Enchantment

Rating:
Summary: A must have book!
Review: It has been so long since I read this book, but I highly recommend it. In fact, instead of loaning it out to people like normal, I actually bought it for two of my friends that I knew would appreciate it as well. This is a modern day "Sleeping Beauty", but it is so well written. I was first introduced to Orson Scott Card in college with "Ender's Game", which was an excellent book and then read "Lost Boys", which I did not feel was as good, but still worth the read. This book and perhaps "Dogs of Babel" by Carolyn Parkhurst would definitely be two I would like to have on a deserted island.

Rating:
Summary: Remarkably good read
Review: I am a big OSC fan, and have read most of his work (though I have avoided the Memory of Earth series). This ranks right up there with one of his best books. It's a fairy tale with some depth to it.

In case you haven't bothered to read the basics of the plot yet, the story is about a grad student doing some field work abroad who finds himself transported back in time. He meets a princess and hijinx ensue. I was skeptical at first, but it came highly recommended, and so I read. Hopefully you will too. If you like this one, I would also suggest "Pastwatch" by Orson Scott Card.

Rating:
Summary: Modern spin on the sleeping beauty story
Review: I became aware of this book after my father in law read it and recommended it. To be honest, I wasn't too keen on reading a spin on the classic fairytale....but was very pleased with the depth of this story. Card is by far my favorite author, and this is yet another demonstration of how he can take a familiar theme and breathe new life into it. He intricately weaves this story of Sleeping Beauty into it roots in Ukranian folklore, leading the reader to believe that maybe there's some truth to the fairytale. All around excellent read.

Rating:
Summary: love it!
Review: I have never heard of the author, but regardless I don't really take note of any authors of all the books I read. But this book, the cover and the title stands out. Yes, i judge a book before i read it. I truly didnt think i would enjoy reading it, but i did. Since the first time i borrow from the public library to read it, i went out to purchase the book and read it three more times. The story, with a mixed of fairy tale and mystery was enough to lead me to finish the book in one sitting (well actually one day). its really a wonderful book if one likes to read a modern day version of fairy tales. A little romance, a little magic, a little mystery that keep you guessing until the end.

Rating:
Summary: Not just Sleeping Beauty
Review: I loved this book the first time I read it (couldn't put it down). The only other Orson Scott Card I had read was Ender's Game and most of the Alvin Maker series (which began with promise but disappointed me in the end). Enchantment is very different from the aforementioned. I love the way he weaves in classic Russian fairytales and makes it an incredibly involving tale about personal change and development (whereas Ender's Game and Alvin Maker I feel are more societally-focused stories). Additionally, I always have much respect for Card's characters and their morals, and this is no exception.

Rating:
Summary: Fun and entertaining read
Review: If you enjoy Orson Scott Card's Science Fiction works, I believe you will also enjoy his fantasy. This isn't the first Card fantasy I've read (I like his fantasy much more, with the exception of Ender's Game and Shadow) but this was one of my favorites.

My favorite thing about Orson Scott Card is his characters. And this book has the best of them all. First there is "Price" Ivan who was born a Ukrain Jew who defected from Russia and ended up in the United States. He meets the Christian Princess Katerina who was enchanted to fall asleep and would later on become the basis for Sleeping Beauty. You have a talking, immortal, good natured bear who is married to the meanest meanie of them all, Baba Yaga (Okay, repeat after me, Baba Yaga... one of the funnest names to say aloud). Can it get better than this?

This story is fun, interesting, entertaining, and educational with enough plot twists to be considered one of Orson Scott Card's best.

If you would like a good fantasy, give this book a try. It isn't too long and the pace is very good. The ending leaves you satisfied but, none-the-less, begging for more. Probably not the best bed-time story for young children, but more for mature teenagers and up (there is a splash of needless swearing in it).

Come on, give it a go!!

Rating:
Summary: Unfinished and undisciplined
Review: If you think that Card's quality has declined since Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, then stay away from this book as well. Card's editors just don't demand enough from him. Enchantment feels unfinished and unedited, overly long with surprises popping out of nowhere. Characters are not up to Card's standards. It's also consciously gender-roled (only women have magic at all), and the end dodges all the cultural conflicts set up in the beginning for a suddenly smooth "happily ever after."

Rating:
Summary: A must have book!
Review: It has been so long since I read this book, but I highly recommend it. In fact, instead of loaning it out to people like normal, I actually bought it for two of my friends that I knew would appreciate it as well. This is a modern day "Sleeping Beauty", but it is so well written. I was first introduced to Orson Scott Card in college with "Ender's Game", which was an excellent book and then read "Lost Boys", which I did not feel was as good, but still worth the read. This book and perhaps "Dogs of Babel" by Carolyn Parkhurst would definitely be two I would like to have on a deserted island.

Rating:
Summary: A must have book!
Review: It has been so long since I read this book, but I highly recommend it. In fact, instead of loaning it out to people like normal, I actually bought it for two of my friends that I knew would appreciate it as well. This is a modern day "Sleeping Beauty", but it is so well written. I was first introduced to Orson Scott Card in college with "Ender's Game", which was an excellent book and then read "Lost Boys", which I did not feel was as good, but still worth the read. This book and perhaps "Dogs of Babel" by Carolyn Parkhurst would definitely be two I would like to have on a deserted island.

Rating:
Summary: Children from 8 to 80 will enjoy this book!
Review: Most of us probably heard the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty when we were children. Card takes the classic fairy tale and gives it a unique, modern spin.

Ten-year-old Ivan finds an unusual clearing in a dense, Carpathian forest. In the center of the clearing is a pedestal encircled by fallen leaves. Atop the pedestal is a sleeping maiden. However, Ivan detects a sinister presence beneath the leaves and runs for the safety of his cousin's farm.

Years later, Ivan is a graduate student in America. Shortly after becoming engaged, Ivan returns to his native land to work on his doctoral thesis. Unable to forget that clearing in the woods, Ivan returns to determine if what he saw was merely a young boy's fantasy. Finding the clearing just as he left it, he does not run away this time. Ivan awakens the sleeping maiden with a kiss and is transported into a kingdom that vanished over a thousand years ago.

This is a love story unlike any I've ever read before. Card touchingly describes the love that grows between two strangers from vastly different worlds. Deftly transferring between 9th century Russia and the 1990's, Card tells the classic tale of witches, enchantment, knights and princesses. Card meticulously researched Russian folk tales to give the story an authentic Russian flavor. The original Sleeping Beauty tale had a happy ending, but Card keeps you guessing about the outcome of his version until the very end.

Card's first novel, Ender's Game, featured a very inventive, engaging plot but scant character development. However, it still established Card as a major force in the science fiction and fantasy genres. With the release of Enchantment, Card demonstrates his growth as an author. Enchantment shows that not only does he continue to generate creative plot lines, but that first-rate character development is firmly within his grasp. Children from 8 to 80 can enjoy this book!