Earthborn

Homecoming: Volume 5

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

High above Earth orbits the starship Basilica. On board the huge vessel is a sleeping woman. Of those who made the journey, Shedemei alone has survived the hundreds of years since the Children of Wetchik returned to Earth.

She now wears the Cloak of the Starmaster, and the Oversoul wakes her sometimes to watch over her descendants on the planet below. The population has grown rapidly - there are cities and nations now, whole peoples descended from those who followed Nafai or Elemak.

But in all the long years of watching and searching, the Oversoul has not found the thing it sought. It has not found the Keeper of Earth, the central intelligence that alone can repair the Oversoul's damaged programming.

©1995 Orson Scott Card (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Card's far-future religious saga manages, brilliantly, to be at once entertaining, unobjectionable, and edifying." (Kirkus Reviews)
"[The] complex situation, abetted by Card's superior characterization, offers more than enough conflict and questing to keep the yarn moving. The grand saga of human evolution is a demanding category of sf and fantasy, but Card has met its demands quite successfully." (Booklist)
"The conclusion of the story...is vintage Card and a joy to read." (Publishers Weekly)

The Homecoming Series

More than a few life-lessons can be had in this far-future offering from Orson Scott Card. The only thing that kept this listener from offering 5 stars was the slightly disappointing gap between the first 4 books and the fifth. I love the soothing voice of Stefan Rudnicki and I could have enjoyed the last book more with as little as 1 more hour of narration between the end of Nafai's story and the beginning of Shedemei's. I hope future readers can fill in the end of book 4 with their imaginations.

Not as good as the others in the series.

What did you love best about Earthborn?

The Narrated helped add a connection to this last book which was lost with most absents of most of the main characters.

What about Stefan Rudnicki’s performance did you like?

I love that he seems to handle the complex names, which I would have had issues with.

Any additional comments?

With most the main characters gone from the original series, you investment into the story is not there. The connection to the new characters takes time in the story which could have been spent on the story itself.

My least favorite of this series

Others in this series included religion as part of the sci-fi story, but this book felt very heavy on religion and relatively light on science or fiction.

great sf with strong biblical themes and overtones

A biblical overtone can be expected in any Orson Scott story. Great storytelling. Great topics.

Not my favorite

I am a big fan in general, but this is not the best of this series. Ironically it focuses on a Russian lineage, but that's the style of writing it lacks- well fleshed out scenery and back story. Oh well, I still love the story and will read it over and over again.