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The Memory of Earth (Homecoming) Mass Market Paperback – January 15, 1993

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 361 ratings

The first volume in the Homecoming saga from bestselling author Orson Scott Card, The Memory of Earth

High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet--to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats. To protect them, most of all, from themselves.

The Oversoul has done its job well. There is no war on Harmony. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no technology that could lead to weapons of war. By control of the data banks, and subtle interference in the very thoughts of the people, the artificial intelligence has fulfilled its mission.

But now there is a problem. In orbit, the Oversoul realizes that it has lost access to some of its memory banks, and some of its power systems are failing. And on the planet, men are beginning to think about power, wealth, and conquest.

Homecoming series
The Memory of Earth
The Call of Earth
The Ships of Earth
Earthfall
Earthborn

The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The man's versatility of style, subject and approach makes him unique in the SF field.” ―Anne McCaffrey

“One of the genre's most convincing storytellers.” ―
Library Journal

“Card is a master storyteller, and
The Memory of Earth is eminently readable.” ―The Seattle Times

“As always, Mr. Card writes with energy and conviction.” ―
The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Orson Scott Card is best known for his science fiction novel Ender's Game and its many sequels that expand the Ender Universe into the far future and the near past. Those books are organized into the Ender Saga, which chronicles the life of Ender Wiggin; the Shadow Series, which follows on the novel Ender's Shadow and is set on Earth; and the Formic Wars series, written with co-author Aaron Johnston, which tells of the terrible first contact between humans and the alien "Buggers." Card has been a working writer since the 1970s. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977--the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of Analog. The novel-length version of Ender's Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin.

Card was born in Washington state, and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he runs occasional writers' workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.

He is the author many science fiction and fantasy novels, including the American frontier fantasy series "The Tales of Alvin Maker" (beginning with
Seventh Son), and stand-alone novels like Pastwatch and Hart's Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Card's work also includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old.

Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. He and Kristine are the parents of five children and several grandchildren.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Science Fiction; First Edition (January 15, 1993)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 332 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0812532597
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0812532593
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.3 x 0.92 x 6.76 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 361 ratings

About the author

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Orson Scott Card
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Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools. His most recent series, the young adult Pathfinder series (Pathfinder, Ruins, Visitors) and the fantasy Mithermages series (Lost Gate, Gate Thief, Gatefather) are taking readers in new directions.

Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts, including his "freshened" Shakespeare scripts for Romeo & Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Merchant of Venice.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, where his primary activities are writing a review column for the local Rhinoceros Times and feeding birds, squirrels, chipmunks, possums, and raccoons on the patio.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
361 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the imaginative storytelling and character development. However, some readers feel the pacing is too slow. Opinions vary on the writing quality - some find it great while others report spelling mistakes and poor editing.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

23 customers mention "Readability"23 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it a good introduction to the series, with an interesting premise. Many consider it worth reading, though some feel it's better than the original Ender's trilogy. Overall, readers appreciate the great stories and universes in the series.

"Very good book, great characters with believable personalities. Story is excellent so far and im excited to read the second book." Read more

"...The premise of the book was hidden for a while but a very worthwhile subject...." Read more

"First book in the Homecoming Saga series. This is an interesting book as it is a retelling of part of the Book of Mormon...." Read more

"...OSC has many great books that would have been great movies...." Read more

14 customers mention "Story quality"11 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the story. They find the storytelling engaging, though some mention the storyline is relatively decent. The writing is also praised, but some feel the same fiction is introduced in this book and developed throughout the next books.

"...Story is excellent so far and im excited to read the second book." Read more

"The storyline is relatively decent. Not as great as the Xenocide/Ender universe, but pretty good...." Read more

"I like the concept of the story, & the way the author developed it...." Read more

"...admit it was a bit slow to start and found it a little hard to keep focused on the plot...." Read more

5 customers mention "Character development"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters well-developed and the book introduces them and their customs. They find it engaging and find themselves drawn into the plot.

