and we start fresh with all new characters and a "fun" new naming scheme we have to stumble around. Not only that, but the oversoul is practically a no-show, being completely replaced by the keeper of earth. I won't insert a "spoiler" by telling you about the keeper's true nature, but believe me you'll be disappointed with the explanation when it's revealed around 50 pages from the end. Oh, and he never explains the faster-than-light dream-sending mechanism. He never even mentions it.

Leading up to that tiny piece of plot resolution three volumes in the making, we're treated to a protracted morality / religion play where our protagonists learn to put their lives in God's hands and respect the literal truth of a set of golden plates written by their ancestors. For 400 christ-thumping pages. It's not all that well written, it's not very interesting, and most importantly, it's not what you signed on for after the first four books.

I can't for the life of me understand why Card didn't end the series with book four. This is a boring, barely-related addendum to an otherwise decent series. I was literally gnashing my teeth and straining to get through the last 80 pages.

Don't make my mistake. Pretend book four was a reasonable resolution and pretend this one was never written.

Summary of Earthborn (Homecoming Saga)

High above the earth orbits the starship Basilica. On board the huge vessel is a sleeping woman. Of those who made the journey, Shedemai alone has survived the hundred of years since the Children of Wetchik returned to Earth.

She now wears the Cloak of the Starmaster, and the Oversoul wakes her sometimes to watch over her descendants on the planet below. The population has grown rapidly--there are cities and nations now, whole peoples descended from the who followed Nafai or Elemak.

But in all the long years of watching and searching, the Oversoul has not found the thing it sought. It has not found the Keeper of the Earth, the central intelligence that also can repair the Oversoul's damaged programming.

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