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Summary: Who say's that fairy tale is only for kids?
Review: If you believe that fairy tale is only for kids, well think again! This is not your ordinary fairy tale because first, it's not happily ever after immediately! And that what makes this story a must-read! The characters are so real that they almost jump out of the pages of the book.The subtle romance of Ivan and Katerina makes you pin for them. The humor is so there.Baba Tila is not your usual villainess. gads, you'll even root for her! So buy, this. You'll never put this down once you star reading it!
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Summary: Breathtaking
Review: I am not a fan of eastern European folklore. Heck, I'm not a fan of most folklore in general. Going into Enchantment, who'da thought I'd fall in love with a warped Russian folk tale?Anyway, this is a fancified tale involving the Russian stories of Sleeping Beauty and Baba Yaga, and a great one at that. I found myself transported to a hamlet in old Russia, faced with the problems of the people...and I was hooked. I could not put this book down, and 18 hours and 419 pages later, I was finished, left with a sense of awe and a longing for a sequel that was not to be. One of the things best pulled off in Enchantment is Card's accuracy to the folktales. I read that he recieved help from scholars and common people who knew Russian folklore from the inside. He knew that a common failing in adapted fairy tales is a skewed (and typically wrong) view of things. Enchantment escapes that problem. I have yet to find a fatal flaw in any of its writing. In a word, enchanting. =)
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Summary: Great Modern Fairy Tale.
Review: I absoultely loved this novel. It's just fun to read and presents a very unique fairy tale, traveling from the present to the distant past. A must read!
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Summary: Guys! Don't be put-off by the cover!
Review: At a book signing, Mr. Card mentioned that men did not buy the book because of the cover. Since I began reading this book on-line, I didn't have that hurdle. Guys, buy this book and ignore the cover, or at least SAY it is for you wife/girlfriend/daughter/neice!] This is a modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty set in the milieus of ancient and modern Russia. And if that doesn't wet your appetite, nothing will! It tells the story of an track-star/literature student from the Soviet Union who learns that he is really Jewish. After the Velvet Revolution, Ivan returns to Russia to visit his uncle, and there he sees her: Sleeping Beauty! This book is, as only Orson Scott Card can do, is a whirlwind of adventure, time travel, several "First Contact" scenarios, and, yes, romance! I read this book simultaneously with "Timeline" by Crichton, and Mr. Card blew him out of the water! "Timeline" was rather thin and runny, like bland oatmeal. A friend of mine pointed out that the book was more of screenplay than novel, and he also showed me some of the plot holes! Mr. Card, however, told a thick, well done New York steak of a tale. The characters were well developed, and did develop in the course of the story. The secondary characters actually had a pulse, and were not cardboard cutouts. And beneath this all was an affirmation of mutual respect across culture and time barriers; the sanctity of marriage in society; and the ultimate triumph of good. Mr. Card does a superb job of crafting characters that work within family organizations. As he pointed out in his introduction to "Speaker for the Dead," most characters in books are free-roaming adolescents that run around solving other peoples problems. (Can you imagine Superman being a bishop? With all those interviews?) Card has a very tight family organization, which reflects how people really operate in the real world. Sherlock Holmes is single, and Watson's wife is a pale shadow of a person. One interesting plot point that Mr. Card does not develop is the importance of childbearing. It is interesting that part of the plot would be predicated on pregnancy. More Mormon family values! This is one of Mr. Card's well-crafted books. I know that many non-Latter-day Saints read these books and I hope that he can influence everyone for the good.
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Summary: Interesting, but it helps if you know Russian Folktales
Review: The main protagonist is Ivan and the main antagonist is Baba Yaga. It helps if you have already read Russian tales about "Simple Ivan" or Baba Yaga. If you haven't, here is a little inforamtion about them: The character known as Ivan is usually depicted as stupid or silly, yet still triumphs as the hero. Baba Yaga is usually depicted as an old sorceress or witch who has a small house that walks on chicken legs. She flies through the air in a mortar and pestal. She bestows both gifts and curses. Now, with all of that said, let me explain a little about this novel. The premise is that fairy tales have a true basis. In this case, there really was a Simple Ivan, Baba Yaga, and a house with chicken legs. Orson Scott Card creates this reality by having a modern day Ivan travel back in time where he meets a real sleeping beauty (Princes Katarina) and Widow Queen Baba Yaga. Ivan is an excellent scholar and athlete in his own time, but to the people of 890AD Russia and especially to his soon to be new wife Katarina, he is clueless about being a "real man" and therfore an idiot. Magic is real in 890AD and so is the witch Baba Yaga. As for the house with chicken legs, I let you discover how that comes about for yourself.
