The Changed Man

Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag of horror and suspense stories
Review: Card's short stories frequently differ thematically from his longer work. While his longer work revolves around free will and human interaction, his short stories are often written for one main point. It's fair to judge his short stories by how well and interestingly he gets that point across.

"Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory." The point: payback for past sins is inescapable. This story is unappealing because it violates a cardinal rule of moralistic storytelling. Howard is pursued by his guilt, which has taken in the form of a deformed infant, but the only reason the infant can pursue him in the first place is because he was sufficiently humane to rescue the baby. Card seems to be saying that if Howard had left the child in the lavatory, he could have walked away from his guilt entirely. A good fable should show the reader how a man's moral failings, and not his moral strengths, become his undoing. Rating: Unsatisfactory.

"Quietus." The point: death can be accepted more easily if one has children. This story is extremely appealing to me, because it simultaneously incorporates familiar Mormon references and ordinary scenes into a surreal storyline. The result is disorienting, yet perfected suited to Card's exposition. Rating: Outstanding.

"Deep Breathing Exercises." The point: if we pay close attention, we are all linked together in death. I'm not sure if Card had any point to make, or whether he had just the one idea of synchronous breathing. Probably the latter, although Card is fascinated with human interaction as a general principle, as evidenced in his works such as "Xenocide." Overall, the story is worth a read and that's about it. Rating: Good.

"Fat Farm." The point: you cannot escape the consequences of your vices. Card uses a fun way of making his moral point. My only objection is that we don't find out the dirty job that Barth H has been tasked to do. I'd love to see a continuation of this story. Rating: Excellent.

"Closing the Timelid." The point: if we give in to our senses we will come to crave anything, even death. I suppose other lessons could be drawn from this story, but I believe the principal one is the one I describe above. The story itself is so-so -- it doesn't really capture your attention like Card's somewhat similar "Clap Hands and Sing." Rating: Satisfactory.

"Freeway Games." The point: what goes around comes around. I sum up the story with a cliché because there's not much substance to it; that said, it's a very entertaining read. Rating: Good.

"A Sepulchre of Songs." The point: fulfillment of our deepest wishes may come at too high a price. This story turned out to be a gem, while in the hands of a lesser author it could have been awful. It's easy to be manipulative when it comes to suffering children. Hollywood uses it as a plot device when things are dragging, so "kids in jep" has a justifiably bad rep. Here, however, Card shows the proper amount of skill and tact when dealing with the subject, and its use is central to the story. Rating: Outstanding.

"Prior Restraint." The point: if people had the ability to manipulate the present through time travel, they would, no matter what evil it would cause. Asimov wrote a better story with the same point, called "The Winds of Change." Here, Card even puts a kid in jep (actually, he kills him off) unnecessarily, which is a no-no. Shame on Card for doing that and for putting together an ineffectual and boring story. Rating: Unsatisfactory.

"The Changed Man and the King of Words." The point: if we do not guard our inner selves, myth can overpower us. Card has a fascinating point, and post-September 11, one that is extremely relevant. However, he lets the story get too wrapped up in its form (Greek, Shakespearian tragedies; Freud) to allow proper exposition of its substance. He also throws in lots of metaphor and symbolism but doesn't do a good job stitching them together. It's still an entertaining read, but is ultimately somewhat unsatisfying, which Card himself admits in his "Afterword." Rating: Good.

"Memories of My Head." The point: the division between reality and fantasy for a depressed, desperate person can be awfully thin. I found myself liking this story in spite of myself, because even though it doesn't really go anywhere, it captures a boiling rage so perfectly and combines it with a disorienting point of view. Read the story to enjoy its mood, not for any particular elucidation. But I still have a nagging suspicion that I'm missing something more profound. Rating: Excellent.

"Lost Boys." The point: love can bind us after death, even if only temporarily. Once again Card puts kids in jep, but like "Sepulchre of Songs" he does so with skill. Yes, the story is emotionally manipulative, but Card is appropriately only semi-apologetic about it. One minor complaint: the connection between the video game and the lost boys is never really connected in the short story. I understand that they are in the book, but I have not yet read the book, so I can't say for sure. Rating: Excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Maps
Review: Excellent!! I have come to expect great stories from Card, and this didn't disappoint me. I found 'The Changed Man and the King of Words' the best, but they are all incredible. I recommend making a full collection of Card's work.

No one else has mentioned it, so I will: this book is a section in Maps in a Mirror.

Rating:
Summary: An incredible collection of intrest!
Review: I am a big OSC fan. You can't expect me to hate any of his books, expecially this one, it was incredible easy reading and nontheless interesting for a set of short stories. Unlike most authors, OSC can really say a lot in little time, so even though they are short stories, the man does not disapoint.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Card
Review: So the rating system isn't exactly fair. It's hard to judge a whole book of short stories. All are good. Most are VERY good. A few are exceptional.
For example, the Changed Man and the King of Words. Of all the OSC short stories I've read (and I freely admit that I haven't read them all YET) this one was probably the best, sharing the #1 position with Dogwalker (in a different book). Then again, there may have been a little Classic/English-anti-science-major brought out by the story, but that only made, for a me, a great story greater. I don't actually think that's possible, but hey, it's my review.
Either way, find yourself someone selling this book used and buy it, it's worth way more than I paid for it :)

Rating:
Summary: Simply Stunning!
Review: The Changed Man is an absolute rush of intense, dark creativity. There seems to be so many threads in the fabric of each story and it's so descriptive you can see every detail Card is writing about. It's especially frightening if you have a vivid imagination. You walk away from it saying 'What in the world did I just read?'

Rating:
Summary: Dread
Review: The copy I have says on the back that this is a collection of stories that all deal with the feeling of "dread".

And even though I KNEW that, I still felt it, in every single story. Oh my god, where is he going with this? Or, worse: Oh my god I think I KNOW where he's going with this and I REALLY don't want it to go there...

And I read them all together, in a couple days I'd finished the book. And even during the last story, I was still dreading what would happen on the next page. I didn't get used to it. I didn't feel disassociated from what I was reading.

Card can really get under your skin, you know?

Rating:
Summary: Dread
Review: The copy I have says on the back that this is a collection of stories that all deal with the feeling of "dread".

And even though I KNEW that, I still felt it, in every single story. Oh my god, where is he going with this? Or, worse: Oh my god I think I KNOW where he's going with this and I REALLY don't want it to go there...

And I read them all together, in a couple days I'd finished the book. And even during the last story, I was still dreading what would happen on the next page. I didn't get used to it. I didn't feel disassociated from what I was reading.

Card can really get under your skin, you know?