"Very good book, great characters with believable personalities. Story is excellent so far and im excited to read the second book." Read more

"...With the exception of the antagonist the characters of the story are well developed...." Read more

"...The characters are fairly well developed, and overall it flows fairly easily...." Read more

"...He keeps me turning the pages. Very good character development, outstanding innovation in creating his world...." Read more

4 customers mention "Imagination"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's imaginative writing style and characters. They appreciate the author's imagination and creativity in creating a world. The book develops new possibilities and has a good concept.

"Good concept in the book. I must admit it was a bit slow to start and found it a little hard to keep focused on the plot...." Read more

"...such a prolific writer still be able to get my attention and develop new possibilities?..." Read more

"...I really enjoy OSC's writing style and his incredible imagination." Read more

"...Very good character development, outstanding innovation in creating his world. This is the second series of books I've committed to...." Read more

9 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality. Some find it great, while others mention issues like poor editing, spelling mistakes, and slow pace. The Kindle version is also criticised for having simple errors like OCR not being checked for mistakes.

"...a couple of stars because there are so many spelling and grammatical errors in the Kindle version...." Read more

"This author blows my mind - how can such a prolific writer still be able to get my attention and develop new possibilities?..." Read more

"...there are OCR errors all through these books which is an unacceptable editing quality for any format of book...." Read more

"...I'm off to read the next book in the series. I really enjoy OSC's writing style and his incredible imagination." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the pacing slow.

"Good concept in the book. I must admit it was a bit slow to start and found it a little hard to keep focused on the plot...." Read more

"Not exactly bad, but it's a pretty slow read and just when it seems something interesting is about to happen the book ends with a cliff hanger...." Read more

"A little slower moving compared to the Ender books, but still enjoyable." Read more

Not what I was expecting and not impressed
1 out of 5 stars
Not what I was expecting and not impressed
So I'd never read anything by Orson Scott Card before. Of course I had heard of him and seen his books all over, but he was just one of those authors I never quite got around to reading. While that misstep has now been corrected, I had to put down The Memory of Earth.I fully intended to read the book front to back, but something had been nagging me almost since the beginning. Given that I was a newcomer to Card's work, I was keeping an open mind and had no idea what to expect except that he's a prolific author so his stuff must be good, right? The thing is, the book isn't bad, it's just not good. It's a great idea--benevolent supercomputer controls peoples' minds, keeping them from destroying each other like they did literally 30 or so million years ago on Earth. Except that the computer starts to break down and needs help, so it starts to send certain individuals visions (that's how it communicates) saying more or less that it needs help. Sounds good, right?Except the book really lacks two things: (1) execution and (2) complexity. What I basically mean by #1 is that not enough happens, and, when something does happen, I often thought, "oh, that's nice". Not nearly enough suspense and the characters really aren't engaging enough. #2 has to do with the author's style. It's too simplistic. He tells me that this character is angry, and this one is sad instead of showing it, or something happens where its painfully obvious what's going on, but Card has to come along and throw in an explanatory sentence just in case you didn't get it. It was annoying to say the least.One of these days I'll take a look at Ender's Game, if only because it's considered the author's seminal work. For now, though, Card fades to the background on my reading list.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2024
    Very good book, great characters with believable personalities. Story is excellent so far and im excited to read the second book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2013
    Good concept in the book. I must admit it was a bit slow to start and found it a little hard to keep focused on the plot. The premise of the book was hidden for a while but a very worthwhile subject. I am interested to see how he tries to develop the idea and how he deals with the issue of mankind and his view of mankind.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2013
    I love this author. He is probably one of the most frequently quoted authors in my collection of quotes. Although his multiple-edition stories have similar themes the worlds he creates to populate these stories make his themes seem fresh. I almost deducted a couple of stars because there are so many spelling and grammatical errors in the Kindle version. I do not know how these books are transcribed but it is irritating to see so many mistakes.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2016
    First book in the Homecoming Saga series.

