Rating: 
Summary: Unique mystery
Review: This book should be made into a movie! What I like about Card is that his books are unique; I've never read about Mormons before, and it was very interesting. The lead character is a games developer in the days when PCs were brand new. No, the book is not happy, I cried and cried when I finished it. But that was over two years ago, and I still can't forget this book. That's the true test of an outstanding book
Rating: 
Summary: Living the joys and horrors of a family
Review: I've been reading Orson Scott Card for some years, and I know how he can insinuate a story into your life. But I was quite unprepared for the lingering after-effects of this story.
I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Card read from this book at a local bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC and I was caught up in the day-to-day travails of this family. The passages told of the plain, ordinary demons who live amongst us - in this case, an elementary school teacher who is arbitrarily down-grading a child's science project. Even with as plebian a subject as that, Mr. Card had us all hanging on every word, waiting anxiously to hear what would happen... And the rest of the story is just as detailed and rings just as true, as that portion. There ARE everyday demons all about - mean-sprited teachers, bad managers at work, and spooky co-workers. And sometimes, there is a larger evil lurking there in the dark... I AM NOT a fan of horror tales, and this is truly not one. But there ARE horrors in it, both large and small.
Do yourself a favor - read it. You will quickly find yourself totally submerged into the lives of this good family. And, if you're anything like me, they and their story, will stay with you for a long, long time.
Rating:
Summary: Benson is a Beast.
Review: This audio book version of Card's novel has two main flaws:
First, it was not condensed by Card. It couldn't have been, because it mixed up some information, especially about Mormon doctrine (the main character, Step Fletcher, is Mormon).
Also the narrator, Robby Benson, (known as the voice of the beast in the Disney movie) reads everything with dramatic whispers, neccesarry or not, and it's annoying.
It's a wonderful story, though, and if you're not going to read the book, don't pass up the audio version.
Rating: 
Summary: Another sad Card tale is empty at heart
Review: Yes, the book is harrowingly sad, the ultimate fate of the characters utterly heart-breaking, the portrait of their lives drawn with poignant care. But the book is meaningless. I fail to understand the point of a story whose sole intent is to relay a message of bottomless sorrow. And there are other, darker implications beneath the text that speak of Card's ongoing exploration of certain aspects of human behaviour, making me feel very much lectured at. But the book is highly readable, and the history lesson about the early days of computer software is very engaging. It'd rate higher with me if it weren't for the fact that it seems to have been written with the single-minded purpose of manipulating readers into feeling heartbreak and sorrow. I'm even supposed to boo at the obvious villains
Rating:
Summary: This story about a serial killing will rip your heart out.
Review: Card has long ago enticed me in gobbling up everything he has put on paper. I grabbed this one as soon as I saw it.
So innocently I started reading, and found his wonderfully
descriptive prose, this time about the small agony of a devout Mormon family relocating from their home town, as refreshing as always. I got caught up in their woes and shared their growing triumphs.
Not once did I suspect what he was doing to me. It will be criminal to tell you how the hook he puts into his reader -- the experience of this family as real people -- rips out one's heart. But when Card ends it with a punch that left me emotionally exhausted for days on end, he does
it with such love and gentility, such poignancy that this book will stay alive in my memory for ever.
That hurt, Orson, but I forgive you, because you have enriched me through feeling such pain.
Other readers: you have to read this book, and please, when you have done so, go kiss your spouse and children and hold them tightly for a moment. Perhaps that is all you may have.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully empathic non-science fiction book
Review: Orson Scott Card, best know for writing Science Fiction (Ender's Game) and Fantasy (Journeyman Alvin), took a different route with this book about an American family in the early 1980's.
The details of this story are not important. What is important, and what makes this book so wonderful, is Card's deft handling of his characters. Each character is a finely crafted player, their life laid bare before the reader. There are no secrets. This book is about a family, and about how a family deals with problems. It is about parents, and about letting your children grow up to be their own selves. It is about children, and understanding them. It is about life. It is about death.
Card has always demonstrated that rare gift of being able to write good child characters. He never talks down to children, and the parents in Lost Boys treat their children with respect, while remaining parents. They are not lax, nor are they ignorant. They are intelligent enough to trust that their children have learned well from the example set before them. And they trust in God and in their church.
The family is Mormon, and this fact, if such a thing is possible, makes the book even more fascinating for someone who is not a Mormon. The religion is treated in a remarkably even-handed manner. Never proselytizing or evangelizing, but simply showing.
In the end, Card's book is about love, about about letting go of your children and trusting them to choose what's best. It is a deeply moving book, and I always struggle through the last two chapters, fighting back the tears that blur my vision. It is a sad book, but at the same time it is so filled with joy that I feel better each time I've read it. In the end, the book is about hope and about life.
-Lewis Butler (1996)
www.nyx.net/~kreme
Rating:
Summary: A heart wrenching tale of a family's journey through life.
Review: Orson Scott Card draws the reader into the lives of a typical American family. He allows the reader to experience the thoughts and feelings of the family members and shows us how they deal with the trials of day to day living. From the hassles we all experience at work to the concern that our children are getting the best education with competent teachers.
The story takes a chilling twist when neighborhood boys start disappearing. The suprise ending will leave the reader gasping for breath and any parent who reads the book will be driven to find their children and hug them close
Rating: 
Summary: Decent
Review: Normally, anyone writing about Southern eccentricities has to worry about imitating Faulkner, but OSC is the exception. The book was a worthwhile read for a Cardophile like myself, but to be honest, its punch was not any greater than the short story upon which it's based. Also, like the short story, there are a number of loose ends, the biggest of which is the place the video games the lost boys played in the overall plot.
The book also took a little too long to make its point. I do have to admit that the characters were extremely well-drawn and believable, and I suppose that brevity and well-drawn, believable characters are to a certain extent mutually exclusive. I enjoyed some of the inside humor, such as "Eight Bits" as the place of employment for "Byte," which is where Card himself actually worked. I'm sure he's also settling the score with some of his former Byte co-workers too (i.e., the real-life equivalents of Dicky and Glass), although a third party like myself will never know for sure. And comparing a testimony meeting to a hysterical experience had me literally laughing. The Mormons are lucky that Card is still on their side, because if he weren't -- watch out! Overall, read it if you've got some time, but the short story can get the job done in about a sixth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: card's worst
Review: First off, Card is my favorite author period. I read an essay of his where he states that Lost Boys is his best work. Sorry, but I couldn't even finish it...it bored me to tears. He should have left well enough alone with the short story (which was absolutely perfect).
Rating:
Summary: Living the joys and horrors of a family
Review: I've been reading Orson Scott Card for some years, and I know how he can insinuate a story into your life. But I was quite unprepared for the lingering after-effects of this story.I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Card read from this book at a local bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC and I was caught up in the day-to-day travails of this family. The passages told of the plain, ordinary demons who live amongst us - in this case, an elementary school teacher who is arbitrarily down-grading a child's science project. Even with as plebian a subject as that, Mr. Card had us all hanging on every word, waiting anxiously to hear what would happen... And the rest of the story is just as detailed and rings just as true, as that portion. There ARE everyday demons all about - mean-sprited teachers, bad managers at work, and spooky co-workers. And sometimes, there is a larger evil lurking there in the dark... I AM NOT a fan of horror tales, and this is truly not one. But there ARE horrors in it, both large and small. Do yourself a favor - read it. You will quickly find yourself totally submerged into the lives of this good family. And, if you're anything like me, they and their story, will stay with you for a long, long time.
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