Earthfall (Homecoming Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Vusadka: the place where humans first set foot when their starships brought them to the planet they named Harmony..." (more)
Key Phrases: Old Ones, Keeper of Earth, Book of Sins (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches, programmed forty million years ago to guard the human settlement from all threats, especially themselves. In the latest in the Hugo- and Nebula award-winning author's Homecoming series, the great artificial intelligence has lost control of the population, forbidden technology has been rediscovered, war has broken out, and the only repair lies light years distant on a lost and ruined Earth.

"There seems little doubt that the whole series will prove as readable--and as morally committed--as we've come to expect from Card." --Locus --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The fourth and penultimate book in Card's Homecoming Saga carries the travelers from the planet Harmony back to Earth at last?the first humans to set foot there in 40 million years. The journey through space intensifies the strife between Nafai, leader of the expedition chosen by the Oversoul (Harmony's master computer), and his brother Elemak, which erupts again into violence midway through the voyage. Nafai's Oversoul-given powers and the obvious futility of a rebellion in deep space force a renewed truce, but hostilities continue to simmer as the travelers reach Earth. As the humans establish a colony, they must make peace with two sentient species, evolved in humankind's absence, which live in a constant state of enmity. This action-packed, plot-rich installment features Card's typical virtues?well-drawn characters and a story driven by complex moral issues. As the narrative pace accelerates, however, the later episodes fragment and characters fade into the background.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (January 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812532961
• ISBN-13: 978-0812532968
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,038 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Homecoming Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the first three but still pretty good, July 31, 1999

By	James ([e-mail]) (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I was actually quite let down by Earthfall. If you've read the first brilliant three in the Homecoming Saga you'll recognise that the story is a huge build up of tension and competition amongst the characters. Well I know it could only go on for so long, and the tension finally erupts in some places... but the big build up, between Nafai and Elemak... well it's builds up and up during the whole book again... and then everything is let down in the last few pages. An anti-climax, I can't tell what happens without spoiling things but new plot lines have taken over that have ended that brilliant one. Unless the final book in the series can redeem Earthfall, to me, it's an anti-climax.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's downhill from here..., March 14, 2003

By	IHiJump "ihijump" (Arkansas) - See all my reviews

I have to admit it... Card is a master of developing characters. By the time I made it to Earthfall I was on the edge of my seat! I loved Luet and Nafai and loathed Elmark. That is what Card does so well. You know the characters so intimately by the time you're through reading that you feel like you're a part of their world.

Unfortunately, you don't want to be a part of this world. It has become a Cliche... Elmark hates Nafai, tries to kill him at every opportunity and Nafai does absolutely nothing about it. At some point in this book you'll be screaming at the book to just let Nafai get it over with!!

Overall... Card's books are some of the best reads ever! You're hooked and can't put the book down.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Character of the Patriarchs, December 5, 2003

By	Jedidiah Palosaari "Not My Real Name" (Fes, Morocco) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As the journey continues Card matures the characters. Yet we see no one flat- everyone, the most evil, has good points; the most good have their own private evils. The Patriarchal disagreements continue- Card uses the vast history of the Genesis stories of Jacob & Esau, Joseph, Abram, and Moses in one cast of characters to give us an idea of how the issues those men dealt with might be recapitulated 40 million years from now on another planet. And so just as in the time of the Judges and the Kings in the Old Testament, here people try to stop the journey from happening, and try to keep the people of God (God now being referred to as The Keeper of Earth) from reaching the homeland when they are almost there. Many of the followers attempt to gain their own power and ignore the desires of the oversoul and the Keeper, just as occurred in the time of the Kings. And yet in the midst of this, as in II Isaiah, one rises up to be a Suffering Servant to bear the burdens of his people.

But when they reach the promised land, not everything is perfect, for there also, the Philistines and Canaanites are already there. How shall they deal with them? In warfare, or bringing them into their new nation? Both options were chosen by the Israelites at different times, in different places in Palestine.

As I reflect on this book, I continually see new Biblical parallels, and gain new insights- into the book, my understanding of Biblical exegesis, and into my own relationship with God. Card lays out how the Keeper's awesome plan will go forward, and how He wants to bring everyone She can into it. I contemplate how the same is true of God.

The Interlinear Bible: Hebrew-Greek-English