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Summary: Read twice in two weeks
Review: Any one who is a fan of fantasy will love this book. By fantasy i mean the fairytales of childhood. After one reading I read it again just to see what i had missed, if anything, and to see the fairy tales in every line of the book. I will read this book agian and again because like the fairy tales it is based on it strikes a chord with the child in me wanting to believe.
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Summary: To weave something like this can only mean enchantment.
Review: There are few dreamers of daydreams alive and writing about them well today. For those of us who ever did glance off in class or thrill at the mention of a bedtime story, "Enchantment" just might fail to put yourself effectively asleep. The story of Ivan, a man who jogs everywhere in an effort to find something purposefully aimful, and Katerina, the self-aware and talented princess waiting to satisfy an aim, keeps the reader turning each page just to hear their always amusing and wry commentary on the often clever problems that arise from the book's 400 or so pages. The two are bound inexplicably by the laws of fairytale magic to help each other overcome the perils of black curses, time travel conundrums, a bad decision to wear a hoose, a jilted neurotic fiance and ultimately the unexpectedly comedic duo of a ... bear god and the hilariously evil witch that binds him to her to save the kingdom of Taina. So many threads and themes are woven together, but it really is no wonder a good writer like Card did not lose himself in the muck. (After all, this IS the writer of "Ender's Game." *cue cheers from the crowd*) You don't have to read the acknowledgements to see the legions of fascinating cultural and folktale details that flesh out the book's world. Characters of fantasy speak like they were auditioning for a TV show lines. Powerful beings dwell in ordinary places. Jewish, Christian and more ancient religions clash (and will certainly offend the easily offended). It is a book that does much to revive that something somewhere inside of you that wishes magic were real. Nevertheless, Card lessens this incantation a tad by giving most of his creations that smarmy, modern fantasy character logic that they all like to work out in brilliant detail for the reader to understand. Even as Card mocks crazed feminists, the modern language of Oprah and Seven Habits of Highly Effectual People merge with psychological insight most wish they could muster. The effect is like it always is today: character's who lose some of the freedom of interpretation and who are not carved with the graceful, mysterious lines a true literary master would give them. To give Card credit, at least he does not make them as irritatingly dense as Jordan, Goodkind and many others are wont to do on a quest for round, three dimensional characters. Certainly, while it does not rise out of the most of the genre's weakness, "Enchantment" does not fall to half of their worst devices either. Plot threads unravel evenly, not to suddenly stack odds back and forth in order to trick the reader into thinking great shifts happen. Slow, deliberate developments actually develop! Enough pages are taken to slow down to intelligence's pace, but even more admirable, to speed up for the sake of the plot! While I would have loved to know what happened to Terrel, it wasn't necessary, and it is where many others would have devoted 50 pages to an ancillary character in a bruised need to feel "epic." Card understands the craft better to conjure a sometimes suspenseful, often hilarious, every now and then educational, but always unfailingly modern charm on anyone who reads the story. The denouement was particularly sweet, as few these days of never-ending fantasy are. Original enough to surprise even fantasy fans, but lacking real power outside the well-told yarn, you could certainly weave much worse magic spells than the riveting "Enchantment" out of a book store.
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Summary: This book rocks!
Review: This book is awesome! usually, i don't like reading really long books and i'm not a huge sci-fi fan (fantasy is more my style) but this book is awesome! I read a lot and this book is definitly high on my list. i couldn't put it down. my librarian told me i would like it and she was like. i wouldn't recommed this book for the extremely young 'cause it wouldn't really hold their attention. i mean, it had some words that i had to look up! but it was still an awesome book! pick it up and read it sometime!
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Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: This modern fairly tale transports you to a world of real magic, real courage and real witches. And it manages to do so while allowing the characters to remain true to themselves (which is always a challenge,and perhaps more so with fantasy). Early on, we're told that 'nobody in his right mind would want to live through the Russian version of a fairy tale', yet our hero does just that. All in all, I found the book deeply satisfying and heartwarming, and the created world internally consistent. I found myself looking forward to the commute, just so I could plunge back into this world and find out what was going to happen next.
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Summary: Absolutly amazing!
Review: Card has really shone his work here. Taking place in two worlds, each different from each other, it is completely awesome. You really get to know the characters, especially Ivan. You get plunged into the lives of these people, and can't wait for the next page. It's full of suprises and twists. It has just enough romance in it-not gushy, but not lame. This is my absolute favorite book. I can't wait to read more of Card's work!!
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