Rating: Summary: If I were a woman or gay, I might have a crush on Card. Review: I'm not a woman and I'm not gay, so I just love (in a purely platonic way) Orson Scott Card's writing. This is a very good one. The main character is just plain interesting, and the book feels so heartfelt. The characters and events seem so real, but then... they're not. It's kinda disturbing, but also exhilerating. Kind of a horror/mystery novel, but also is a story about a man who seems so real in an unreal world. It is truly memorable, especially if you like character development.
Rating: Summary: Best left unopened. Review: I'm not one who has trouble separating an author from his characters, but as Card is known for wearing his religious affiliation on his sleeve in his writing, I couldn't help but read a little into the views expressed in this novel. If you are a practicing witch, this book will only make you angry; I'm not one and it still bothered me. Aside from this, Card's writing is bland and uninvolving, and the characters are shallow and dull. I found it barely believable that the villain of the piece would be capable of all she's done, although the way it tied in to an early scene in the story was a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, there's nothing else very original. As usual, don't read the Kirkus review above, if you are still interested in the book.
Rating: Summary: A preachy, made for a movie book Review: I've read most of Mr. Card's books, but this was the first of his I've read in the horror genre. This is not a good book, and I would not recommend it to anyone. Many times throughout this book Mr. Card lets us know his political and moral leanings, and it's too bad, because it greatly distracts from his story telling abilities. He is a great writer and storyteller, and Ender's Game is one of my top 5 favorite books. It's not hard to see in his books that he has the ability to see how people truly act and what their motivations are. As a result, it's odd to read about his beliefs, because they don't seem possible with the kind of observation of which he seems capable. This mystery, and the fact that one even thinks about it, is one of the downfalls of this book.
As to the plot of this book, well, it's an ok read, but I felt the same feeling I had when I first read Jurassic Park when I was twelve - "Gee, this sounds like a movie". I couldn't help but think that Mr. Card wrote this book to be a screenplay and not a novel, that maybe he was looking to cash in on some of what "authors" like Crichton have going for their pocketbooks.
Rating: Summary: Solidly entertaining and internally consistent fantasy Review: If you like a good ghost story, you'll love this romantic and spooky tale. The hero, Quentin Fears, achieves wealth easily, early in life; the rest of the story is about his search for meaning and a love interest who can compete with his idealized sister, who died as a young teen. Quentin finds himself drawn into a life of magic and supernatural power, with no preparation or information, and is forced to sort out reality from deceit and magical glamor. Luckily, he's gotten very good at judging character as a do-it-yourself venture capitalist. I found the story compelling but not terribly deep. It doesn't drag and keeps the reader eager to know how Quentin is going to resolve his situation. Take this book on vacation for sheer entertainment value!
Rating: Summary: Good plot, shallow charcters Review: Not up to cards standard, the plot is good with plenty of twists it has shallow charchters that don't even follow there descriptions, but don't get the idea that I'm being negative I recomend this book book to all his fans and all fans of thrillers (I mean this is above most of that genres quality if simply because it's differnt.) But I am surprised by the charcters shallowness card usally makes extremly believable people to populate his worlds. They also didn't pick up on some of the clues over who was really the evil witch, such as instead of calling the old lady mother like her daughter would she called her GrandMother and talks about her MOTHER having a falling out with her grandmother, and she called her Mothers long dead brother uncle instead of brother like she would have if she was the old ladys daughter etc. But back to the charcters, for being a recluse the main charcter sure did know a lot about people...
Rating: Summary: huh? Review: ok, maybe i should've read the reviews before i just jumped right in. i bought this book after reading homebody and lost boys (both amazing books). i am now surprised, reading some of the reviews, how typically sci-fi orson scott card is. i don't usually think of ghost stories as sci-fi, but i guess they are (and now i'm gonna read those, since everyone seems to think those are his best works) but i really enjoyed this book. i am not one to complain about a book but i thought i knew what was going on in this book. then, suddenly, halfway thru, quentin and madeline go to meet her family. all of a sudden, this is a completely different book. not to say that i didn't enjoy the book it became, but it went from fiction to bizarre. also, when you get to the end, you don't know what to think. how could it get so crazy, but then leave you wanting a sequel. i know this review is all over the place, but the prose in this book, the characters, they just suck you in and don't let go til the end. please enjoy, i did. and look forward to reading more of his bizarre, ghosty books.
