Lost Boys

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 16 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Step Fletcher, his pregnant wife DeAnne, and their three children move to Steuben, North Carolina, with high hopes. But Step's new job with a software company turns out to be a snake pit, and 8-year-old Stevie's school is worse. As Stevie retreats into himself, focusing more and more on a mysterious computer game and a growing troop of imaginary friends, the Fletchers' concern turns to terror. Young boys, whose names match a list of Stevie's nonexistent friends, have mysteriously vanished from Steuben. And as evil strikes out from the most trusted corners, it's suddenly clear that Stevie is next on the list.

©1992 Orson Scott Card (P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

Audie Award Winner, Science-Fiction, 2005

"Card skillfully uses terror as a background to everyday family life. For Stephen King fans and those who like their suspense mixed with the supernatural." (Library Journal)

OSC does it again!!

I love his mysteries more than the Ender series, I personally wish he'd have written more of these books. If you like this one, you'll love Homebody. Rudnicki is an outstanding reader in his own right. Read & enjoy!

Furious

That ending. The book was great, but I was pretty mad towards the end -JB

Great book!

Where does Lost Boys rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's one of the better ones for sure.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Even though there were slow parts, I definitely wanted to keep listening to find out what happens next.

very interesting read

I enjoyed the realness of the family and their experiences. slow but worth it. love cards style

Unexpected

What an unexpected ending. This had me guessing all kinds of ending’s except the actual one. I kept wondering how that beginning fit into the story.

Mormon ideology

I’m not sure what to say I was interested in the whole story but horror? Not at any time did I think this was a horror story I’m more confused than ever. Great writing and reading but the ending made zero sense. When did Steven die?When was the horror aspect. I got a 1/4 through when I knew the author was Mormon but it didn’t unfold like a horror story at all I liked the characters but I’m more confused than anything. I guess I liked it but am not sure? Just ?

Not what you would expect

Despite what the other reviewers have written, this book is neither "boring" nor preaching in tone. The protagonists are devout Mormons, but this helps to give the story texture. Not being Mormon myself, I found the procedures of the faith interesting, and it helps give the characters a beleivable base upon which to build up the tension.
It is much more straight fiction than science fiction or fantasy (or mystery for that matter) and it succeeds quite well there. The dilemmas faced by the characters have the ring of truth and drive real emotions in the listener.
The mystery portion of the story, however, feels a little shoe-horned in. It definately make the ending noteworthy, but feels like a different story in some respects.
Overall I liked the book immensly, although others looking for an Ender-type story may not be as pleased.

Brilliant Writing

This is my first exposure to Orson Scott Card. As a writer, I find his writing inspirational -- makes me want to stop reading and get back to writing. This book is a must-buy!

Very enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. The characters came to life, and the Mormonism portrayed was both a faith-sharing act from the author, and an important part of the character development. I really enjoyed the author's note at the end. It made me look at the book with new eyes. I'll definitely pick more of his books in the future.

Haunting end, but overall a disappointment.

The end of this story has quite a twist that will give you chills. The problem is, the very end is the ONLY part of the book that is suspenseful or chilling. To get there, you have to get through long and very UNexiciting depictions of everyday family life and Mormon values. To be fair, these depictions are very well-written. The glimpse into Mormon life was interesting (for a while). The characters were likeable and I worried about their welfare as the story went along. However, their marital spats and moral wranglings and daily routines got quite tedious by the end. The author managed to be impressively unoffensive with his religious preachings, but there IS quite a lot of preaching as the book goes along, which also got tiresome. The whole long build-up was a complete mismatch for the sudden ending. It was obvious all along that Stevie's "imaginary friends" were the ghosts of the dead boys, and the parent's failure to question their child enough to figure this out was maddening. There are several candidates for the "bad guy" and the initial obvious choice is of course not the right one, but the initial "red herrings" are exposed long before the end so that the real bad guy is no surprise. The end gave me a chill and wrenched my heartstrings, but it was a cheat-- after lulling me into boredom it then slapped me awake barely in time to watch it end and be done. There was no catharsis. Orson Scott Card could have (and has!) done much better.