Rating: 
Summary: Excelent
Review: The Memory of Earth is a science fiction nevel by Orson Scott Card. It is set in the future on the planet Harmony. I thought Card did a great job describing things without making the story boring. For example in one part of the story the main character, Nafai, is journeying to the city and Card describes the city, but he describes it, not by putting in there but by slipping it in. He doesn't make the description four pages; he makes it half a page. Here is a quote from the book, "It was clear morning, and from the crest they could see all the way to the ocean, with a patchwork quilt of farms and orchards, stitched with roads and knotted with towns and villages, spread out like a bedcover between the mountains and the sea. Looking down Ridge Road they could see the long line of farmers coming up for the market, leading strings of pack animals. If Nafai and Issib had delayed even ten minutes more they would have had to make this trip in the noise and stink of horses, donkeys,mules, the swearing of the men, and the gossiping of the women." As you can see he makes the description here easier to read than some other authors do by making it short. Card previoulsy won awards for his Ender's Game books, and he produced the same quality work in this story. It has a little bit of everything, but he makes you want to read it. Nafai, a fourteen-year-old boy is going about his normal life when his father says he has a vision the computer, the Oversoul.
From there Nafai's world goes completely wrong. If you are a Sci-fi fan or liked Card's other books, this is a book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: The Oversoul begins the question to bring humanity home
Review: The accusation that the Orson Scott Card "Homecoming: Harmony" series is a thinly disguised retelling of the book of Mormon came as a surprise to me, mainly because I am not that familiar with the book of Mormon. However, "The Memory of Earth," the first in the five volume series, certainly has the tenor of an Old Testament story. The planet Harmony was settled 40 million years after the destruction of Earth, and the mother planet is now more legend than dim memory. The human population is cared for by the Oversoul, a computer able to communicate telepathically with some of the inhabitants. However, now the Oversoul is breaking down and needs to be returned to Earth for repairs. The problem is a combination of believability (no one remembers earth) and technology (this is a planet where caravans coexist with a floating chair for Nafai's crippled brother, Issib). The Oversoul contacts a young student, Nafai, and tells him of the Index: an ancient machine through which the computer can talk directly to everyone. However, Nafai's father and brothers are unwilling to believe the boy has been touched by the Oversoul. A further complication is that as the Oversoul's powers decay so do the mental blocks it has implanted in humans to keep them from killing each other. This is especially problematic for Nafai, since his eldest brother is not particularly accepting of the idea that his rightful place has been usurped in this unbelievable manner.
I have to say that I find it hard to believe a book can be accused of proselytizing when its transforms God into a super computer. Granted, the Oversoul is a more benevolent computer than we usually find in science fiction (cf. AM in Harlan Ellison's classic short story "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream"), but that does not automatically make it deserving of deification or worship. Nor do I have reason to believe Mormon society could ever be considered matriarchal. Luet, the girl next door and object of Nafai's affection, considers the Oversoul a god to be worshipped, but she eventually sees the error of her ways. Science fiction novels have dealt with religion more explicitly and more successfully (e.g., "Stranger in a Strange Land," "Dune") than "The Memory of Earth." But here it is not that this book is about religion but rather than it resonates with echoes of many Old Testament tales (think of it as "Nafai and the Amazing Telepathic Computer"). This is hardly surprising given Card's body of work; Uncle Orson has never hidden his faith nor failed to incorporate it on some level. Moreover, Nafai is a rather standard character in Card's writing, that of the young boy trying to find his way in an adult world that is beyond our own experience. The sin here, such as it is, would be that this series is a lesser effort from Card. Nafai is aided in his growing maturity by the help of the Oversoul, which picked him because of his intellect and his ability to "hear" the computer. We want to idealize him as the perfect choice for this mission, but that may be overstating the case. The final volume does take an interesting and rather unexpected turn, but overall I think we would be more impressed with the story if it was not part of a multi-volume exercise.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor story. Poor editing.
Review: This is not Orson Scott Card's best work. The focus of the book is on the children in the story and is so similar to his other books that you could easily search and replace names of characters. There are frequent typographical errors and it generally lacks polish. Indeed, the review on the jacket isn't even for this book, rather it is for 'Xenocide'. The story line plods along and you could easily skip entire chapters without noticing. Towards the end of the book it becomes obvious that this was an introduction to a series rather than something that would stand on its own. I'm saddened to write a bad review of an author I am otherwise impressed with.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of Time
Review: This book is a total [copy] of the Book of Mormon. I you want to read the real story, and be uplifted at the same time read the Book of Mormon. Yes, I am a member of the LDS church, and it is wrong to make money by exploiting your church. Yes we have a church book store. I hold that in the same opinion that I hold his book. If you want good literature read Robert Jordan,Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind or R.A. Salvatore.
Rating:
Summary: The Excitment of "Earth"
Review: I don't normally like sci-fi books, but I got to admit that this book is just amazing. At one point you were reading as the Oversoul, the next you were Elemak, an the next you were Luet, although Card does these transitions beautifully. I would recomend this book to ANYONE from ages 8-800.
Rating: 
Summary: Use your Imagination
Review: In works of Sci Fi, I think one has to deploy ones power of imagination to create the authors universe in the mind. As a science fiction fan, not a science fantasy fan I found this universe a bit difficult to believe. While I can accept the genetic changing of the human race so the brain can respond to sattelite signals as a good idea, I found that the degree of control the Oversoul needed to achieve what it does just too extreme. Of course this is the essence of the plot, since this very control begins to deteriorate accordingly with a gradual breakdown of the Oversoul's machinery. I found it hard to accept that the Oversoul might be able to balance a society which is prevented from inventing the wheel and yet has the techology to create and use a floating vehicle (Issib's Chair) that can give an invalid mobility that can outrun a man, or to imagine that a society with advanced solid state electronics technology is not capable (or allowed) to conceptualize communication facilties such as a telephone. I'm reading the second book now, and find that an army general is reading a map under candlelight, while dictating instructions to his second in command who is typing them into a computer. So the Oversoul allows the development of advanced computers but it can prevent the concept of the lightbulb at the same time ?! After reading the complete works of the Ender and Shadow series to date I probably did expect to use my imagination to some degree in this series, but probably a bit too much more than I would have liked.
Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful series!
Review: I have been reading Card since the early days of "Omni" magazine and have yet to be disappointed. Although I am not Mormon his views on spirituality and morallity are, or should be, universal. Whether he taking us to a training camp to fight invading bugs or to a place called Harmony 40 million years into the future, I'll be there!
Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite.
Review: Terrible. If it was an option, I would give 0 stars. Perverted, boring. Don't read it.
Rating:
Summary: Original work for an original author
Review: Another genius piece by Card that is the doorway into a phenomenal series. I read the entire series within a few months and could not put them down. Not only are his concepts original in-so-far as his creativity but his inner meanings challenge modern day concepts and reveal some that most wouldn't even consider. The focus on youth ESP in a fashion similar to Ender's Game is very prevelant throughout the entire series. The concept is very engaging and stimulates the imagination. Card does a superb job of bringing to light other issues like homosexuality, racism, and sexism throughout all of his books in the Homecoming Series. A definite read for avid sci-fi fans and those looking for something different.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent concept, decent story
Review: The premise of this series is very interesting and proved to be quite a draw for me. I particularly like the parallels to "God" and religion that are brought up as well as the ideas that humans are fundamentally evil and need to be controlled. The exploration of those topics are the most compelling part of this book and series. It is well worth reading this first book if you are interested in topics like that.
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