Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
Ediciones B
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet�??to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats. To protect them, most of all, from themselves. The Oversoul has done its job well. There is no war on Harmony. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no technology that could lead to weapons of war. By control of the data banks, and subtle interference in the very thoughts of the people, the artificial intelligence has fulfilled its mission. But now there is a problem. In orbit, the Oversoul realizes that it has lost access to some of its memory banks, and some of its power systems are failing. And on the planet, men are beginning to think about power, wealth, and conquest.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member vanedow
The Memory of Earth. A computer called the Oversoul has been given guardianship of the planet called Harmony. But the Oversoul is in need of repair, so it selects a few people to learn about space travel and return to Earth in hopes of finding the means to fix it. First of a five book series.
Show More
Rating 4 of 5. I always hate describing the premise of sci-fi books, because people roll their eyes. But it's good, really! The characters are fantastic, and the interpersonal problems posed are intriguing. The book is about so much more than just a galaxy far, far away. Show Less
LibraryThing member SwampIrish
It's funny. Even the religions we put in our Science Fiction are works-based religions. I'm glad my God isn't as limited as the Oversoul. The implications of a God that isn't omniscient or omnipresent is devastating. I like how Card makes me think about these things though, and I really enjoyed the
Show More
two main characters of this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member helver
The Memory of Earth is another name for the Oversoul - a mystical supercomputer tasked with keeping humanity away from the technological discoveries that allowed it to destroy itself on Earth. But after 40 million years, the Oversoul is weakening and it needs to enlist the aid of those humans most
I really enjoyed this book. I think the author is following in the best traditions of Sci-Fi by raising interesting questions and allowing us to explore some of the possible answers with him. One of the obvious ones is, of course, the nature of God. Do we know what God is? Really? What are His purposes? Another question is the based in the nature of the sexes - the thinking in the book is apparently that men are dominant when survival is in question while women are the bringers of civilization. We also explore questions of family and leadership. Interesting topics and presented in a way that I found to be very compelling.
The things I didn't care for were the odd handling of some of the characters' youth. Card goes from showing them to be exceptionally mature to whiny to perceptive and able to handle complex social interactions with stunning insight to being completely naive to being ruthlessly brutal to being filled with the proverbial teen angst.
Overall, though, I was surprised by how quickly I consumed the book and will certainly be powering my way through the rest of the series.
Show More
capable of hearing its call for help. Unfortunately, the only source of help is back on Earth.I really enjoyed this book. I think the author is following in the best traditions of Sci-Fi by raising interesting questions and allowing us to explore some of the possible answers with him. One of the obvious ones is, of course, the nature of God. Do we know what God is? Really? What are His purposes? Another question is the based in the nature of the sexes - the thinking in the book is apparently that men are dominant when survival is in question while women are the bringers of civilization. We also explore questions of family and leadership. Interesting topics and presented in a way that I found to be very compelling.
The things I didn't care for were the odd handling of some of the characters' youth. Card goes from showing them to be exceptionally mature to whiny to perceptive and able to handle complex social interactions with stunning insight to being completely naive to being ruthlessly brutal to being filled with the proverbial teen angst.
Overall, though, I was surprised by how quickly I consumed the book and will certainly be powering my way through the rest of the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member lorienstarlight
This book is hard for atheists to enjoy. Religious allegories abound, & they distract from the story and character development.
LibraryThing member HippieLunatic
I fall in love with OSC's writing time and time again, and The Memory of Earth was not an exception for me.
It is a new world in which I had some trouble finding my bearings, but I was grateful that OSC didn't spend too much time giving me all of the bits of information that I would have needed to
There are still many questions that I have, such as, how would humans come to the decision that a computer is a necessary watch dog? How can a human even begin to hope that their programming is intricate enough to deal with humanity's many paths? How can a parent who knows the truth that an ultimate being is a computer program teach his child to believe in the Almighty as a power, and not as satellite?
Perhaps these questions will be answered in the next books, which I will be sure to pick up.
It is a new world in which I had some trouble finding my bearings, but I was grateful that OSC didn't spend too much time giving me all of the bits of information that I would have needed to
Show More
be completely comfortable. Instead, this familiarity came with the passing pages, as I became more in tune with the characters. There are still many questions that I have, such as, how would humans come to the decision that a computer is a necessary watch dog? How can a human even begin to hope that their programming is intricate enough to deal with humanity's many paths? How can a parent who knows the truth that an ultimate being is a computer program teach his child to believe in the Almighty as a power, and not as satellite?
