The Worthing Saga

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 18 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

It was a miracle of science that permitted human beings to live, if not forever then for a long, long time. Some people, anyway. The rich, the powerful, they lived their lives at the rate of one year every 10. Some created two societies: that of people who lived out their normal span and died, and those who slept away the decades, skipping over the intervening years and events. It allowed great plans to be put into motion. It allowed interstellar empires to be built.

It came near to destroying humanity.

After a long, long time of decadence and stagnation, a few seed ships were sent out to save our species. They carried human embryos and supplies and teaching robots and one man. The Worthing Saga is the story of one of these men, Jason Worthing, and the world he found for the seed he carried.

Orson Scott Card is "a master of the art of storytelling" (Booklist), and The Worthing Saga is a story that only he could have written.

©1978 Orson Scott Card (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Great Story

I really enjoyed this book and the shorts at the end were a great addition.

Waaay to long.

Would you try another book from Orson Scott Card and/or Scott Brick?

Yes, I just thought this one was too long. I liked the story but, it went on forever.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The most interesting was the play between the child and Jason Worthing. The overall concept of Somac made me think about how it's use would affect our species.

Did Scott Brick do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes I had no trouble following the characters.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

weird

Weird. It took forever to get invested in the story. On the other hand, reading the extra tales of various characters helped round out the whole story, and I ended up liking it.

Very Different and sometimes Agitating but good

I don't like stories that start in the middle and then do flashbacks; can be very irritating; but this one could not have been differently. It is a very unusual story that slowly unfolds and spans the life of a 50 year old man who lives for 10's of thousands of years.

If you are looking for an unuisal Sifi that has little or no techno and focuses on the story of two races of people, and is quite ... morish, this is it. If you need a change from the usual; go for it!

my new favorite book from the same favorite author

please ignore the bad spelling and punctuation I'm doing this on my phone LOL everyone needs to read this book it is amazing I have to read it again right now

An Interesting Look at Card's earlier works

The Worthing Chronicles was a good story that I suspect is a rewriting and expansion of many Worthing short stories. It was well done either way and flowed well. The Tales of Waters and Tales from Capital were linked short stories that were a bit inconsistent, but the author explained this in the epilogue. The outlook is rather dark when it comes to people's humanity, but it didn't take away from the overall story. I've read several of O.S. Card's books, and this didn't shine as his finest work, but it was an good story. The inconsistencies had me a bit confused until I heard the epilogue. This story is worth buying on sale if you are a Card fan. The performance was very good, smoothly read by all of the narrators, and easy to listen too. I've tended to give four stars to similar solid performances in the past, but I'm noticing so many awesome narrators and narrator groups, that I'm now raising the bar for four stars. The narration was better than pretty good, but not great, or I love it level.

Worthing Revisited

A "stellar cast" of fine readers make this collection of earlier stories by Card a "must hear" for fans and audiophiles. I was totally captivated and engrossed as a listner. There is no better way than a good audiobook to enjoy this fine writer.

One Word: Fantastic

Any additional comments?

Orson Scott Card never ceases to amaze me in the questions he tackles in his writing.

In The Worthing Chronicle, Jason Worthing comes to a small village where Lared resides and asks him to write his story. As Lared writes we learn of two worlds - Capitol and Worthing. It is through Jason's story that Card explores the reasons why a god would leave their children unprotected when they have the power to provide lives full of happiness and devoid of pain, the power of corruption, and the obstacles of creating a peaceful and just human society.

The anthology continues with Tales of Capitol - which introduces more of the world of Capitol and its inhabitants and explores the affect of the sleep drug Somec that allows rich or successful members of society to sleep for years at a time, the corrupt society Somec created and the people people and relationships that are affected by it.

The anthology concludes with Tales from the Forest of Waters, which explores some of Jason Worthing's descendants who live on the world of Worthing.

The stories really made me think and offered some interesting insights on human nature. If you're into this type of thing, it's definitely worth a read.

The audiobook version was narrated by Scott Brick. He is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and he did not disappoint in his reading of The Worthing Saga.

The short stories were narrated by different narrators, whose names I can't seem to locate anywhere at the moment, but they were all well read and realized by the narrators.

"...and ye shall be as God."

The thing I like about Orson Scott Card's books is that he does more than tell a story. His stories often confront "Big Question" issues about life, death, and relationships. In the Worthing Saga Card deals with man's desire for immortality, our seemingly "inborn" character flaws, and the experiences that define us as "human."

All of these explorations are wound into a fascinating and detailed journey over centuries through the experiences and memories of the unwitting Man-God, Jason Worthing. The story cuts back and forth between the futuristic planet of Capital and the back-water worlds of the primitive and distant Colonies to explain how Worthing unwittingly helps topple an Empire and unwillingly becomes the father of a new society which holds him in god-like esteem.

Best Sci-Fi since Ender's Game

What made the experience of listening to The Worthing Saga the most enjoyable?

Deep philisophically demanding, yet strong memorable character development that makes it a joy to listen to and ponder. Great read. As always Scott Brick brings it home in the performance. I really enjoyed this.

What other book might you compare The Worthing Saga to and why?

Ender's Game, Pathfinder

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Scott brings sharpness and contrast to the dialogue that makes it so easy to follow and easy to relate to.

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

It provided a provocative setting for good vs. evil, choice vs. slavery, and misery or ignorance vs. joy.

Any additional comments?

Thank you for providing this!