Rating: Summary: Disappointment for Card fans Review: One of the major strengths of Card's writing lies in the development of his characters, their interactions with others, and the moral choices they face. Unfortunately, this strength is fatally absent in "Treasure Box".
The pace of the book is hurried, rushing the reader through without much pause for reflection and understanding. A large chunk of the novel is entirely devoted to the backstory of the main character, Quentin Fears. Everything we need to know about Quentin is revealed before the "real" story gets underway. As Quentin doesn't really grow and change, the reader loses interest in him and his problems. Ultimately we are left wondering why we should care about the protagonist at all.
There are some classic Card scenes as well as some snappy dialogue but those moments come few and far between. The book is billed as a "low-key horror novel" but the witches, ghosts, enthrallments, 'haunted' house, and succubus that populate this novel come off as sensationalistic and overdone.
The underlying message about the dangers of power and isolation comes across as the "moral of the story" rather than the true heart of the novel.
The whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth.
I admire Card for switching genres and trying something new but I hope the sequel to this novel never gets written.
For anyone looking for a stand-alone Card novel, I recommend "Enchantment", a novel full of funny and engaging characters entangled in a fantastical story that Card manages to pull together with a masterful touch.
Rating: Summary: Reader General's Warning Review: One word of advice about this wonderful and unpredictable romp Card has delighted us with:
Don't read the dust cover summary! Read as little about the book before you read it as you can. Its plot twists are unpredictable so the more plot you know, the less enjoyment you'll get from the book. Like smoothing out the turns on a roller coaster.
Rating: Summary: One of Card's best works Review: Orson Scott Bard became my favorite author when I read Ender's Game. I began reading all of his other books, and while many were wonderful, only Treasure Box can compare to Ender's Game. Card's prose is wonderful. It has been called bland, but the reality is that we are so used to reading overdramatized, fake, trite writing that we cannot recongnize geniune writing when we see it. Card is the only author I have ever read who can seemingly make you cry without even trying, make you laugh without trying, make you fear without trying. His prose is subtle in a way to be ultimately effective. Too many people reviewing this book expected it to be a horror a la Stephen King, waiting for his type of thrills, and did not keep an open mind. Treasure Box is NOT a horror or a suspense. It is a psychological thriller of the best kind, and it is a shame that so many biased, narrow-minded readers are giving it a bad name. Maybe if we stop labelling books before we read them, we won't be as disappointed. After all, if you expected Brave New World or Lolita to be a horror book, you'd be disappointed, too.
Rating: Summary: A wonderfully thoughtful, supernatural thriller. Review: Orson Scott Card has written a great book. In "Treasure Box", the hero of the tale, Quentin Fears (rhymes with pierce), a kind of Bill Gates with a heart of gold, falls in love with the perfect woman, what everyman dreams of finding, but sometimes someone can be too perfect.
I won't say anymore about the plot, because I don't want to give anything anyway, but I will tell you that this
is a book that will not only keep you wondering what the
heck happens next, but will also make you think about
the nature of human relationships. What we love about someone, and how much of ourselves we change to accomodate the one we love.
It is now 2:15 in the morning... I have just finished the
book, and I have not been left with that hollow feeling you sometimes get after the ending of a book that disappoints, you know... that sad place you then feel the need to fill with either a brownie or some ice cream. Instead, I am going to turn off this computer, crawl into bed, and give my sweetie a kiss just because I love him. This often happens after I have read a book with rich characters that I can care for and which will live on in my heart even though I have turned the last page. This book and Quentin Fears will do just that
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