The Ships of Earth: Homecoming: Volume 3 (Homecoming Saga)

Features

• Cover Type: Mass Market Paperback with 384 pages
• Published by: Tor Science Fiction
• Edition: 1st Edition January 15, 1995
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0812532635
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0812532630
• Book Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 6.6 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
The third volume of Card's Homecoming Saga continues the epic tale begun in The Memory of Earth . After forty million years, the artificially intelligent guardian computer (the "Oversoul") of the planet Harmony--created to keep the human colonists at a relatively low technological level so they don't repeat the devastations wrought on Earth--has begun to fail. In order to repair itself and avert disaster, it has gathered a group from the city of Basilica, hoping to guide them through the desert to the place where the ancient starships wait, eventually to return to Earth. From the start, however, the band has been riven by internal conflicts. Some, such as Nafai and his wife Luet, can hear the Oversoul's voice in their minds clearly and follow its plans willingly, while others, such as Nafai's older brother Elemak and his followers Mebbekew and Obring, are not so cooperative and seek a way to return to the comforts of civilization. At times the conflicts even erupt into violence, but gradually each obstacle is overcome, though the participants are left with emotional scars. Throughout, Card weaves thoughts on such matters as religion, tradition and the requirements of the community versus those of the individual, using Biblical allusions to drive home his points. Though the text is at times a bit preachy, Card posits no simplistic answers, and the series continues to be interesting and provocative.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
The third book of Card's Homecoming Saga takes the prophet Nafai and his oddly assorted band of pilgrims across the deserts of Harmony as they flee from ruined Basilica and its conquerors. Fumbling their way toward workable social arrangements for their new existence as they go, they are guided by the Oversoul and its vision of the need to return to Earth. There seems to be a bit of fumbling, or at any rate a good deal of talk, in Card's handling of this philosophical journey, but in its final stages, the book rises to great power as the little band of prophets approaches its goal. Even as good a writer as Card--one of the genuinely towering talents working in science fiction today--is not immune to middle-book-slump syndrome, but overall, this volume carries forward a superior story. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
I remember reading this series about ten years ago, and for high school, it was a good read, but nothing outstanding. Now I find that there is absolutely no follow through, these books are just a thinly disguised re-write of parts of the book of Mormon. For those of us that wanted good SF not a religious treatise, it's downright disappointing. Now I know why Card never resolved the issues concerning the characters. It's because they were just the 'hook' to get us all interested in the Mormon theology. I review the whole series here, some spoilers. The first three books are just good enough, that when you get to this and the fifth book, you find yourself very annoyed that the characters become flat and lifeless, just caricatures, really. Nafai and Elemak never really resolve their differences, or even have a 'final' showdown. The last book carries the reader far into the future and all references to those other characters, like Luet, Hushidh and Issib to name a few, are dropped, never to reappear again. The series really started going downhill once the Rats and the Bats were introduced. I mean, how lame is this? After forty million years, the only species to evolve are rats and bats. Not dolphins or the cockroach or - birds even? This is an insult to the reader's intelligence. This becomes the star of the show, with the characters stories taking a back seat and finally disappearing altogether. I read the last few pages of the fourth book hoping to find out what happened after Elemak woke up to find the Nafari gone and his wife with them. After all his cruelties, he never really gets what's coming to him. Nafai turns into exactly what Elemak hates, rather than becoming a full fledged personality of his own. The Prophet Nafai, hm. Ugh. You find yourself scanning the few moments featuring Shedemei in the fifth novel, to see if she ever even mentions any of them. She doesn't. You have no idea how they died, what happened to the next generation, nothing. Why spend so much time building these characters if they were nothing more than a cheap ploy to get us to read a watered down version of the book of Mormon? I feel cheated and disgusted. I guess Card did this series as opposed to walking around door to door sweating his 'hooy' off trying to sell his religion. This was done in air conditioned comfort I assume, and he fulfills whatever obligation. I just know I will not be picking up any of this author's works without serious thought beforehand.