I couldn't finish this book. The names required a pronounciation guide in the back and none of the names were pronounced even close to the way they were spelled.

"The Memory of Earth" is a science fiction light novel, focusing more on the changes in a society when some part of power is taken away from man. In this case, power is taken away in the form of the knowledge to create weapons of mass destruction, communication and travel. This was done through the creation of the Overlord forty million years previously, a satellite with the ability to communicate and confuse humans who have been genetically altered. By this time, the human race has also moved to a planet called Harmony and the book focuses on the specific city of Basilica.

After forty million years, Card envisions the humans in Basilica reverting to many of their basic instincts with brutish, hardened men and cultured, civilized women. The matriarchal society of Basilica seems practically impossible given that in just the few short weeks covered by the book, one man quickly gains great power in the city. The premise is the Oversoul is breaking down, but one would expect the breakdown period to occur over a much longer interval.

One concept I found interesting was that men in Basilica had not tried to seize power earlier because they are happy with their position. Maybe they are fond of the void of the stress of leadership and power, which can result in disappointment and failure, while reaping the benefits that many men may enjoy such as independence (men did not live with their female "partner", contracts with women only lasted one year). After Nafai wonders why men "allowed" women to rule, his brother responds that "Maybe men are just playing a game which makes women believe they have power, when in reality the men are happy with the position they have put themselves in." I wonder if this is the how many modern women feel, willing to forgo something (power and prestige) for something move valuable to them (security).

There are religious references in Card's novel, but personally I do not find them to be representative (read: critical) of any one religion. Men and Women both pray to the Oversoul, but women, in keeping with the matriarchal society, refer to the Oversoul as "she", while men refer to the Oversoul as "it". Men show their brutal side by beating themselves as their form of worship (maybe this is also as a method to vent the aggression not possible through mass destruction?), while women show their beauty in worship at the forbidden Lake.

In the end, the plot involving the four Wetchick boys saving human kind by obtaining the index was average and predictable. There were a few twists, but never a point I did not think they would win the prize. Personally, the value in this book is its take on the relationship between men and women, and an outsider's view of religious customs. If you are looking for pure sci-fi, look elsewhere, but if you want a book with an interesting read on culture and religion, "Memory of Earth" is solid.

Excellent futuristic retelling of the Bible tale of Joseph and the Dreamcoat. The succeding books are excellent too for the most part but this is definately the best in the series.

In this novel, Card attempts to adapt stories from The Book of Mormon to a science-fiction context. For the most part he is successful, and his characters seem full of life.

There are a few clear failures - when elements of the original story flow against the characterization, the original plot wins, choking off the characters and resulting in scenes that simply don't "ring true."

One of the most striking examples of this failure concerns the marriage of two young teenagers. One is thirteen, the other fourteen. The culture considers children that age to be too young for sex and marriage. The two characters themselves consider themselves too young for sex and marriage. But when the Imposed Plot requires that all characters pair off and marry, suddenly all objections to the sex the characters themselves did not consider themselves mature enough to have vanish, and nine months later we have a fourteen-year-old girl with a newborn.

Note: The demolition of characterization and young age of the characters involved together could make the relevant scenes triggering to those who suffered sexual abuse as children or young adults.

On the other hand, those who don't mind the occasional characterization hiccough will likely enjoy the book. Those who wish to learn what to do and what not to do when adapting mythology to novel format will also find this book worth reading.

Even though Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors, I always find myself avoiding his books. Most likely this is because I know I'll get drawn into his stories and I will neglect the duties of real life for a couple of days. I also think that I hesitate picking up his books because I'll expect to see the same types of things going on in one story as his others, just with different characters. And while I enjoy his stories and characters, I have no time to waste reading something I've read before. After reading Orson Scott Card's Memory of Earth, I think I can say that my fears were justified. Yet, as usual, and despite my preconceived biases, I always put the book down in amazement, without the slightest hint of regret. I think it would be hard to explain how Card manages to impress me every time I read. If I were to venture some guesses, I might mention that his characters are all as smart as I wish I would be. They seem to say or think the same things that I have thought of before, but they convey those ideas I have difficulty expressing in a way that makes sense and rings true. Another thing that impresses me is that, going into Memory of Earth, I had a general idea what the storyline would be, which of course limits the surprises. That might normally seem like a handicap, but even still, Card fascinates and finds ways to come up with ideas that are truly unique and yet universal at the same time. There was not a chapter where I didn't know the result before reading it, and yet his methods were so fresh and way of presenting so clever, that I might as well have gone into the reading cold. Memory of Earth on the surface might seem like like a heavy reading; thoughtful, theme loaded, character-driven storylines are not what often make for quick and easy reads. But in spite of the heavy material, Card is a master of simplicity. I can recall a couple of paragraphs that I thought might have been extraneous, but that's not a bad run in a 330 page book, especially one that has so much potential for diving into drawn out, theme driven text. The point gets succinctly across, but not at the expense of pages and pages of plodding explanation. And besides, Card keeps layering on the tension and action as the story progresses. By the last third of the book, I felt like I was zipping through, wondering to how everything would play out. My favorite moment, however, was the climax. It is built up as a if there will be a showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist, and sure enough that occurs, but not at all how you would expect as a reader (and even if it is as you expect--again--it plays out as intensely as if you didn't). Instead of being a face off between the physical prowess between the two, or their wits, or their skills, the showdown is a completely one-sided, introspective, moral dilemma. And it is a disturbing and powerful one at that. The result is a little bit unsettling, and since this is the first of a series, the ending leaves more than just a little to be resolved. Yet, after finishing, I felt the story stood alone as well justified. Better than that, reading it leaves a lot of room for pondering its material. There are more books in the series, and if I can get past my own guarded inhibitions to great, satisfying writing that rings true, then I expect I'll pick it up soon enough.