Not his greatest work. Too influenced by his religion

"...Overall, I like The Call of Earth much better than its predecessor, not only because the pacing of events is more to my liking, but because of the characters as well. There is much more of Luet in this book, as I was hoping. She was easily my favorite character, and she still is, though there is a lot of her older sister, the raveler Hushidh, in this one as well, and she's equally interesting to me...As for the ending, I liked how things wrap up. Card leaves off with enough tension to make me very curious about what happens next, but without it being an actual cliffhanger; we do get a resolution first to other events, and even though I ended up correctly guessing the outcome, I was still pretty satisfied with it..."

For full review, please visit me at Here Be Bookwyrms on Blogger:

http://herebebookwyrms.blogspot.com/2...

The story is great, don't get me wrong there :), I sometimes get annoyed by Mr. Card's preachy comments about the ladies, seems almost 18th century-ish, but the story is good enough that I can ignore that part. Its a fun read overall

The Call of Earth is the second installment of the five book series called Homecoming. The planet Harmony is inhabited by humans who are the descendants of people who fled a ruined earth a long time ago, and which is monitored by an orbiting satellite called the Oversoul. Somehow, all the people of Harmony are genetically altered so that the Oversoul can speak to their minds and influence their thoughts and actions. This was all set up by original settlers so that the Oversoul could maintain peace on the planet, and prevent the invention of certain technologies which would lead to weaponry, etc., which lead to the downfall of Earth. Well, the Oversoul is getting old and worn down and it is losing its ability to perform its duties, and things are starting to unravel on Harmony.

The story follows the continuing adventures of main characters, Nafai, who, along with a number of others in his family, is receiving messages through dreams from the Oversoul. The messages are instructing them to leave their city, Basilica, as a warlord who appears to be exempt from the Oversoul's influence is gathering an army and intends to take Basilica and other lands. The Oversoul has a plan but will it succeed, given that its powers of influence over the people are waning?

Like the first novel, I thought the concept was interesting and the plot moved along at a nice pace. The characters continue to become more fleshed out and their plight continues to become more serious as events unfold. And the antagonist warlord is a complex and unique character compared to the rest of the cast we've grown to know. I liked The Call of Earth better than The Memory of Earth and I thought it finished strong, unlike it's predecessor. It's got me on the hook now.
I don't think it's anywhere as good as the Ender series but definitely worth continuing on with at this point.

Another great addition to this world that Card created. He is very good at creating characters that you either love or despise, with a few thrown in that live in the grey areas of life. You get into these characters and feel for them. You may not always understand their motivations, but you see where they are coming from. It's easy to see Scott's religious influence in this store more so than say Ender's game. I know that turns off a lot of people, but it doesn't bother me. I firmly believe that we all believe in something.

I am interested in seeing where this goes in the next chapter.

On to the next one!

Interesting, gripping, but something's missing. Great characters, but the plot feels forced.

Better than Homecoming, Orson Scott Caard has a much better grasp at fleshing out the world in this sequel. It definitely meanders at times but overall the writing is sharper, the pacing is much better and the character of Moozh is a far better antagonist.

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.

3.5 rounded up to a four because I couldn't give this three...

Why do I love this series so much yet also... find it hard to love? This is only book two, though I will probably read the rest of these books this month. Orson Scott Card has created such a cool planet. Basilica is my favorite fictional city I have ever read about and the characters... they're so deep and engrossing. I love the traditions in this book, the dialogue, and the humour.

I really don't know how to properly talk about this book. I highly recommend these books to anyone looking for classic sci-fi feels. It's such a fun reading experience.

Being the second book in the series, I was afraid it will be less interesting. Fortunately, my bias was wrong! The characters are developed even more, both good and evil are present in all of them.

Well I am a big fan of Orson Scott Card, so I might be a bit biased. This was nothing like I expected from him but I enjoyed the story. If you like his other work then this is worth a try.