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brendalovesbooks's review
It's been a long time since I read the other books in this series. In fact, it was in June of 2003 that I read Earthfall (book 4 in the series). I honestly don't remember much about them, but according to my goodreads ratings, I really liked them a lot.
I couldn't even finish this one. I think it's mainly because I didn't care for the story, but also contributing may be that I'm not LDS (and there is just so much in here that parallels the Book of Mormon, and it's too blatant to ignore), and also that I don't really like Card as a person. But I don't think that's really the problem. I can usually forget an author and how much I like or dislike them if I'm enjoying the story.
But, while reading reviews, I see that other people liked the other books and didn't like this one. So it probably really is a pretty crappy ending to a decent series. I've read about 200 pages, and I feel like I'm reading some scriptural account, and I'm just not interested. I'll be moving on to something else.
I couldn't even finish this one. I think it's mainly because I didn't care for the story, but also contributing may be that I'm not LDS (and there is just so much in here that parallels the Book of Mormon, and it's too blatant to ignore), and also that I don't really like Card as a person. But I don't think that's really the problem. I can usually forget an author and how much I like or dislike them if I'm enjoying the story.
But, while reading reviews, I see that other people liked the other books and didn't like this one. So it probably really is a pretty crappy ending to a decent series. I've read about 200 pages, and I feel like I'm reading some scriptural account, and I'm just not interested. I'll be moving on to something else.
corvingreene's review
1.0
I loved this series as a kid, though now that I know Orson Scott Card is a nasty LDS homophobe, and that this series is, essentially, a re-telling of the Book of Mormon, I'm much less interested/impressed.
kvothesduet's review
1.0
One of the least satisfying conclusions to any series I've ever read. Threads are left loose, questions are left unanswered, and faith and mystical earthpower carry the day.
taliesinpendragon's review
3.0
I was pretty disappointed on how this ended. Instead of continuing with the same family that the other books followed it skipped hundreds of heads ahead and introduce completely new characters and political systems. I absolutely loved the trajectory of the other books and this one felt almost forced. it felt like Card couldn’t come up with a good idea of a keeper and just pulled something out of a hat. The book was ok but overall I was pretty disappointed
kristaallysa's review against another edition
2.0
This book is beautifully written like all of Orson Scott Card's books. He is one of my favorite authors. That being said, this is my least favorite book in my least favorite series I've read by him. Part of my problem comes down to not realizing this series was based on the Book of Mormon when I started it. I had some frustrations with the previous books with things such as the treatment of women as second class, where their primary purpose always seemed to be to support their husbands and raise children. But overall, the previous books read as good science fiction with an interesting premise. What if the god of a world were actually a machine controlling humanity from the sky? What would happen if that machine started to break down? Under Card's deft pen, it made for an interesting story. This 5th book reads less like an interesting science fiction book and more like a religious manifesto, incorporating Mormon theology into what seems like every sentence. In addition, Card abandoned almost all the previous characters and plot. The purpose of coming to earth in the first place was to help restore the oversoul. That whole premise is completely brushed over here. Instead, he introduces a whole new cast of characters, none of whom were very interesting to me. I just couldn't bring myself to care about them. The only parts that really engaged me were the portions that involved Shedemai and the oversoul (the only characters that remained from the previous four books.) In addition, he never satisfactorily resolved the question: Who is the keeper of earth? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that the keeper was a real god. Why would a real all-powerful god create (or have humans create) machine gods to watch over other planets? Overall, I am disappointed in this book and just glad to be done with it.
zeydejd's review
2.0
I'm really being generous here when I say that Earthborn was "okay," but to say I disliked it would also be too extreme I feel. If I could, I would say it's somewhere in the middle. When I first started reading it, I was horribly disappointed. The book is set about 500 years after Earthfall, the last book. The only original character that is left is Shedemei. The rest are referred to as ancient heroes by the people in Earthborn and very few know the true stories of the Heroes, though Nafai inscribed his experiences on gold leaflets. (To me, this was an allusion to the Bible, especially because there were so many interpretations of it by the people in Earthborn). Yet again, Card tries to deal with multiple controversial topics in this novel, gender roles and agnosticism/atheism being the two main ones. He does it in such an obvious way, however, that it becomes quite distasteful and rather ineffective, almost immature. Though the series as a whole was a fun, light, easy read, I must say this is probably the worst work of Card's that I have come across so far. Still, I will continue to read him not only because he has interesting topics that he makes the subjects of his books, but also in the hopes that something else can live up to half of what the Ender saga was.