Perhaps these questions will be answered in the next books, which I will be sure to pick up.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Card's fictionalization of the story of Lehi & Nephi. I really enjoyed seeing what he did with the brief account of a family's exile into the wilderness.
LibraryThing member rufty
OSC has always been fond of mixing religion into his books. This book could be considered to start asking the question, "what if God was a gigantic supercomputer in orbit that remotely controls us all". After all, who hasn't asked that question?
Joking aside it is an interesting description of a
So we have the story of a group of people who begin to find this out and start the journey to fix it. Once again OSC seems most interested in telling stories of characters who you may or may not care about. The problem i had was that OSC didn't spend much time making me care for the characters before putting them in peril - which is fine, if the peril is short lived/interesting, however it wasn't and I didn't find it so.
Not a bad book, but I'm in no rush to read the next one.
Joking aside it is an interesting description of a
Show More
society that once was advanced and forced themselves and their descendants into a more primitive life in an attempt to find a greater quality of life. To enforce this they have a computer that watches over and maintains the society until it is ready for greater things. However what happens if they never reach this stage and the computer starts to break down?So we have the story of a group of people who begin to find this out and start the journey to fix it. Once again OSC seems most interested in telling stories of characters who you may or may not care about. The problem i had was that OSC didn't spend much time making me care for the characters before putting them in peril - which is fine, if the peril is short lived/interesting, however it wasn't and I didn't find it so.
Not a bad book, but I'm in no rush to read the next one.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bethlea
A little slow going at first. Intriguing ideas about an alternate life style for humans who have escaped the destruction of Earth.
Is the Oversoul supposed to be a substitute for God? Or does the author just imagine that future earthlings would be able to create a program capable of protecting
Is the Oversoul supposed to be a substitute for God? Or does the author just imagine that future earthlings would be able to create a program capable of protecting
Show More
people from themselves? Show Less
LibraryThing member hadden
A good character book. The plot and the time period is more than a bit too long.
LibraryThing member EmScape
Somehow, I don't remember this having such religious overtones the last time I read it.
Nafai is the youngest son of the Wetchik, living in Basilica on the planet Harmony. Unfortunately, Harmony is not as harmonious as it once was and plots have been put in motion that will bring about its
This is the first book in the Homecoming Earth series, and as such is mostly setup for later books. It explains the nature of the Oversoul and introduces the characters. By the time it got really interesting, it was almost over. However, it does keep the reader plugging along; not so boring and expositional that you want to quit and read something else.
Nafai is the youngest son of the Wetchik, living in Basilica on the planet Harmony. Unfortunately, Harmony is not as harmonious as it once was and plots have been put in motion that will bring about its
Show More
destruction. Nafai and his family must brave great danger to serve the Oversoul who/which is charged with keeping the planet safe. This is the first book in the Homecoming Earth series, and as such is mostly setup for later books. It explains the nature of the Oversoul and introduces the characters. By the time it got really interesting, it was almost over. However, it does keep the reader plugging along; not so boring and expositional that you want to quit and read something else.
Show Less
LibraryThing member CharityBradford
Interesting. I was just reading and enjoying the story when all of a sudden it turned into the story of Lehi and his sons. Well, it was different, but it was the same story! It kind of weirded me out a little. I plan on reading the rest of the series. It will be interesting to see if the whole
Show More
story follows the Book of Mormon theme. Show Less
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Looking back, these books were really creepy.
LibraryThing member HeidiAngell
I have such respect for Orson Scott Card that it was hard to rate this low. The writing is fantastic, the effort in weaving the tale commendable, but the fact that I felt that it was pretty much plagiarized from the Book of Mormon left a really bad taste in my mouth.
LibraryThing member buffalogr
3rd try on this book...just doesn't click in my mind........I won't waste my time on this with so much more other things available for my time.
LibraryThing member aeceyton
OSC is a hit or miss author for me. This I remember enjoying but haven't sought it out since.
Awards
Prometheus Award (Nominee — Novel — 1993)
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
1992-03
ISBN
844064020X / 9788440640208