The Memory of Earth

Rating:
Summary: Can't go wrong with this Card novel.
Review: Orson Scott Card made me an instant fan with Ender's game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. As a result, I was not hesistant to pick up this novel. Once I picked the book up, I knew I would not be unhappy.

From the beginning, Card shows his creativity. Earth has been dead for 40 million years due to human destruction. Now, a computer resides over the colony world of Harmony, trying to prevent the same fate as EArth. But the computer is dying. Because Harmony will fail, this computer, called the Oversoul is trying to save certain individuals from a doomed city.

The family structure in this novel is nothing new; humans have seen this complicated society structure before. But what is interesting is that women rule the city here. Men are nothing, and must renew a marriage contract every year. It can be with the same women, but it does not have to be.

The Oversoul monitors all of society from the satellites above. It has now chosen who it wants to take to Earth. These will be his "messengers". Due to this style, you can see the obvious religious symbolism in the story. So, yes, there is some religious symbolism. I enjoyed the novel more from the societal structure and dysfunctional family that it is centered around. There are some different individuals in this novel, almost anything you can think of can be found in at least ONE individual in the whole family. Enjoy this novel, because it is giving the background for future novels.

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening
Review: Though the book is based on the Book of Mormon's characters and their lives, there are several other fictional characters added in, and their situation is clearly different, even their religion is different. If anything, Card gives greater religious insight than the Book of Mormon or the Bible to the possibility of communication between God and man and the meaning of life in general. If you have ever prayed and wondered if there is a God out there and if he or she heard you, then this book is worth reading, regardless of your religious beliefs.

Rating:
Summary: thanks for the revised version of the Book of Mormon..ugh
Review: I will point out what several other readers have..this is almost a direct copy of the Book of Mormon, except without the archaic language. Come on Mr.Card. You have talent and vision ( as is evidenced in the Ender's series)yet you take the easy road here and just change a few names and settings. Not to mention the disservice you do to your own religion (and my previous religion).People have enough problems with Mormonism..don't give the impression that it is all fantasy.All this book series does is bring up the question of if Joseph Smith was a talented fantasy/ sci-fi writer or a true prophet.I felt betrayed by this unimaginative pap.

Rating:
Summary: A big turnoff
Review: This book was a big turnoff for me. I mean, it's a science fictionalized version of the story of Nephi and the brass plates from the Book of Mormon! I just don't think that you should take something sacred and turn it into a secularized book. It's just not right! I kind of stopped reading Mr. Card's books because of this.......

Rating:
Summary: Plagarism?
Review: This book is a huge dissappointment and a shock to say the least. The only thing that kept me reading to the end of the book was to find out the extent to which the plot followed The Book of Mormon A scripture used By the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The story follows the plot of the first chapters with a science fiction lean and the main characters name is only changed from Nephi(Book of Mormon) to Nafai(Card). From the youngest son following his father in a revelation from a supreme being, Being chased out of a city for the vision and directives , Killing a family member by cutting off his head while doing it reluctantly for the records of the family. All these and more are the same in both books. A great story too bad it is not a new one by any means. I hope this is not a type for all of his other books. Simply saddening.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not nearly Ender's Game
Review: As a avid fan of the Ender books, i expected a book as good or better when i bought this book. However i was dissipointed at the book; none of the charecters are as well made as ender was, and the plot is sort of dumb. however it is still worth the money. if you like sci-fi, or OSC books, then buy this one.

Rating:
Summary: Card brings the Ender magic home with The Memory of Earth
Review: The Homecoming series is the second best Card series I have read, with Ender's being the first.

This saga begins with the Memory of Earh and the tale of Nafai and his family in their struggle on the planet Harmony. The planet is controlled by a computer known as the Oversoul, who has been secretly breeding people in order to bring them back to Earth to repopulate it. This is an excellent story which builds up deep, rich characters and builds a strong set of relationships between characters. Powerful foreshadowing can be noticed in this book. What will Nafai and his family choose to do? Will they follow the will of the Oversoul and lead themselves out of their great city, or will they stay and Nafais's older brothers, Elemark and Mebbekew wish to do?

If you have ever read a Card book, then you will enjoy this series as well. if you are looking for a book that is going to last through 5 books and develop upon each, then this is a series for you.

Rating:
Summary: The Memory of Earth-- A masterpiece
Review: The Memeory of Earth, by Orson Scott Card, is a brilliant and intense piece of literature. With a plethora of brilliant ideas and imagry that's so exciting to read, you'll want to purchase the entire series at once. Card's character descrpition and character interaction gets the reader so envolved that one could feel, taste, smell and hear every fine detail, just as the characters do. Let yourself fall into Card's imagination and read The Memory of Earth for an exciting ride into a sureal story that only Card could tell.

Rating:
Summary: The Oversoul Is Pleased
Review: This book is so good. I thought it would be like any other science fiction book, but it wasn't. I can't wait to read all of the others. Definetly worth buying. A science fiction story about the possible future of earth.

Rating:
Summary: A Remarkable Beginning
Review: The Memory of Earth is a remarkable beginning for a series. Usually, you can like a novel if it succeeds at one thing; this novel succeeds on a number of levels, any one of which would make a complete novel. It acts as the introduction to a whole new series. I should warn others who want to read all five books that this is the strongest of the five. I became disappointed by the third in the series as it seemed to move away from the setup in Memory of Earth. That doesn't change the fact that Memory is remarkable. I notice some readers feel it is too slow. I enjoyed the slow careful development of a huge, interrelated cast of characters who are remarkably vivid. You come to feel you know these people and like or dislike them as if they were real. Most remarkable is the creation of a society, the City of Basilica. It's a Byzantine world and it's a matriarchy. It's very unusual to have a matriarchy portrayed in a way that seems real, that is, it's simply part of the background of the politics of the city. As if this weren't enough, there's a remarkable spiritual dimension. Card is one of the very few authors willing to give his characters and his society a spiritual life. The relationship of man to the Oversoul becomes at times a clear metaphor for man and God, especially when one man receives a visionary dream that sends him on a pilgrimage into the desert. It's a long book but worth the journey.