The Memory of Earth

Homecoming, Volume 1

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1992 Orson Scott Card (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"I'm hooked....A thoroughly enjoyable piece of storytelling. What the heck - bring on number two." ( Chicago Tribune)
"Card is a master storyteller, and The Memory of Earth is eminently readable." ( The Seattle Times)

Nice start

Ok I'm hooked again. I've already bought all the books in the series,(hope I like them). I was a little worried at first because things were way slow but as it went along it got better. I'm hopping for a little action in the next one.

Faith, communication, society, development & more

An intriguingly different thought experiment on faith, communication, society, development & more.
This 1'st part feels like it mirrored some part of some religious story that I couldn't recall.
I look forward to the rest of the series.

Good characters and story though slow in parts

What made the experience of listening to The Memory of Earth the most enjoyable?

The epic scale of the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The AI. It's the least flawed and most interesting character.

Which character – as performed by Stefan Rudnicki – was your favorite?

The AI.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, but some of the characters are really irritating in how unfair and petty they can be.

Any additional comments?

Not up to the level of the Alvin Maker series but pretty good.

the best of the homecoming saga

by far the best book out of the series. very imaginative and interesting. I loved this book from my childhood

So, it's basically a copied Book of Mormon story.

It almost seemed original until I realized the main character, Nefai with his jealous brothers, is basically a copy of Nephi from the Book of Mormon. But in a future setting on another planet, tasked to obtain an AI artifact instead of metal plates. So...low scores for originality in this book 1 of the series. Great audiobook reading performance, though!

Outstanding Read

Can hardly wait until next book in series is offered.

SciFi Spiritualism

This a solid offering that mixes science fiction with spiritualism. Having said that the world is beautiful, if sometimes mystical, and. all of the characters are relatable. it appears to be the start of a good series.

Card does it again

Memory of Earth took a little while it get into. Like many of Card's characters, it takes time to invest in caring about them, but once one does, it is well worth the time. This is a good read filled with faith and humanity. I'm looking forward to the next one.

If you loved the Ender novels, you will probably enjoy this one, but give it time. This one is deeper, even more so than The Worthing Saga.

Decent, not great

I normally love Orson Scott Card's books. This pulls many plots from The Book of Mormon. It does quite well in blending Futurist devices into the story of Mormon, but none the less I found it dull. This narrator is a common one for Card's work, and I always find is voice enjoyable. In the end, the book was decent, but not good enough to continue the rest of the series.

Incredibly good!

I got through the entire book in one day! That’s how good it is. Phenomenal!! Read it for yourself to find out what I mean.