13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most imaginative adventure stories I've ever read, July 27, 1999
This review is from: A Planet Called Treason (Hardcover)
Published in 1978, this was Orson Scott Card's second novel (his fourth book to be published). It faded out of print, then Card made some major revisions/rewrites and republished it in 1988 under a different title. I have not read the revised version, simply titled TREASON, but it is supposed to be a complete overhaul with 10% new material.
As Card himself has acknowledged, A Planet Called Treason is amateurish. There is no question Card has improved his tone, pacing, character development, and storylines over the last twenty years. But this story is still one of the most imaginative I have ever read, despite the structural flaws. This is the kind of wild, no-holds-barred fantasy every 10-year old boy dreams about, but few adults have the talent to write (Orson Scott Card and George Lucas come to mind). This novel illustrates why I enjoy OSC so much - even when he's not in peak form, his books are still too fun to put down.
One note about different versions: There are differences between the Dell paperback and the hardback edition (at least, the Book Club edition I own). First, the map included on page 1 is much more detailed in the paperback version than the hardcover. Second, I think there are some minor editorial revisions in the paperback. I happened to notice, when I picked up the hardcover to find where I left off in the paperback, the last sentence of Chapter 10 was changed; I have no idea why this was done or if any other alterations were made
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
beyond Sci-Fi, December 21, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: A Planet Called Treason (Hardcover)
as stated in the other reveiws, the plot of this book is very interesting and imaginative but the aspects of the book that i enjoied were first that the character lanik is a character modeled after an average teenager. all of his actions are based on that of a young adult and thus it shows how one matures over time and when exposed to various stimuli. The second aspect of the novel that i enjoied was the brilliant way in which card depicted the difference between the following catagories of actions that are treason dissent and freedom. The most prominante way in which he portrays this is with the planet treason being orbited by its two moons dissent and freedom. card also portrays this theme or idea in ay least ten different manifestations. Other than this the book was very descriptive and in other words one of those books you can't put down until your done and after that you feel remorse that it is over.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Twisted, Different, and a Compelling Read, November 10, 2004
This review is from: A Planet Called Treason (Hardcover)
Obviously written early in his career, this story really stands apart from much of OSC's work. It really is a fascinating read, although sometimes dark and a little graphic -- but it would make an excellent sci-fi movie. The hero of the story is a rad-regen, meaning his family has the ability to regenerate body parts (if a finger is cut off, it grows back), however he cannot control his growth as puberty hits, and he has extra limbs and internals growing all over the place. Talk about a bad day. He becomes an outcast, and wanders this planet of outcasts looking for purpose and a future. The ancestors of the planet's inhabitants were outcasts from earth, sent here for their crimes - the planet has no natural resources for them to escape - and hence is called Planet Treason.
A great adventure, and a fun read. You won't be disappointed.
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