There were so many unpronouncible names that I soon gave up. Perhaps other readers don't hear the names in their heads, but I need to know and be able to pronounce character names.

First 2 books = Strong 3
Next 2 books = 3
Last book = 3 but with higher highs and lower lows, will write a separate review

I liked these books, but the character development felt quite stagnant (Elemak's shenanigans got old the Nth time with nobody learning anything) and Nafai's Jesus-like behavior was... expected, given that this whole story is a religious allegory, but not that compelling.

I liked the worldbuilding of Basilica (which featured in books 1-2) and the different species on Earth (which featured in book 4).

The characters were just ok, although OSC did a good job juggling multiple viewpoints in the ensemble cast.

reading two of these was a mistake

Interesting and well written.

I try to give every book I read the benefit of the doubt. This book was actually recommended to a friend to thought I'd like it, so I read it to be polite. That being said, I wouldn't have finished it except someone else asked me to read it.

Card has definitely written better stories. This one was just weird - the society was weird, the characters were weird, the plot was weird. I couldn't stop squirming as I read it. It was not enjoyable. I don't even remember what the book was about because I was stuck on all the weirdness to notice.

However, that doesn't mean it isn't a good book. It just wasn't my kind of book. It was disappointing after the first book, because the first one was much better. But you can't win them all, I guess.

This second book of the series tells the story of what comes next. Nafai and his brothers must go back to their old city and bring back wives for their upcoming journey. Eventually they must find their way to Earth, where humanity began, and repopulate it.

In many respects, I found this book to be better than its predecessor. Orson Scott Card spends less time relying on the "Book of Mormon" and much more time fleshing out the characters. He even introduces new major characters that have no parallel in the "Book of Mormon." The writing itself also seems improved and definitely free of the errors I saw in the first book.

This may surprise some Mormons, but this book spends a lot of time talking about sex. It's nothing explicit, but rather it explores different attitudes toward sex. This might be expected, considering the main plot point is about marrying the characters off. One of the characters also turns out to be gay, where Card gives a surprisingly sympathetic point of view (well, surprising to those who think they fully understand Card's views).

Towards the end of the book, I saw the pages running out, and I wondered where Card was going, but as always, he ends with a very satisfying ending that ties everything together.

The Oversoul is gathering the appropriate people together to go into the desert. The couples will have to be monogamous and eventually propagate the new population of Earth. Things are not going as planned and now the family has to wait on the Oversoul to somehow get their whole party out of the city with the supplies they need to survive.

Again the audiobook narrator killed it. Love his voice! This one was full of intrigue and political movement. The family is atrocious and they all hate each other. The ending was pretty good. I am moving on to the next book in the series.

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!

The overall story is interesting enough to continue to the next book in the series. Of course, there's his usual interesting heavy subtext of trying to coalesce and juxtaposed religion and science but as usual with Orson Scott Card, the ages of the characters make certain points creepy AF.

Overall, 3/5 stars.

28 Once again, there is a lot of humour in this book but unfortunately there was just too much Pseudo-religion going on for me. ’Then he turned and ran way just like his men.’

n  On le surnomme Mouj. C'est le plus grand général qui ait jamais mené les troupes de l'imperator Goryani au combat. Lorsqu'il apprend que Basilica, la cité des femmes, la ville éternelle, est agitée par les soubresauts de la guerre civile, son génie militaire lui fait immédiatement entrevoir le parti qu'il peut tirer de la situation. Mais le stratège ne sait pas encore qu'il s'apprête à livrer son plus difficile combat : Basilica cristallise l'attention de Surâme, l'ordinateur-dieu qui n'a pas l'intention d'abandonner la ville sans se battre. Entre la machine et le général, c'est un jeu de dupe qui s'engage, dans lequel Nafaï et sa famille risquent de n'être que de simples pions...n  n    n      n        n         
n        n      n    n    n      
n      http://www.amazon.fr/Terre-origines-général-Orson-Scott-Card/dp/2290330159n    n  n

Disclaimer: This review will spoil the FIRST book in the series.

Orson Scott Card succeeds again. Author of Ender's Game , his success with science fiction is astounding. Volemak and his sons are still affecting Basillica from without. As the story begins to pick up, we are introduced to a new character, Moozh, a general for the Goryani, and they are on the march.

With Gaballufix dead, Rash has taken over Basillica, and the city has destabilized. During this crisis, Volemak and his sons must find a way to get Rasa and some of her students out of the city. During this, Nafai is labeled as the murderer of both Gaballufix and Roptat.

The book is well written and enjoyable to read, but it has middle-of-the-series syndrome; the reader does not have the enjoyment of diving into a new world, nor the closure of a complete plot line. This, like my last book reviewed, is a sci-fi title with a subtheme of political intrigue.

As this episode comes to a close, Card neatly ties up how Moozh relates to the main characters of the series and all the other new lines he opens up throughout this story, yet keeps open the major lines without annoying the reader. All in all, a very good story, but nothing stood out enough to give it five stars.