BOOK: The Memory of Earth (1992)

The Memory of Earth
Year: 1992
Author: Orson Scott Card
Length: 635 minutes / 10.58 hours

Having read through Orson Scott Card’s science fiction Ender’s Game saga and alternate reality historical fantasy Alvin Maker series, I was comfortable starting a new series from him. The Memory of Earth is the first book in the Homecoming series. As a post-apocalyptic story, there are definitely elements of science fiction and fantasy in this book (however, I wouldn’t quite call it science fantasy). And while there are elements of his writing in the previous series I’ve read that I don’t much care for, I really didn’t like The Memory of Earth.

I’m not sure if this book was so bad due to publisher deadlines or if Card wasn’t getting honest feedback on it. As it stands, everything in this book feels generic. The post-apocalyptic setting has all the annoying “let’s have an in-world complicated name for items from modern technology” tropes that don’t really add anything. The plot itself didn’t stand out as having anything interesting to say other than to set up a better book in the sequel (perhaps). I also didn’t connect with the forgettable characters, which is probably why this fell so flat for me.

The distinguishing feature of Card’s other books has always been the strength of the characters. Ender—and even to an extent, Bean—were characters who had personality. Alvin may have been the god-like author self-insert, but at least there were qualities about him that made him interesting. None of the characters in The Memory of Earth stood out in any significant way. And since I didn’t care about the characters, their endless exposition about some truly interesting ideas fell flat. It really is disappointing because I know Card can do better than this.

A disappointing post-apocalyptic story from Orson Scott Card, I give The Memory of Earth 2.5 stars out of 5.

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