Mankind fled the Earth after finally destroying it with their weapons of mass destruction. The few humans left after the holocaust vowed never to let their species develop the ability to destroy itself again. And so, when they colonized the planet Harmony, some 1000 light years from Earth, they built a super-intelligent computer, calling it the Oversoul, to watch over their descendants. For almost 40 million years the Oversoul did what it was programmed to do, guiding humanity and always steering their thoughts away from any inventions that could lead to war on a large scale. Then the Oversoul’s network of satellites orbiting the planet began to deteriorate and the thoughts of men began to return to conquest and greed.According to its programming, if the Oversoul ever lost control of its charges it was to gather up a faithful few and lead them into the desert, where the great ships still lay waiting with the purpose of returning them to Earth: an Earth which should by this time have healed itself, to begin again. The Oversoul searched Harmony and found fourteen-year-old Nafai and his family.It will not be an easy road for Nafai. As the youngest member of his family, he will have to convince his three older brothers to follow him into the desert. And that’s not all. The Oversoul’s purpose is to begin a new colony on Earth, so Nafai will also have to get his brothers to find wives to go along and a scientist who can restore some of the useful plants and animals they will need.But what will the brave travelers find if they make it to Earth? The Oversoul often speaks to the people of Harmony through dreams but now some of the key players are receiving dreams from somewhere else. The Oversoul admits that it does not precisely know where the rogue dreams are coming from but thinks it may be the Keeper of Earth, an even more powerful computer left behind to watch over the planet and call its children back when the time was right. But what message is the Keeper sending? The dreams are full of hairy flying creatures and giant rats that burrow in the ground. Is the Keeper truly calling them home, or is it warning them away? The Call of Earth is the second book in Orson Scott Card’s epic Homecoming series. Card is doing a nice job of piecing the story together. Nafai had a hard enough time convincing his father and brothers to leave their home and go on the Oversoul’s errand, but it is unlikely he could ever have convinced the women to leave behind their comfortable existence.That’s where General Moozh comes in. Moozh figured out a long time ago that there was something like a deity watching over Harmony. He also noticed that whenever his thoughts turned to war and conquest it became more and more difficult to focus on a clear path. Rather than follow the Oversoul’s urgings, Moozh trained himself to fight against the urges, and follow his own path toward glory. That’s what brings Moozh to the city of Basilica as a conqueror.Moozh isn’t quite as clever as he thinks, however. The Oversoul knows that Moozh can resist it and so uses the old reverse psychology trick on him. Whatever the Oversoul wants Moozh to do, it urges him in the opposite direction, therefore getting exactly what it wants from Moozh anyway. This is an important piece of the puzzle because if Moozh had not come to conquer Basilica, the women would never have left their beloved city with Nafai and the men. Everything fits together nice and neat.Having said all that, I have to admit that the pacing was a bit slow on this one. Card showed us an important piece of the puzzle here but I really felt like he took too long developing it. I mean, General Moozh conquered Basilica and all sixteen of the travelers finally come together in the desert to prepare for their journey and that’s pretty much all that happened. I didn’t feel like there was enough plot development here to warrant an entire book. But if you skip this one the rest of the series won’t make as much sense, so there you go.The most interesting thing to me about The Call of Earth, and the series as a whole so far, is the parallel Card seems to be drawing to the bible. In the scriptures, God placed man on Earth, a fresh and unspoiled planet. Over time, man became more distant from God, following His urgings less and less. Finally, God got fed up and destroyed the Earth choosing one faithful family, Noah and his sons, to board the ark and be spared to start over. In Card’s Homecoming series so far, we’ve seen mankind placed on a new, unspoiled planet with the Oversoul as their guide and protector. Over time, man listens to the Oversoul less and less until finally the Oversoul chooses one faithful family to spare while the rest are presumably left to war and devastation. It hasn’t happened yet but Nafai and his family are on their way to board their ark, a spaceship this time, and have a whole new world to start over in. Kind of makes me wonder if Orson Scott Card is a religious man. The Call of Earth, and the entire Homecoming series is narrated by sci-fi regular Stefan Rudnicki. There isn’t much I can say about Rudnicki that I haven’t said already. He’s a good narrator that never becomes dull after a while like some. You’ll never go wrong with a Stefan Rudnicki narration.So the die is cast and the key players have finally come together. I can’t wait for them to make the trip to Earth and see what the planet has been doing for the last 40 million years without the plague of man on it.Steven Brandt @ Audiobook-Heaven
