Play Audiobook Sample
Earthborn Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 4,520 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
High above Earth orbits the starship Basilica. On board the huge vessel are a sleeping woman and an artificial intelligence, the Oversoul of Harmony. Of those who made the journey from the planet Harmony, Shedemai alone has survived the hundreds of years since the Children of Wetchik returned to Earth.
She now wears the Cloak of the Starmaster, given to her by Nafai when he chose to live out his life on Earth. The Oversoul sometimes wakes her from her hibernation chamber to watch over her descendants on the planet below. The population has grown rapidly—there are cities and nations now, whole peoples descended from those who followed Nafai or Elemak. Shedemei watches with sorrow as the war between those two brothers lives on in the enmity of their descendants.
Shedemei and the Oversoul have recorded much of the history of Earth since they came, but in all the long years of watching and searching, the Oversoul has not found the thing it sought. It has not found the Keeper of the Earth, the central intelligence that alone can repair the Oversoul’s damaged programming and allow it to return to Harmony.
But on the planet below, among the people there, Shedemei and the Oversoul can see the influence of the Keeper. And now, in Shedemei’s dreams, the Keeper speaks to her again, sending powerful warnings. She is needed on the surface, with her knowledge and the power of the Starmaster’s Cloak. And so at last she determines to go. The last living child of Harmony will return to Earth and search for the Keeper as she once searched for the Oversoul—by being its servant until at last they come face to face.
Download and start listening now!
"This final book in the series went in a direction that I had some trouble with. While I agree with the premise on some levels, the idea of a monarchy that has not completely transitioned to a Republic remains troubling. "
— Larry (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“The conclusion of the story…is vintage Card and a joy to read.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Stefan Rudnicki is a master narrator, and nothing—not complicated names, not departures from the feel of the original four books—diminishes that talent a whit… Rudnicki’s clear, resonant voice bestows an almost-reverent quality to the text, a characteristic that works well with the book’s spiritual underpinnings.”
— AudioFile -
“Card’s far-future religious saga manages, brilliantly, to be at once entertaining, unobjectionable, and edifying.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“[The] complex situation, abetted by Card’s superior characterization, offers more than enough conflict and questing to keep the yarn moving. The grand saga of human evolution is a demanding category of sf and fantasy, but Card has met its demands quite successfully.”
— Booklist
Earthborn Listener Reviews
-
" I loved this series as a kid, though now that I know Orson Scott Card is a nasty LDS homophobe, and that this series is, essentially, a re-telling of the Book of Mormon, I'm much less interested/impressed. "
— Valerie, 2/17/2014 -
" Surprisingly pleased with the book. It took the 5 book series' purpose to another level. I ended up with really great fodder for thought about religions, faith, and human nature. "
— Daphne, 2/13/2014 -
" This book is only peripherally related to the previous four, in that all but one character are dead, and several hundred years have passed. I enjoyed this book as much as the others, although it seems to be pursuing two plot lines, and the one that links it to the rest is the secondary line. Having said this, it is a good book, and I recommend it to those who read the other four books. It is somewhat harder to get into, but ultimately I enjoyed it. "
— James, 2/7/2014 -
" Wow! One of the more profound books I have read. The culmination of a series which examines spiritual and philosophical topics in the narrative of a science-fiction epic. "
— Dave, 2/6/2014 -
" This book is the last of the Homecoming Saga and while it wraps everything up for the reader; it's just is not on the same level as the other books in this series. I would recommend reading this book just to finish the saga. "
— Manofwaves, 1/18/2014 -
" Exciting, but very preachy at the end. "
— Oliver, 1/17/2014 -
" Preachiness and thinly veiled religiosity reached a peak in this final book of the series. Also, the end was rather abrupt, and left too many plot threads hanging, making one wonder if there's another book to be emitted. "
— Joel, 1/6/2014 -
" This one lost something for me, because it was one of those way-after-the-fact novels. I missed the characters. I feel like this was basically a prologue instead of a novel. "
— Benjamin, 12/12/2013 -
" I loved the first 4 books in this series. I was disappointed in this final installment. "
— Darin, 12/9/2013 -
" Bad science fiction:( "
— Luke, 12/3/2013 -
" I really feel like Card should've stopped the series with book #3. "
— Abby, 11/23/2013 -
" This book was a complete departure from the series. I expected to find a conclusion to the already 4-book-long storyline. I thought this might be the start of a new branch of the series, but it wasn't that either. It turned out to be just a very awkward ending to a series that I had enjoyed. "
— Rick, 11/15/2013 -
" Great book....great series. I recommend it! "
— Brendan, 11/14/2013 -
" Meh. Don't like the direction Card took with this book. A good ending, but that doesn't make up for the rest. "
— Mark, 8/24/2013 -
" Not recommended. It was the last in a series of 4 and was a really crappy read "
— Joshua, 2/11/2013 -
" Volume 5 in the Homecoming series. "
— George, 12/14/2012 -
" Just finished listening to this. I think this was my 2nd favorite of the series. the first being the first book in the series. I just really liked the message and story and how he ended things. "
— Ruth, 11/24/2012 -
" I've read 3 different series from Card and the final books all seem to be a let down from the great start and developed story lines. "
— Levi, 10/4/2012 -
" I just wanted this book to be over. It wasn't bad and the ending was good and uplifting, I just think that Card always has to take his series in these weird directions. "
— Marie, 7/6/2012 -
" My least favorite. Didn't fit in will with the rest of the series. "
— Kurt, 2/18/2012 -
" Aburrido, lento, sin historia, pero a pesar de todo, pretencioso ya que intenta adoctrinarnos en su anti-racismo. "
— Anauseros, 12/26/2011 -
" Oh God, such a disappointing end to a series which held so much promise. :( This book is abrupt and worse, boring. "
— Shilpi, 8/10/2011 -
" A decent addition to the series "
— Jordan, 3/6/2011 -
" Great book....great series. I recommend it! "
— Brendan, 2/20/2011 -
" Wow! One of the more profound books I have read. The culmination of a series which examines spiritual and philosophical topics in the narrative of a science-fiction epic. "
— Dave, 2/9/2011 -
" Liked some of the insights in this story. "
— Rachelpeart, 12/1/2010 -
" Good insight into the possibilities, motives and inner thoughts of Alma the younger and elder and their peers. "
— Evan, 6/29/2010 -
" Meh. Don't like the direction Card took with this book. A good ending, but that doesn't make up for the rest. "
— Mark, 5/11/2010 -
" December 27, 2007 <br/>December 30, 2007 "
— Eddie, 8/7/2009 -
" It was an ok book?? I was dissappointed because you got attached to the other characters and then in the last book its all new people?? Didnt like that!!! <br/> "
— Derek, 5/31/2009
About Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card, the author of the New York Times bestseller Ender’s Game, has won several Hugo and Nebula awards for his works of speculative fiction. His Ender novels are widely read by adults and younger readers and are increasingly used in schools. Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy, American-frontier fantasy, biblical novels, poetry, plays, and scripts.
About Stefan Rudnicki
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.