Maps In A Mirror: The Short Fiction Of Orson Scott Card (2004) - Plot & Excerpts
I originally read this collection of short stories by Orson Scott Card when I was a teenager. I have read it so many times that I could probably tell some of them to my toddler daughter from memory. I love Orson Scott Card's ability to create tales that read almost as fables; this ability shines through particularly well in short story format. Many people either love Card or hate him. He has received much negativity due to his views on same-sex marriage, or rather, for stating those views publicly. To the point of people actually boycotting the movie Ender's Game. I haven't seen the movie, but not because I'm boycotting it. I just happen to love the book Ender's Game so much that I'm still a little afraid to watch the movie. I disagree with that particular stance (same-sex marriage = bad), but inasmuch as I have read so MUCH of his work, and have come from a very religious upbringing myself, I UNDERSTAND the kind of life and upbringing that created his belief structure. I respect the right of any person to hold to whatever belief system they choose. I make a small hobby of reading an author's entire body of work (particularly fiction authors), and then reverse engineering my perception of what makes said author tick; their belief structures, what they love, what they hate, their politics, passions and fears, their understanding of the world around them, their interpretation of history. Almost anything and everything about an author can be teased from what they write, because in the end, a person can NOT write what they don't know, or understand. I think it's more fun to do this particular type of analysis with fiction authors, because I love rebelling against the concept that there is nothing to be learned from fiction, particular fantasy and science fiction. There is MUCH to be learned. So along with my love of reading, I combine my love of understanding PEOPLE. And by reading (a lot), I begin to understand. This can't be done with an author that has released a single book. Well, it can be done, but only in sketch. For a more intimate understanding, there must be MUCH writing to dissect. Particularly prolific authors are the most fun. My most recent project was Anne Rice. I read or re-read everything she's ever written this year (except her autobiographical Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, because I wanted to unlock the Anne Rice puzzle without resorting to being told anything straight out). Now that's one interesting woman. But I digress.Orson Scott Card. And Maps in a Mirror. When I first read Maps in a Mirror, I didn't know Card was a Mormon. I didn't know he was against same-sex marriage. I just knew that he had written a series of books that ranks among my favorite of all time (Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide and Children of the Mind were all that were published at the time, this was long before the Shadow series came about), and certainly a BOOK (Ender's Game) that has been one of my favorite works for almost as long as I can remember. Ender's Game is a book you can keep going back to as you get older and continue to get something new from it. It's truly awesome.Maps in a Mirror, as I mentioned, is a collection of short stories. From a VERY fertile mind. Unlike some, knowing that he has beliefs that I disagree with has absolutely no affect on my enjoyment of his skill as a writer. His writing speaks for itself (and for who he is as a person). And for that matter, a person having one, or two, or ten opinions on things I disagree with has nothing at all to do with whether or not I like that PERSON. I respect even those I disagree with, as long as they have a reason for their opinions that isn't just parroting the party line (which is why politics are so meh), that is truly heart-felt or reasoned out. And yes, a faith-based reason for disagreeing with someone counts, because I respect the fact that people who HAVE faith have... faith. I believe that Orson Scott Card is a genuinely GOOD person (GOOD = continually trying to improve his understanding of the world and better himself as a human being) who happens to have some opinions that I disagree with. Because I've read almost everything he's ever written. This isn't sounding much like a review of Maps in a Mirror, but I've been checking "Read" on book after book by Card as I work on my Card-Entire-Body-Of-Work-Readthrough and I simply chose this book to review because I felt that what I had to say about Card needed to be said. If anyone stopped their child from reading Ender's Game because they knew that Orson Scott Card disagreed with same-sex marriage, it would be a damn shame. Because Ender's Game is a book EVERYONE should read.Maps in a Mirror is, in the end, a collection of short stories. But those stories, individually and collectively, are excellent. I have my favorites, naturally (Unaccompanied Sonata, Kingsmeat are just two), but I would highly recommend the collection as a whole. There is something in this collection for everyone. Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, you name it. If you like a good yarn, if you enjoy reading stories that you will REMEMBER for decades, even a few that resonate with your entire being, you should read this collection. Read a story a month. Stick it in your bathroom. Stick it on your coffee table. But read it. It's worth it. And even if you don't enjoy every story, there are some absolute gems that will stay with you forever. Orson Scott Card is a master storyteller, and you would be doing yourself a disservice if you denied yourself the joy of reading some of the best short stories he has ever written.