craftingrama's review against another edition
3.0
If you have ever read the Bible and the book of Mormon, then listening or reading this series will give your brain a serious slap. I have trouble giving this series a good rating simply because if this had been done with any other books there would have been such screaming of plagarism so loud that the books would have been buried and never to see the light of day again. What Card has done is taking the 2 books and cut out and mixed up all the stories of the bible and the book of momon, changed names added a space ship and 2 planets, added a few pages of storyline to create cohesion of the new set up and is selling it as a new creation. Crikey I could have done the same but have to admit I have serious problems with doing that to the bible and its against the law of doing it with any other book. I seriously doubt Card could have spent all that much time writing this as so much of it was stolen out of those 2 books and since he is supposedly a strong mormon then he would have had to have intimate knowledge of both books to the point of almost total memorization. The extreme family drama he goes into actually kind of ruins it and adds too much make work that it almost causes you to glaze over while listening to it. I want to read a book that gives me escape and enjoyment not a bunch family fights similar to far too many I've been a part of or listened to over the many years of my life.
solargalaxy6's review
1.0
I did not enjoy this book, due to the entirely different writing style in comparison to the rest of the series.
This book had a good theme, however this was lost in the amount of time it took to get through it.
This book had a good theme, however this was lost in the amount of time it took to get through it.
kristaallysa1's review
2.0
This book is beautifully written like all of Orson Scott Card's books. He is one of my favorite authors. That being said, this is my least favorite book in my least favorite series I've read by him. Part of my problem comes down to not realizing this series was based on the Book of Mormon when I started it. I had some frustrations with the previous books with things such as the treatment of women as second class, where their primary purpose always seemed to be to support their husbands and raise children. But overall, the previous books read as good science fiction with an interesting premise. What if the god of a world were actually a machine controlling humanity from the sky? What would happen if that machine started to break down? Under Card's deft pen, it made for an interesting story. This 5th book reads less like an interesting science fiction book and more like a religious manifesto, incorporating Mormon theology into what seems like every sentence. In addition, Card abandoned almost all the previous characters and plot. The purpose of coming to earth in the first place was to help restore the oversoul. That whole premise is completely brushed over here. Instead, he introduces a whole new cast of characters, none of whom were very interesting to me. I just couldn't bring myself to care about them. The only parts that really engaged me were the portions that involved Shedemai and the oversoul (the only characters that remained from the previous four books.) In addition, he never satisfactorily resolved the question: Who is the keeper of earth? I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that the keeper was a real god. Why would a real all-powerful god create (or have humans create) machine gods to watch over other planets? Overall, I am disappointed in this book and just glad to be done with it.
ncrabb's review against another edition
2.0
If you ever need an example of what a series looks like when it runs out of gas and sputters and dies, this book exemplifies that scenario. I came away mostly disappointed.
Essentially, the book details the lives of two groups of people. They arrived on Earth hoping they could help their onboard computer correct its programming. The group split in two shortly after their arrival. As book five opens, they have been on earth for something close to five centuries. The people discovered two other sentient species on the planet. One of those species lives in the sky; the other lives below ground. They are referred to as angels and diggers.
This is basically a kind of plot-disabled meander of a rambling book that depicts the prejudices and struggles of these groups of people. I had real hopes for this; there are plenty of places it could have gone. It just feels like maybe the book was running on fumes for most of it.
Essentially, the book details the lives of two groups of people. They arrived on Earth hoping they could help their onboard computer correct its programming. The group split in two shortly after their arrival. As book five opens, they have been on earth for something close to five centuries. The people discovered two other sentient species on the planet. One of those species lives in the sky; the other lives below ground. They are referred to as angels and diggers.
This is basically a kind of plot-disabled meander of a rambling book that depicts the prejudices and struggles of these groups of people. I had real hopes for this; there are plenty of places it could have gone. It just feels like maybe the book was running on fumes for most of it.