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ncrabb 's review for:
The Call of Earth
by Orson Scott Card
I read the first installment in this series many years ago, and I’ve had this one in reserve on my hard drive for years, savoring and anticipating what I was sure would be a great experience. I came away largely disappointed and questioning whether I want to continue with the series.
This is a hard review to write. This entire Homecoming series is loosely based on the First Book of Nephi, which is one of 15 books that comprise The Book of Mormon. I cannot stress hard enough the importance of the concept of loosely based.
The author attempts early on here to depict the evil that has befallen the city of Basilica. In so doing, he creates scenes that I found vulgar and somewhat explicit. Those early scenes are entirely Card’s creation. They do not occur at all in The Book of Mormon but I understand why they are there. Card is attempting to help you see why 14-year-old Nafai, and his family have been directed to leave the city and return from a long-ago colonized planet to Earth.
When Nafai’s planet was originally colonized, a computer called Oversoul was in charge of its affairs. Oversoul regulated the entire planet, preventing its citizenry from developing war-like technologies and doing what it could to stop the cities that were colonized from decaying into tribes or worse.
For a time, it succeeded, but as it aged, Oversoul knew it could no longer prevent the colonists from warring against one another. The only hope for the colonists lie with young Nafai and his family. That family had to return to Earth and alert the Earth’s keeper as to the decaying condition of the Oversoul computer.
In this second installment of the series, Nafai and his brothers seek wives from among the women of Basilica. You see brief glimpses into the characters of the women chosen. Nafai’s mother is depicted here as some kind of sophisticate who understands the intrigue and machinations of the city’s politics, but a woman who is faithfully married to Nafai’s father, who barely figures into this book. Nafai’s wife is 13-year-old Luet, and she is portrayed here as being more virtuous and magnificent than anyone should ever be, especially at that age.
I won’t belabor your time much more with any additional plot information. I suppose I’ll give book three a try at some point in the event that it becomes and enthralling story again as it was in book one.
This is a hard review to write. This entire Homecoming series is loosely based on the First Book of Nephi, which is one of 15 books that comprise The Book of Mormon. I cannot stress hard enough the importance of the concept of loosely based.
The author attempts early on here to depict the evil that has befallen the city of Basilica. In so doing, he creates scenes that I found vulgar and somewhat explicit. Those early scenes are entirely Card’s creation. They do not occur at all in The Book of Mormon but I understand why they are there. Card is attempting to help you see why 14-year-old Nafai, and his family have been directed to leave the city and return from a long-ago colonized planet to Earth.
When Nafai’s planet was originally colonized, a computer called Oversoul was in charge of its affairs. Oversoul regulated the entire planet, preventing its citizenry from developing war-like technologies and doing what it could to stop the cities that were colonized from decaying into tribes or worse.
For a time, it succeeded, but as it aged, Oversoul knew it could no longer prevent the colonists from warring against one another. The only hope for the colonists lie with young Nafai and his family. That family had to return to Earth and alert the Earth’s keeper as to the decaying condition of the Oversoul computer.
In this second installment of the series, Nafai and his brothers seek wives from among the women of Basilica. You see brief glimpses into the characters of the women chosen. Nafai’s mother is depicted here as some kind of sophisticate who understands the intrigue and machinations of the city’s politics, but a woman who is faithfully married to Nafai’s father, who barely figures into this book. Nafai’s wife is 13-year-old Luet, and she is portrayed here as being more virtuous and magnificent than anyone should ever be, especially at that age.
I won’t belabor your time much more with any additional plot information. I suppose I’ll give book three a try at some point in the event that it becomes and enthralling story again as it was in book one.