For those of you who might not remember this series but read it; In a nutshell it's about a small group of humans that escape from the planet Harmony to return to their ancestral home, Earth, where they live with two other sentient races that they call "diggers" and "angels".
This hasn't been an easy series for me to read, though I have found it intriguing and thought provoking. I'm now on the final book, "Earthborn". I can't help but get the feeling that Mr. Card is bringing out his LDS beliefs in this series the more I read this final book. I haven't finished it yet, but every time I pick it up to read more, I find myself wondering why. Then, when I do pick up the story were I left off, I find it hard to put down. Now that I'm less than 100 pages to the finish, I'm dying to know how it's going to end. I just hope it doesn't disappoint. And please, by all means, don't tell me. I want to find out on my own.
I might be wrong, but I think Mr. Card is writing more than an entertaining series here. It's like he's trying to drive home how passionate he is about his chosen faith and trying to let his readers have a feel for it through his writing. Has anyone else read this series? Do you feel the same way, or did you get other insights that I've missed? Please feel free to share. I'm curious how my interpretation compares to others.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
The Homecoming series started out as a sort of re-interpretation of the happenings in the first part of the Book of Mormon and built from there.
Posted by Crystal Stevens (Member # 8006) on :
a-HA! Thanks Kathleen .
Posted by Bent Tree (Member # 7777) on :
I just read this entire series again a few months ago. I was very impressed with Card's use of some familiar belief systems to recreate a world and above all else, I was fascinated with how the relationships between the brothers added such dimension to the dynamic of the conflict throughout the series.
Posted by Crystal Stevens (Member # 8006) on :
Yes. I agree about the relationship between the brothers. If not for that I'm sure I would've stopped reading after the first two books. I also found Rasa, and Luet's relationship with her sister (Chebya?), kept drawing me back into the story along with the brother's conflict. Everything intertwined to make the story whole and keep the reader intrigued.
This series wasn't one of my favorites, but it did let me take a walk inside Mr. Card's head and see how he thinks. I sure got a different insight on how he views the world and its problems when it comes to the Mormon faith.
There were times I kept asking myself why I kept reading and buying the next book. Then I'd pick up where I'd left off and find it hard to put it down. I don't think I've ever read a series that struck me like that before.
Posted by MartinV (Member # 5512) on :
I think I read two books of the Homecoming series. The stuff got a bit too biblical for my taste and after going through the Ender and Bean series, I was a bit tired of OSC's writing style. That doesn't mean I won't go back to it some day.
Posted by EVOC (Member # 9381) on :
I have not read it, so perhaps my comment is out of place. But based on all the other OSC books I have read, he writes things that speak to readers. In other words I think readers see things in his books that apply to them. I believe that is why he has such a wide reading audience.
Perhaps I should pick up this series, of course I need to finish the book I am currently reading.
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