posted
So I just gotta say...Wow. I plowed through the first four books of the series with a feeling of indifferent "yeah, this is pretty cool" throughout. I always like OSC books. These were no different. I was impressed with the complexity of the universe that Card created on Harmony and Earth and the detail which he used to tell us the story. All in all, great stuff, great characters, great books.
But this last book. This last book was beautiful. I can't quite explain why it was more meaningful to me than the other four, but something about it just crept right in and made itself at home in my heartstrings and my brain. I don't pretend to know what goes through OSC's head, and I don't imply that the stories in 1st Nephi are any less complex and amazing, but I can imagine to myself that Earthborn contains the story that OSC really wanted to tell. Just like he mentions that Speaker for the Dead was the original story and Ender's Game came out of necessity. I might be up in the night though.
I just thought that his telling of this, a story so dear to my heart, was so honest and true and beautiful. I cried at the end when Akma described what he felt like as he was waking up. That whole section of Akma's conscious thoughts while he is struck down is so realistic and true to the character that Akma is, and that we all are in a sense.
Now I know that I bring major religious baggage to this because I've read the story of Alma in the Book of Mormon, but I really love all of OSC's story too. (Angels, Diggers, Oversoul, etc.) I think it's brilliantly done, brilliantly conceived and brilliantly told. I love the attention he pays to his female characters (as he always does!!) and the depth of those characters that we're not even supposed to like that much. I find myself identifying with the good guys, the bad guys, and the really confused guys. It's honest, it's real, and I fell in love with Card's gift all over again with this book.
So read the series if you haven't already. And I'd love to hear the opinions of those who hadn't read the Book of Mormon story beforehand.
posted
I know nothing about the book of mormon so I missed that whole connection with this series but I'd have to say I only rate the books as average. They definately had OSC's mastery of character and detail but I just didn't really love them. I don't really have a good reason why, I just didn't connect with them like I have almost every other book OSC has written. I read them more out of my dedication to all things Card but doubt they will ever find their way into my hands again.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I'm Mormon, and I can definitely see what you guys are saying. I thought the the whole connection with the Book of Mormon was cool, and I liked the series when I read it, but it didn't stick with me like a lot of his other books do. Now I can't remember anything more than a few major plot points from the series, and that because they do coincide with the BoM. Still, they were definitely entertaining, and I do remember missing sleep a few nights because of them.
Posts: 134 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
It's the BOOK, the BOOK that I'm talking about. Not the series. I guess it's hard to remember how you felt about a specific book in a series you've read ages ago, but I thought this one was above the average of the other four. Which is why I mentioned it. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
But it's definitely not "Book of Mormon" in space, right? I didn't like the angels and diggers the first time I read the series (and I didn't read Earthborn that time either) but now I think they are a really cool allegory for a bunch of different stuff.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Yeah - I've discussed recently that I was going to reread these again and I've just started Earthfall. I'm enjoying it, can't say its because I'm LDS - might be, but previously my sticking point was the Angels and Diggers. I'll probably comment again when I'm done about my feelings for it this time.
I agree with your comment about OSC's writing of female characters. I thought myself a few days ago how well he seems able to empathise with them. Although there are some stereotypical mindsets in the Homecoming series (i.e. females are driven by intelligence/ emotions whilst males are driven by animal instincts) I realise that much of this is down to the plot. I liked how OSC took the time to included Nafai's remorse when he realised how he and Issib had been fitting into these stereotypical roles and hurting their wifes' through their actions.
I also recently read Rebekah and marvelled how realistic OSC's female characters are. It's nice to know there's at least one empathic male out there.
There's hope for the others yet, eh girls! Posts: 394 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Sorry, Narnia, you're right about it being hard to remember the single book. The only reason Earthborn stands out in my mind any more than the other single books is because it dealt with a completely different set of characters. It really was a book set in the same universe as the first four, and not a continuation of the series.
posted
It's true. I feel like it can be read on its own almost, which is really cool.
pooka, I'd be interested to see what relationship you found between the angels and diggers and the BofM. I just thought it was a nifty plot twist that added a lot of depth and meaning to the story and made it less about religion, and more about racism etc.
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
I'm LDS now, but I read the Homecoming series LONG before my conversion. When I read it, I had no idea it had anything to do with the Book of Mormon (which I had heard of, but never read).
And I loved it, expecially the second book. So did my spouse. I remember begging relatives to send us the last few volumes in the series, as we were in Russia and couldn't buy them there.
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posted
And I think the angels and diggers came from Isaiah 2:20, at least subliminally:
quote:17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
[ April 09, 2004, 01:27 AM: Message edited by: Yozhik ]
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posted
I don't think I was aware of that reference, but I always thought of the digger/angel dreams as being like Isiah. You know, you are going along in the book just fine, and then all of a sudden there's this stuff that just doesn't make sense. It sure seems important, but I certainly cannot figure out what it's all about. Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
That's awesome, Yozhik. I've read that many times and not sure if I realized the link before. The idols, also, that's interesting.
To me it was more of the angel/devil dichotomy of the spirit and body, and yet they can't be separated. Especially in Earthfall when they are discussing that the animals could be altered to become no longer interdependent. I forget if they decide to do it or not.
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posted
Well, I'm not LDS, but I liked the Homecoming series more than any other. I must have read them all about 10 times each now. Posts: 4229 | Registered: Dec 2002
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See Nick, that's really cool to know. What was it about this series that you liked and that made it readable 10 times over?
Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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Second, I'd have to say that the Homecoming series is second only to the Ender universe in my list of favorite OSC books. Maybe it's because the second OSC book I read was TMOE.
I'd have to agree that the first four books do kind of feel like a prequel to Earthborn, but I still love them (I'm rereading the series right now, actually). I thought that Earthborn was excellent, also, even though through the first few readings I didn't have the slightest notion that there was any Mormon imagery.
Since we're sort of on the topic, what was the "trauma" that Shedemei refers to in Earthfall that crippled Issib when he was in Rasa's womb?
posted
Interesting... I really enjoyed the Homecoming series, but the last book felt a little off for me. I just didn't enjoy it as much as the others. Maybe I just missed the old characters. Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
I actually understand what you mean about that...at the end of the fourth book, when he narrated the happenings of about 500 years in one paragraph, I thought, "This isn't IT for this group of people...is it?" It took me a while to start Earthborn because I was a little peeved and didn't have the energy to invest in getting to know a whole passle of new characters. Posts: 6415 | Registered: Jul 2000
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posted
I also found Earthborn to be much less gripping than the first four. I did like it, but it just seemed like there was a lot of little sub plots that were okay to read the first time, but that I just skip when I reread it. And I was not very satisfied with the ending. I don't really know why.
Posts: 866 | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
Like many, I enjoyed the Homecoming series but wasn't inspired by it like other OSC books.
In my case, I found that having previously read The Book of Mormon was a distraction. I kept anticipating certain events and wondering how OSC would "pull it off". Worse yet, I was frequently disappointed when these events occured and they didn't meet with my expectations.
Posts: 692 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
I have been told that is a problem for readers who have read the Book of Mormon. I read Homecoming first, and I still read the Book of Mormon from time to time, just so I can better understand what the LDS church believes in.
Posts: 4229 | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
DSH, I felt the exact same way the first time I read the series. Ten years later, I came back and read them again. This time, I *loved* the books. Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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