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Summary: a science fiction fairy tale!!
Review: I have to admit that from the cover and description on the back, Enchantment looked like a really boring book. But thanks to amazon reviewers, I liked it because it was a fairy tale. Ivan, a Russian Jew, stays at his Uncle's home while he waits for his visa to come so he can leave Russia with his mother and father and start a new life in America. But while he is wandering the woods near his Uncle's house he finds a woman lying asleep with a huge bear guarding her. He remembers it when he comes to Russia as a young college student visiting his Uncle. He goes back to the woods and find the woman still being guarded by the bear. Thinking she's in some kind of trouble, he defeats the bear (he's also an athlete) by outrunning it and exhausting it and then finally taking one of its eyes out. He kisses the woman and she awakens. He finds out her name is Katerina. But soon Ivan finds out that he has to follow her over a bridge because like Sleeping Beauty, he has to marry her. Ivan finds out that the bridge leads to 890 AD, which is the time period that Katerina is from. Katerina turns out to be the Princess of a kingdom he has never heard of. Because he is to be the future king Ivan has to learn how to fight in battle and he finds out that he is not meant to be a soldier at all and he has to deal with an evil witch named Baba Yaga that wants the princess's kingdom. On his wedding night he and Katerina escaped to 1992, the time that Ivan lived. They take gunpowder and other modern weapons back to 890 and teach the people there how to use them so they can defeat Baba Yaga. This book deserves more than 5 stars!! Orson Scott Card really knows his stuff!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea, but dragged out to much
Review: As a young boy, Ivan stumbles across a strange clearing in the forest near his Uncle Marek's farm. In the middle of the clearing lies a beautiful young woman. However, before Ivan can get any closer, he is startled by something moving in the brush, and runs away. Years later, upon returing to the area to complete his dissertation, Ivan finds himself drawn back to that enchanted place, to see if it was not just a figment of his young mind. It isn't. The story that follows takes Ivan and the woman (a princess named Katerina) back to her time, a thousand years in the past. The only way to save Katerina's kingdom is for the two to marry, yet Ivan has a fiance back in America...in the 1990s. The story is nicely done in the fact that it is told from many people's viewpoints. However, sometimes the discussion of language left me utterly bored. The book has some parts that are difficult to wade thru, but you do want to stay till the end to see how everything works out and if ANYONE is who they claim they are
Rating:
Summary: wonderful fantasy
Review: In "Enchantment" Orson Scott Card skillfully blends fantasy, science fiction, adventure and romance. It is a true showcase of the author's talent. The story is based around the idea of "What if fairy tales were true?" The plot hinges around time travel between 9th Century Russia and the 1990's. The key plot device is used well and never seems too unbelievable. The author has obviously carefully researched the history of 9th century Russia and creates a wonderful picture of life in that world. What makes this book so enjoyable though is not just the combination of literary genres, but the fact that the main characters are well developed and can carry the story. A lot of science fiction and fantasy contains one dimensional characters. Here you can truly empathise with and understand the motives of all the main characters. I enjoyed reading Orson Scott Card's Ender series. This book is even more enjoyable. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: A sleepy beaut
Review: Enchantment is a spring fancy. A book that is pleasant to read in a warm sunbeam, contemplating nothing, just simply enjoying the pages as they flip by. There is nothing deep to Enchantment. It is a cute and modern reworking of Sleeping Beauty. The book contains some twists and turns. Card readers will recognize some of his usual characterization quirks. The plot is a bit loose, the dialog is great and the description is fast and free. Which makes Enchantment very much like what readers have come to expect from Card in the past decade. Enjoyable but not world changing. Enjoy.
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Summary: Card shows his diversity!
Review: Orson Scott Card is probably better known for his Ender's series. After becoming deeply entranced by that series, I sought out other books by him. And then at my school library, I stumbled upon Enchantment. Probably the most diverse novel I have ever read, mixing different ways of living. Card strays away from his traditional political sci-fi in this book. When I started reading it, I was skeptical of whether he could pull it off or not. He can! Contrary, to some of his other novels, Enchantment took me for a spin on the wheel of fantasy romance. The developing characters never ceased to amaze me, and the plot was beyond intriguing. This was probably one of the first novels of romance that I seriously got into. Why? The relationships here are awesome. Modern day Snow White flexes the romantic climax here. I definitely recommend this book. The book COULD be a tincy bit more exciting. Nonetheless, do not let that stop you. Fantasy lovers will be stunned at the enchanting words that Orson Scott Card spins on us.
