Play Audiobook Sample
The Ships of Earth: Homecoming, Vol. 3 Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 5,728 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
The City of Basilica has fallen. With the continuing failure of the Oversoul, the artificially intelligent guardian computer of the planet Harmony, the human colonists have begun to repeat the devastations of war and conquest wrought on Earth. To repair itself and avert disaster, the Oversoul has called a group of sixteen refugees from the fallen city of Basilica to a hidden, abandoned spaceport where the ancient starships lie. Now Wetchik, Nafai, and all their family must brave the desert wastes and cross the wide continents, guided by the voice of the Oversoul, to await the command to prepare the great interstellar ships for flight again. But among this group, not all have chosen their exile, and the angry resentment of those who were forced to join will make the difficult journey harder.
Download and start listening now!
"This series gets better as it moves along. In this volume, Volemak leads his family into the desert under the direction of the Oversoul, a satellite computer which was created to prevent mankind from recreating the destruction of earth society on their new home of Harmony. The Oversoul's systems continue to fail allowing the extremes of violence to return to Harmony and he/she has chosen to rescue a select family to return to Earth. The dichotomies between those who choose the right and those who rebel become more pronounced in this volume and Card gives the reader a good deal of intrigue along the way as Elemak constantly plots the death of his younger brother, Nafai. Likewise, Nafai deals with the frustrations of trying to be the stronger person and reach out with the hand of forgiveness. Eventually, the conflict reaches a climax when the group reach the ancient spaceport and the Oversoul's long foretold journey to Earth begins. Card does a great job of creating strong and compelling characters and this book is a nice example of his skill in that area."
— Roger (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
“Readers of The Ships of Earth will find the book rising to Card’s usual high level, with scenes of enormous power.”
— Chicago Sun-Times -
“This is Card doing what he does best…he reaches for the heartstrings.”
— Locus -
“Card weaves thoughts on such matters as religion, tradition, and the needs of the community versus those of the individual…Card posits no simplistic answers, and the series continues to be interesting and provocative.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Stefan Rudnicki tells the story of this journey with a deep, luxurious voice that lends the story a rich authority…Rudnicki’s delivery of the different personalities is judicious. He’s careful not to depict the characters as either good or bad, and this nuance reinforces a central idea in the book: that every member of the group is important for the salvation of the whole. Reconciling differences is imperative not only for their survival, but for the destiny of humankind.”
— AudioFile -
“The book rises to great power…Card [is] one of the genuinely towering talents working in science fiction today…this volume carries forward a superior story.”
— Booklist -
“[A] well-turned series, with intriguing ideas, well-developed characters and setting, and a plot huge enough to satisfy the most extravagant tastes.”
— Kirkus Reviews
The Ships of Earth Listener Reviews
-
" Good read...I'm warming up to this series...now that more technology is involved. I'm looking forward to the next two books! It looks like it's going to get great! "
— Brendan, 2/15/2014 -
" Unfortunately, this third installment in a promising series looses steam and gains the same preachy feel that Card's series have a tendency to take on in the later books. But, hey, if you like a good dose of faith in god with your science fiction, go for it. "
— Clariece, 2/5/2014 -
" Perhaps my favorite in the series so far. Loved the image of gold and silver strands connecting us with the strand thickness representing the family, trust loyalty and love strength of those connections. The family bickering gets a bit monotonous but then again I suspect it should as it's apparently a large part of a key point of the series. "
— Scott, 1/25/2014 -
" The third in a series. Well written, but I'm not chomping at the bit to read the sequel, yet. "