5 stars is a rating I offer to books that are superb. They might have flaws, but they are completely overwhelmed by the whole achievement. Awarding a star rating to a massive short story collection (40+ hours of unabridged audio) is a difficult task. There are 46 short stories, and not all of them are good. However, most of them are good or decent. There are a few duds that I could count on one hand, and those are heavily outnumbered by the masterpieces in the collection.My favorites include:Deep Breathing Exercises - a Bradburyesque tale of terror that is simple in its dread.Freeway Games - with a demented twist that would make Stephen King proud.Lost Boys - some elements that probably inspired M Night Shymalan.A Thousand Deaths - an excellent allegory on courage and dyingIn the Doghouse - a humorous variation on alien invasionUnaccompanied Sonata - one of the finest tales in the collection, about not being able to do what you were born to do.A Cross Country Trip to Kill Richard Nixon - a lesson in hatred and seeing the other side of a storyThe Bully and the Beast - my other favorite. Excellent fairy tale with wonderful allegoryThe Princess and the Bear - Card's fantasy stories are the best among his works in short formSaving Grace - the irony of miraclesEye for Eye- the most suspenseful and adventurous of them all. This reminded me of vintage Dean Koontz.This collection is divided into 5 sections: horror, sci-fi, fantasy, faith and death, and bonus (which include short stories that were later expanded into novels). The fantasy section was the strongest overall, but the first 4 sections all had wonderful works. The 5th section is interesting, but some of the stories failed to grip.The biggest strength of this short story collection are Card's introductions and afterwords to each section. Anybody who has ever even thought about creative writing could learn so much from just reading Card's thoughts behind each story. His description of what makes good horror versus bad horror is so illuminating and seemingly obvious that it's a shame more authors don't follow suit. His evaluation of how good religious works differs from the more typical "inspirational" literature is also eye opening.Fans of the author will enjoy this best, but readers wanting an introduction to Card will find this a good place to begin.
What do You think about Maps In A Mirror: The Short Fiction Of Orson Scott Card (2004)?
This collection is mostly excellent but a bit uneven, especially toward the end. This makes sense as it includes Card's early, less-polished work. I was surprised by the number of different genres and story types Card has been able to write in successfully, especially by the caliber of the horror stories in the first section. I also very much appreciated the introductory and closing essays of each section, in which Card talks about his writing process and each story. This anthology is almost worth buying just for those craft essays. I certainly don't plan to reread every story in this collection, but there are many I anticipate gladly coming back to.
—Kelly
I really liked having so many great short stories in one place. As a whole, this collection was very dark and more than a little creepy, but all of the stories were thought provoking. There were a few I didn't like, but only a 3 or 4 out of 46, and even those were well-written and very interesting. I particularly loved the introductions to each section of the book describing different kinds of stories, and the afterthought for each of his stories. It is very rare to get into an authors head as well as this book lets you, and for some of the stories I was grateful for an explanation.I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys good, intense science fiction and who can shake off a story once they've read it. There were definitely a few stories that unbalanced me for a while, although those usually turned out to be my favorite ones. I would recommend reading the whole book from start to finish because that way you can read the stories as they are grouped by kind and you can read all of the after thoughts as well.
—Sophia
It's a very cool thing to have all of Orson Scott Card's short stories compiled in one place. I'm not sure what it would be like to read this from cover to cover without having read his short stories before. I've read and owned the individual collections as they came out through the years, and they're all here. So many of these stories are perfect examples of what's great about short stories. My favorites are the risky tales filled with the palpable sense of dread the author seemed to have a direct line to. There are those I didn't like, and a couple I actively hated. I find that my favorite authors are often the most polarizing--there isn't much middle ground when you're a risk-taking author. I'm a fan of Card's earlier works that explored the fantastic and strange, stories that understand that people are the most fantastic, horrifying and strange of all creatures. Here are the risks I don't really see in the newer work; the author's fire is white hot and exploratory, although I should also say that I'm probably not the target audience of Card's current writing. If, like me, you liked the earlier books from Ender's Saga, and the others of his novels that focused a bit less on religious themes, this is the collection for you. Maps in a Mirror delivers well-developed characters, unusual places you might love to visit and others you're glad you don't have to, Card at his best, in my opinion. Those stories that weren't my cup of tea were overpowered by the ones I'll never forget, thus the five stars. (Review based mostly on memory, to be updated when I have read this cover to cover, as a single collection. I have not yet read the personal essays.)
—Christie Skipper Ritchotte