    This is an interesting book as it is a retelling of part of the Book of Mormon. It depicts a struggle between faith and reason. God in this story is a super computer which retains the memory of Earth for the settlers of this planet.

    With the exception of the antagonist the characters of the story are well developed. I was especially impressed with how the author drew the relationships between the men and the women in the story.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2018
    I already read the entire series, but was looking for the 1st book in hardback to complete my set. Reading Orson Scott Card series books... you want to make sure to have the entire set before reading the 1st book. Because once you start the 1st book, you will be reading all the way through the end of the last book!
    It would be nice if they turned this into a mini series of movies in the theater! OSC has many great books that would have been great movies. I was a little disappointed about the movie adaption of Ender's Game... it had so much potential.
    7 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2014
    This author blows my mind - how can such a prolific writer still be able to get my attention and develop new possibilities? The whole series is worth reading - he has created yet another world in my mind which I can visit and wonder at.(Tried not to reveal anything that would spoil the fun of reading it for yourself!)
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2013
    This is a very fantastical novel with a strange premise. The earth was forsaken 40,000,000 years ago for a planet 100 light years away.
    We don't know what really happened on earth and after so much time who would want to return anyway. It's not even your great grandfather x 400.000's planet anymore! There's a computer that maintains "harmony" at the sake of progress. It reminds me of "The Planet of the Apes" (Let's end scientific advancement here).
    Also the characters are faced with a seemingly insurmountable task.
    I'll have to read the next volumes to see how this plays out.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2013
    The blurb intrigued me, so I read a sample. I was instantly drawn in. The premise is so interesting! Take your time to get to know the culture and the characters and you won't be able to put it down. I'm off to read the next book in the series. I really enjoy OSC's writing style and his incredible imagination.

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars needs a new proofreader!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2019
    story excellent but spoiled by predictive text and poor punctuation, hope the next one is better, I've bought the whole set.
  • Bill
    5.0 out of 5 stars all good
    Reviewed in France on September 29, 2014
    Items as described, fast shipping and reasonable fees. The item was in good condition and worked as advertised. Will do buisness again
  • Nostangela
    5.0 out of 5 stars most excellent bookseries
    Reviewed in Spain on January 6, 2014
    There is nothing more to say about the book in itself, it's just perfect, the characters are evolutive and stay in the reader's heart long after finishing reading. One of my favourite stories ever,
    BUT this e-book version is SLOPPY, full of errors (a big mispelling error every two pages at least). I strongly recommend Amazon to re-check this version!
  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Está bien
    Reviewed in Spain on March 19, 2014
    Está bien, preo para nada como la saga de Ender o de la sombra de Ender. En cualquier caso, se puede leer.
  • John Doe
    1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing - this is not a SF novel
    Reviewed in France on April 5, 2021
    This was my first confrontation with Orson Scott Card, and I was expecting a great SF novel - that's what he's famous for, isn't it? Yet this book is just a rewriting of the Book of Mormon with a nearly inexistant, three-lines-long SF background. It's not uninteresting, I suppose it can be read as a philosophical tale... but if you're there for the Science-Fiction, you'll get nothing at all. No interesting plot (it just follows the book of Mormon), no fascinating new technology, no space opera at all (you'll get a walk in the desert instead), no alien civilization, no insight into what the future might hold for us.

    I found it closer to Paulo Coelho's "The Alquemist". But it's nowhere near as good. Paulo Coelho makes you think and meditate and express your feelings. Orson Scott Card repeats a story that is on the verge on being boring, and discusses self-discipline, stoicism, treason, and belief. Some moral aspects I find very questionable, too, as when the hero - who's described as young, sensitive and reasonable along the whole book, and plays the role of a messiah - resolves to brutally kill a helpless, unconscious enemy, inside a paragrah that looks very pro-death-penalty to me.