— Mark, 1/20/2014 -
" Not sure what happened with this volume of OSC's HOMECOMING saga. Somewhere along the line I completely lost interest in the story. I might end up skimming the last few chapters before picking up Volume Four. "
— Jeff, 1/20/2014 -
" Enjoyed reading this Volume 3 in the Homecoming series. Very interesting concepts. Refuges from Earth going off to a new world and after 40 million years gathering a small company to make the long journey back to Earth. "
— Maggie, 1/15/2014 -
" best book of the series so far "
— Bryan, 1/10/2014 -
" Enjoying this whole series. Interesting exploration of a future history, Azimov-style, overlaid with allusions to biblical history: journey through the desert, visions of apocalypse, guidance from dreams and visions ... "
— Dave, 1/4/2014 -
" This is my favorite book of this series. The author wove in numerous Biblical themes and similarities and it was fun to pick them out. "
— Candice, 12/31/2013 -
" I think you would have more fun reading the Bible. This book series is apparently based on the book of Mormon. It really fell apart with this third volume. "
— Elizabeth, 12/7/2013 -
" Third book in the "Homecoming" series and equal to its' previous 2 companions. I LOVE Orson Scott Card's books! "
— Kathy, 12/1/2013 -
" I tried to give this series a chance, hoping that it could redeem itself, but it never did. I only got about a third of the way through this one before I gave up. "
— Emily, 11/5/2013 -
" Currently reading - it is good so far... "
— Rachel, 10/30/2013 -
" One of those who middle books in a series to move the plot along. I enjoyed some of the tender moments. Important discussions of family, community, and purpose. "
— Drrowdyd, 9/23/2013 -
" This book continues the Homecoming Trilogy. Equally good. See my review of Memory of Earth. "
— Fred, 5/29/2013 -
" Ok- the book picked up in the last few chapters but only then! I still leave it at 2 stars for making me trudge through that desert journey. To top it off, my book was missing 35 pages in the middle! Craziness. Obviously not the authors fault. Reading book 4 now..... "
— Lisa, 3/22/2013 -
" los dos primeros libros de la saga me gustaron. Este me ha parecido bastante aburrido. :( "
— Begoña, 3/5/2013 -
" Good as an in-between book. There are some spots with good tension, others not so much. "
— Paul, 11/17/2012 -
" The series gets richer as it progresses. "
— Benjamin, 10/10/2012 -
" This series is very interesting, mainly for the dynamics of the family structure. I am looking forward to finishing the series with the last two books! "
— Joshua, 8/28/2012 -
" 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, 7/12/2012 -
" This series is loosely based on the Book of Mormon. Interesting read, but more sexual in content than I expected. Not a book for children. "
— Kara, 7/9/2012 -
" As good as the second book. "
— Luke, 12/12/2011 -
" Good read...I'm warming up to this series...now that more technology is involved. I'm looking forward to the next two books! It looks like it's going to get great! "
— Brendan, 2/10/2011 -
" Enjoyed reading this Volume 3 in the Homecoming series. Very interesting concepts. Refuges from Earth going off to a new world and after 40 million years gathering a small company to make the long journey back to Earth. "
— Maggie, 1/1/2011 -
" Currently reading - it is good so far... "
— Rachel, 11/29/2010 -
" Enjoying this whole series. Interesting exploration of a future history, Azimov-style, overlaid with allusions to biblical history: journey through the desert, visions of apocalypse, guidance from dreams and visions ... "
— Dave, 2/7/2010 -
" Not sure what happened with this volume of OSC's HOMECOMING saga. Somewhere along the line I completely lost interest in the story. I might end up skimming the last few chapters before picking up Volume Four. <br/> "
— Jeff, 12/18/2009 -
" I am sure this one would have been good.... but I just didn't really like that there were a bunch of stale years that occurred and all of a sudden *BAM!* here's the children. I mean, whatever man. Not cool. Didn't really get far before I dropped this one. "
— Sandy, 11/12/2009 -
" October 5, 2007 <br/>October 8, 2007 "
— Eddie, 8/7/2009 -
" The Ships of Earth: Homecoming: Volume 3 (Homecoming Saga) by Orson Scott Card (1995) "
— Laura, 5/29/2009
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.