Am I getting so picky that when I have such a brilliantly written, fascinating, page-turning read, I only recommend it for my school bookshelf and not higher because it wasn't as good as the one that came before it? Or, if I'm going to put it that way, I even agree with the way the story turned out all the way through, and I wouldn't change anything of it; yet I still demote it from the shelf that its predecessor earned? The simple answer: yes, yes I am getting that picky. But let me get something straight: as far as I'm concerned Orson Scott Card and George Orwell are the two smartest writers of our modern times. I've yet to read any author that can truly reveal the innermost workings of the human mind better than they can (if you've read my reviews of their other works, you're probably tired of hearing me say just that thing ... but it's so true and it amazes me each time that I have to keep on repeating it). This book is no exception, and if I were to compare it to any other author in any other genre, or having read it as a stand alone, it would probably receive much higher praise from me. But I am not so blessed in my view. I read the first book in the series, and I've read plenty of other Card books, so I am a bit jaded. Yet, I still recommend it. The situations are really interesting, the twists and turns exciting, the discussions are very sophisticated, and in the end, the story wraps up in a compelling and appropriate finale. Probably the reason that it feels a bit anticlimactic is that it is a middle book in a five book series (I believe). Also, while the situations were interesting and discussions sophisticated, that is about all the story offered. There was a whole lot less action that this book offered than the first one. I like an intelligent discussion as much as the next academic, but hey, give me the chases, close calls, and physical action in-between to keep me jumping from one scene to the next (I'm somewhat shallow that way, I know). Undoutedly, I will pick up the third book in this series, and for more reasons than just the fact that it says "ships" in the title (though that, alone, would be reason enough for me).P.S. There are a few scenes, perhaps one in particular, that are as such that I would only recommend this story for a more mature audience.
What do You think about The Call Of Earth (1994)?
High point: the faith debate between Nafai and Moozh over truth, conviction, and belief in inspiration. It's rare to see such depth of logic and feeling in sci fi, or fantasy. This is the primary reason I continue to read Card.Low point(s): the scene of the interrupted wedding night. The dialogue was so stilted, unbelievable. Also, the sex scenes crossed a line for me and set Meb up as too shallow a character.Overall, I enjoyed the book. It's a one-time read though. The beginning was slow and wandering. The perspective changes were too diverse and jarring. The story was compelling enough to overcome those weaknesses. And the key characters did develop well.I will reread that faith debate!
—Jeffrey Dunster
Orson Scott Card has managed to do what Robert Jordan could not: he develops a world, characters, history, politics and blends it all together so seamlessly that you forget that it is just a story.Like Robert Jordan's books, the cast has grown and the world has become more intricate in its politics and deeper in its culture, but unlike Jordan, Card pulls it all together. As a writer, I just shake my head with my mouth hanging open. How did he do it?In The Call of Earth, the Oversoul realizes that it doesn't have all the answers. Maybe it needs to depend on the wisdom and wit of humans to find the answers. So begins another journey in the Homecoming series.
—Rita Webb
Slow start, great finish... another character, idea, and theology study with just enough story in it to be readable and interesting.There was one great dialogue that I thought was pretty thought provoking regarding belief in God. Which of the following is belief in God?A) just a choice: based on preference rather than evidenceB) an undeniable fact: the only way to possibly explain the evidenceC) a deniable but probable fact (like a scientific theory): the most likely way to explain the evidenceD) kind of a working hypothesis: one of many equally likely ways to explain the evidence, chosen from those ways based on preference (Nafai's theory)."The Oversoul has never fooled me," said Nafai. "Those who follow the Oversoul willingly are never lied to.""You never catch the Oversoul in his lies, is what you mean," said Moozh."No!" cried Nafai. "No. The Oversoul doesn't lie to me because . . . because everything that it has promised me has come true. All of it has been true.""Or it has made you forget the ones that didn't come true.""If I wanted to doubt, then I could doubt endlessly," said Nafai. "But at some point a person has to stop questioning and act, and at that point you have to trust something to be true. You have to act as if something is true, and so you choose the thing you have the most reason to believe in, you have to live in the world that you have the most hope in. I follow the Oversoul, I believe the Oversoul, because I want to live in the world that the Oversoul has shown me.""Yes, Earth," said Moozh scornfully."I don't mean a planet, I mean-I want to live in the reality that the Oversoul has shown me. In which lives have meaning and purpose. In which there's a plan worth following. In which death and suffering are not in vain because some good will come from them.""All you're saying is that you want to deceive yourself.""I'm saying that the story the Oversoul tells me fits all the facts that I see. Your story, in which I'm endlessly deceived, can also explain all those facts. I have no way of knowing that your story is not true-but you have no way of knowing that my story isn't true. So I will choose the one that I love. I'll choose the one that, if it's true, makes this reality one worth living in. I'll act as if the life I hope for is real life, and the life that disgusts me-your life, your view of life-is the lie. And it is a lie. You don't even believe in it yourself."
—Travis Daniel Bow
