Not going to continue the series - got too bogged down for me

Card continues the saga of the Wetchik clan and the characters become more filled out in this installment. He does a good job of expressing the triumph and tragedy of family interactions when partents must deal with rebellious children alongside those who follow the moral lessons they have given them. Again loosely based around the experiences of Lehi and Nephi in the Book of Mormon, this was another strong installment in an intriguing series.

Good, solid Card. Elements of the story get downright Biblical. There are bits of Abraham and some of the Exodus, although the biggest parallels are with Joseph and his brother-infuriating dreams.
The writing, characterization, plot, and pacing are as good as we've come to expect. The main characters must all struggle with complex issues of family loyalty, faith, devotion to God (or their local equivalent), and state.
A good read. I will certainly be finishing the series.

Just when I thought I might be done with this series, that ending! Actually it's fairly entertaining, and the characters stick in the mind, even though some are rather predictable. Now I have to find out what happens next.

Second book. The story grows more complex, as a new main character is added, and the complexities and interweaving of the other characters are better fleshed out. Both the story and the character development are much more fascinating. Card is not only a good storyteller, but has the ability to create complex social networks and interactions.

I really wasn't sure what I thought of this series when I read the first book, because it parallels the story of Nephi so closely. In this book, Card swerves to more of a unique storyline. With time, I have grown accustomed to the idea and simply reading the book for itself. I enjoyed this book more than the first.

7/10

Not my favorite OSR series.

This book continues the story begun in The Memory of Earth. The computer that has watched over Harmony for the last 40 million years is failing and it is trying to get a family to help it contact the makers on Earth. I was expecting this book to start with the journey to Earth, but that is not what I got. Instead it focused on the politics of Basilica, the most advanced city in this quasi Renaisance world. The computer, Oversoul, only allows certain technologies. What started as a step backwards soon developed into its own story. In the end, the plot threads came back together in a satisfying twist.

What credit Card might get as a proficient writer, he loses for his consistent obsession with porting his churches religious fiction into his science-fiction.

I honestly couldn't tell you if this is any kind of an objectively five-star A+++ excellent novel or not, because I was so blinded by how much I liked Moozh that my vision of the whole book is skewed. Moozh! What a completely fantastic character. Card mentions in the preface that he made the book much more difficult to write by complicating the plot, but also made it more worthwhile in the end. This is not hard to believe.

The Homecoming saga is a weird series for me, as I'm not familiar with the Book of Mormon upon which it's based, and I'm afraid that after this book the rest of them get a bit...dubious. Not just in writing quality (pacing, wow) but in some of Card's more awkward beliefs leaking through the text. But I loved this one. Aside from Moozh (aaagh Moozh <3) it feels like it best captures the atmosphere of the city of Basilica, good and bad; it succeeds both in broad allegorical strokes and underlining specific, intense character and setting details; it has a plot that manages to feel both suspenseful and inevitable.

...seriously, though. Moozh. If nothing else read it for that guy.

Well this series took a downturn. The first one wasn't great to start with. Yet, somehow, the series managed to become MORE one-dimensional, MORE predictable and MORE overtly religious in overtones. Except that even in the Bible people have more depth than in this book. Everyone in the second book seems to be either revoltingly self-centered and hard to get along with. Or id they aren't, they are so self-righteous that they make me want to start swearing and doing naughty things just to break up the monotony. This series is definitely a disappointment when side-by-side with Mr. Card's other books. I fell terrible for those who read this first, I'm sure they will never read any of his other stuff to see what can be GREAT.

A little too Mormon for me.