Earthborn (Homecoming Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Akma was born in a rich man's house..." (more)
Key Phrases: evasion routine, sky people, middle people, Keeper of Earth, Rasaro's House, Assembly of the Ancient Ways (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This concluding volume of the Homecoming series (Earthfall, et al.) doesn't live up to the earlier books, which were notable for their subtlety in developing essentially religious themes through focused plotting and sensitive characterization. Here, the plot relies on familiar Judeo-Christian archetypes, tailored to examine discrimination, theocracy and the relationship to God-or, in this case, the powerful mystery of the Keeper. Three intelligent species now inhabit Earth: the sky people, who live in treetops; the earth people, who live in the soil and in tree trunks; and the middle people, humans descended from colonists who have returned to Earth after an absence of 40-million years. In addition to the stilted speech of some of the characters, the novel is slowed by Card's "naming conventions," which increase the mystical and cultural importance of names but also force readers to refer frequently to the separate chapter on the author's system of compounded names, titles and endearments in order to determine which characters are speaking or acting. The conclusion of the story, however, in which the firstborn son of a former priest and leader sees the evil he has caused and selects his future, is vintage Card and a joy to read. This mildly disappointing wrap-up to a rich series about humanity's journey from Earth to the stars and back might be satisfying enough to Card fans, but it's not the book through which to meet Card for the first time. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Card here concludes the "Homecoming" saga (e.g., Earthfall, LJ 11/15/94).
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: 448 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st THUS edition (May 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812532988
• ISBN-13: 978-0812532982
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #87,185 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Homecoming Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Inexplicable, Tedious, and Just Plain Bad, January 23, 2000

By A Customer

I have no idea what Card is about. The first four volumes of the series had high and low points, but did pull you into the plot and the characters. What this volume is about is a puzzle to me. An almost entirely new set of characters is introduced, the societies presented are not related to the societies in the previous volumes, the motivations of the actors and actions seem like a sociological treatise, and, frankly, I was unable to stir up interest in either chaacters or plot. I am lost to understand what Card is trying to do, except to throw in an unrelated volume to stretch what is an otherwise decent series. Other reviewers have argued that Card's plot and focus is consistent in a broad sense. I understand that arguement, though I do not agree with it. But, even if there is a broader plot, Card simply doesn't deliver it in this volume. This last volume strikes me much like the Riverworld series ... it continues in terms of turning out pages and rolling down the river, but the pages don't lead to anywhere. This book, in my mind, is the epitome of the typical Card seies ... a slow paced, but engaging start. A well wrought world and society. Careful and lengthy character development. Threads that are well woven and all accounted for. Then, a seeming loss of steam or interest or skill with an anti-climatic resolution. This volume exceeds even the typical Card resolution. It would have been better for both audience and author if Card had stopped before writing this volume. It is, perhaps, the worst science fiction I have read by a major author.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Uncle Orson gets allegorical for the final Homecoming novel, November 1, 2005

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"Earthborn" is the fifth and final volume in Orson Scott Card's Homecoming Saga, and readers who have followed the conflict between Nafai and Elemak to this point will be surprised to find that the story now jumps ahead hundreds of years to their descendants. As such the volume strikes most readers as more of an epilogue or postscript rather than as a conclusion to the tale. Then again, knowing Uncle Orson, there is always reason to believe that what we are reading is some sort of a morality play for our edification. I do not read too many authors who write allegories as often as Card, at least not without going back several centuries (and back across the Atlantic Ocean).

In "Earthborn" there is one member of the Children of Wetchik from the earlier novels who made it from Harmony to Earth and is still around, namely Shedemi, who now wears the cloak of the Starmaster. The descendants of Nafai and Elemak have built their own cities and towns, but the animosity between the brothers remains potent between the two peoples. The quest to find the Keeper of the Earth, the computer-like intelligence that can repair the Oversoul back on Harmony, still continues. Now there is evidence that the people on Earth have been influenced by the Keeper and Shedemei has decided to leave the starship Basilica and feel the earth under her feet once again.

In the other books there were more immediate and practical concerns, plus the Oversoul was helping move things along. But with the Starmaster and the Oversoul in the background, more philosophical (read religious) issues have come into play. With humans as the Middle People between the Angels (Sky People) and Diggers (Earth People), many of Card's fans will be reminded of the later volumes in the Ender series. Obviously others will see strong parallels between the story and parts of the Book of Mormon, but I cannot speak to that and am content with the ample evidence that "Earthborn" can be read either way.

Ultimately it is the great leap forward in the narrative that becomes more of a concern and while reading the first four books consecutively makes perfect sense, with each picking up where the previous one left off, I really think you want to go off and read another book or two (or more) before you proceed to this one. That is because if you are not open to the shift from Nafai and Elemak to the Angels and Diggers you are not going to either enjoy or understand the novel, and you may well be better off just ending with "Earthborn." However, I find it hard to believe that those who like the writing of Orson Scott Card would just ignore one of his books, even if they did have to work to figure out what it really meant.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dissapionting and Slightly offensive end to a great series, March 27, 1998

By	Marv ([e-mail]) (New Orleans) - See all my reviews

What happened? I was anjoying this series and Card in general and then he drops this bomb. The whole book was something that could just be summed up in an epilogue in Earthfall. First of all, let me say that all the most interesting characters are gone. Shedemei is the only survingin one and she was the least interesting of all. This book seemed to drag along and we're left in the dark as to the nature of the keeper. The Keeper is almost desribed as magma flows that somehow create an intellegence. It's almost as if Card couldn't think of anything and just wrote that. Then there is the issue of one of the characters, Akma. Akma is obviously a metaphor for an Athiest of today. He is a person filled with hate and intolerance and is an insult to all Atheists. So the Keeper sends Shedemei down to strike him down for believing freely as he does. Don't stop reading Card after this one, though. This is far from his best and is still one of the best SF authors around