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Summary: Sleeping Beauty almost put me to sleep
Review: I was dissappointed. I was intrigued by the plot but there were too many details that were unnecessary and crude. Half way through I just wanted to be over. I love fantasy and felt that even in this fantasy some things were too contrived. I think I was diappointed because I started to care about the charaters but their strengths got lost in plot flaws and the unnnecessary details. I did enjoy Baba Yaga's interaction with the Bear and the twist that the Princess and her rescuer had to develop their loving relationship. Warning to readers there is some offensive language.
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Summary: Perfect Blend of Old & New
Review: If you like well-written modern-day fairy tales, you just might want to check out ENCHANTMENT. Our Ukrainian protagonist actually gets to travel into a different time and place where Sleeping Beauty is real. But hey, he doesn't get stuck there. He even manages to take Beauty back to the present with him. If you're interested in the twists and turns that can come up in such a story, read ENCHANTMENT. It looks like one of the best novels Orson Scott Card has written.
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Summary: Not the best Sleeping Beauty, not the worst either.
Review: I have a great admiration for Card, he is a fabulous writerbut this book just wasn't all that good.
I was excited to see a writer(especially one as great as Card) use the traditional Russian version of the fairy tale and quickly bought this book while it was in hardback.
As a big fan of the Sleeping Beauty tale this was very unsatisfying. I liked Vanya/Ivan but couldn't abide Sleeping Beauty. The story felt weak and unapealing and IMHO only the scenes with Baba Yaga and her Bear husband were interesting and clever. By the time I was done I felt very disapointed and sad that Card had not done as well with capturing what is so good about the tale. His characters were mostly cardboard stereotypes and inacurate ones at that from what other reviewers have said. The Princess was so unappealing I was wondering if this was a version of the Frog Prince and not Sleeping Beauty.
Oh well the are pleanty of other excellent versions of this wonderful tale. Try "Spindles End" by Robin McKinnley or "Beauty" by Sheri Tepper(this book is NOT for kids though!)if you want a fresh spin on an old tale.
Rating:
Summary: Fun poolside reading
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The premise is similar to another favorite of mine, Sherri Tepper's "Beauty," but in my opinion Card tells the story in a more engaging and entertaining manner. I particularly liked the ever-nasty Baba Yaga. She's as bad as can be, and I wouldn't want to run into her outside of a book, but I delighted in the scenes in which she would appear. This isn't thought provoking or life changing literature, but it makes for some fun, casual reading -- and is a heck of a lot more entertaining than a few hours in front of the television. I haven't read anything else of Card's work, but this book served as a great introduction, and I'm looking forward to more.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it, but...
Review: A friend online recommended it, and I liked the premise. It's definitely novel--a story about someone who gets to go into a Russian fairy-tale. Well, I liked it--it's witty, well-written, the characters are engaging, particularly Ivan and Esther (I wasn't crazy about Katerina), and OF COURSE, the WIDOW!!! The parts about the Widow and the Bear are hillarious. So I would, in general, recommend it. Now for the negative. I took away a star because a lot of times, the "real" sections were not believable. Ivan's family are supposed to be Russian Jews--well, being one myself, I have to tell you--hardly. First of all, Judaism is an ethnicity in Russia, and with it, come certain attributes: names, occupations, physical attributes, areas of settlement. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Russian Jewish boy named Ivan Petrovich Smetski. Or, for that matter, a whole family of Jews studying proto-Slavonic. Or any that have farmers for cousins (Russian Jews are city dwellers). I understand that Ivan was supposed to be Ivan so that he could reappear in Russian tales, but... Also, I had a bit of trouble with how easily he accepts his baptism. Even though Jews in Russian were not particularly religious (probably less so than Ivan, who accepts circumcision at a grown age), most would ABHORR baptism. The word for a baptized Jew--"vykrest"--is a synonym of "apostate." It's not a good thing to be baptized, and I wonder how simple it's all for Ivan. Other than that, a pretty cute book.
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