Earthfall

Homecoming Saga #4

by Orson Scott Card

Confronting his brother Elemak while on board the starship Basilica, Nafai, the chosen ship's Master, begins a generations-long struggle that will culminate in a return to planet Earth. 50,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Adult, Religion

350 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.

Reviews

[Parthena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although many reviews have said that this entire series is sort of a different way of exploring the Book of Mormon, I know very little about Mormon parables or beliefs so I had nothing to compare these books to in that regard.

My primary thoughts on this: I think Book 4, Earthfall, was the most interesting book of the whole series so far. I was disappointed that the primary antagonist was not punished in some way for being so murderous and sneaky, but then I guess there wouldn't have been a story.

I really think Card could have done a better job with the pacing. The first three books in the series were a build-up to this anticipated, momentous, hugely impactful moment when the human race finally sets foot back into their home planet after FORTY MILLION years...and the moment isn't even written about. The book jumps from a few years before they land, to a few months after they land. I had really been anticipating the character's reactions to seeing a brand new (to their eyes) planet, to realize that they were coming back to the place where their ancestors originated..I'd expected to see one of the most emotional points of the series. But, nope. The story jumps to a point where everyone is already settled in, already planting seeds, already basically "used to" the surrounding environment as if it were simply another village back on Harmony. Why weren't the differences descriebd between Earth and harmony? Why didn't one person comment on "Earth is so different than I expected" or "Earth is so similar to Harmony!" Just seems like it would have been a normal reaction.

Anyway, that said, I really liked how some of the characters were developed (Chevya, for example), and I found the evolution of Shedemei's and Zdorab's relationship to be satisfying. I almost felt like Card was saying, in this book, that humans basically can not escape their inherently violent nature no matter what planet we're on, or no matter how much we've learned; but I suppose I'd have to read the last book in the series to see how everything concludes.

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the 4th book even better, going deeper in exploring the human conscience.
Also, the mystery behind the dreams with rats and angels is revealed - this part was probably the most interesting.
What I didn't like was that some of the main characters from the other books were almost left behind, rarely reminded of.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed after finishing the 3rd book in this series, The Ships of Earth, as I felt I was really reading a story that was turning into just a complex family drama rather than a science fiction saga which is what it seemed to have been billed as. A handful of characters had been added to the story for reasons I couldn't really understand other than to just expand the family dynamic.

However, with this book my opinion of the story changed, and I ended up really enjoying the ride on which it took me The handful of characters I mentioned earlier are fully developed here and play and extremely important role. While the story still focuses on the drama of an expanded dysfunctional family, in this book their roles are successfully related and emotionally linked to a heavy science fiction context.

After the "Earthfall" two new races/cultures are introduced and this for me was when the story really started to get good. It reminded me of why I like to read science fiction in the first place. Learning about the new cultures of the "Angles" and the "Diggers" was fascinating and the humans interaction with them kept my interest. I was fully engaged with the plights of all 3 cultures. Characters are brought to life even more than that had been previously (and that's saying a lot considering how developed many of them already were). In addition, this book also contained a little more excitement/action than the previous books had.

All these factors contributed to a great reading experience!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just. I love the moments in this book that pierce to my little moral heart. In one chapter Card had me crying, angry, hateful and then resolved me to forgiving, pity and a ironic chuckle. This is a great example of a story that moves you instead of manipulating you.

I love the way Card takes animals that society shuns and makes them into Fellow Men we grow to love.

Pg: 178
"Better to have the trust of the people than their respect. With trust, their respect could be earned later; without it, respect could never be deserved, and so to have it would be like poison."

Pg: 202
"Those who will not be ruled are not fit to rule anyone else."

[Nicholas Kotar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very uneven. In some ways this is the best book in the series. In particular, the exploration of the societies of the sentient animals is almost as good as Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (but not quite). But the conflict between Nafai and Elamak is lacking in any nuance. Both characters are not very interesting and end up being almost completely one-note.

The ending is way too easy, and I still don't understand why we couldn't have just gotten rid of Elamak ages ago. Again, a lack of a compelling villain dooms this story. As does the lack of a compelling hero.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am less impressed with this series as I progress through each book. I did like Ender's Game (although the movie wasn't as good as the book), maybe I only read the first book of the series, but I thought I read the series. Anyway, one more to go, I hope the climax adds value.

[Elar · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should have ended the series, pretty good moment to tie all the loose ends, finish agony of the characters who just are wicked and should have been cannon fodder aGoT style. But no, same situations, same face offs, little bit new info, but not enough.

[Randa · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the theory of the saga, I was tired by the time I reached this book.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

On the one hand, this is playing to Card's strengths by allowing him to imagine an alien society with symbiotic species (a la Speaker for the Dead). But. And it is a "but" deserving of a full stop or two. But, we're not really seeing an alien society here. The metaphor is so surface level that it could easily be lost to a stiff breeze. This wouldn't necessarily be a damning element if not for the wildly offensive racial politics on display here. Dehumanizing is probably the most generous description.

[Jennifer White · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well-written, but this whole series has caused me great sadness. The first book was the best, because at that point there seemed to be hope. And I loved the concept of who the Oversoul was (no spoilers). But my summary of the first four books is thus: humans destroy earth, start over on a new planet, screw it up there, return to earth, and start the same shenanigans all over again. Are we doomed? There is one last book in the series. Does it offer hope? Do humans change? The stakes are high. I'm afraid to read it.

[JT · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 4 really hammers home the themes of the LDS, if you wernt aware already, you’re going to feel a lot like Vas. This series truly masquerades as sci-fi, with this book being the most sci-fi of them all so far, purely because it’s setting is a space journey. Really though, this should be a soap opera for the television. The family drama pushes this book more than anything else that is part of it.

[Amos Lamb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very uneven book, the conflict in the spaceship is probably the strongest section in the entire series, but the second half of the book is so choppy and badly paced that it becomes a struggle to get through. The ending feels completely bizarre as it offers no satisfying conclusion to the characters we’ve followed for 4 books but rather goes for an attempt at depth and contemplation.

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than the second, and definitely better than the third. By book three we were into basically a family soap opera with a sci-fi goal (there was nothing "science-y" about book 3, it was just describing intrigue, backstabbing, and trysts that you'd find in a soap opera or Game of Thrones-style show). This one moved more into the sci-fi realm, but really was more of a world-building story that introduced new races and customs. Leaning more towards a Burroughs book, or mid 20th-century "alien/sci-fi" books, where humans encounter other peoples and must interact with them/fight them/live with them/you get it.

Might pick up the next book, but this one actually had enough of a closure (2 and 3 did not) to stop the series here.

[Nola Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason, this is the only book in the Homecoming series I don't own, so I'm finally getting around to reading it. If you're LDS, you'll know the story - family on a ship headed to promised land, older bro gets mad and ties up younger bro, chaos of a "storm" until older bro relents. A little more science fiction than the story we know and love, but very enjoyable.

This is the first time we get to see the animals from the Keeper of the Earth's dreams, and I'm sorry, but they bug me. I know Card is setting us up for the family's arrival on Earth, but all that statue making and statue rubbing bugs me. And the bat-moles (yes, I know, two different creatures) creep me out. (Needless to say, I’m not overly fond of the fourth book in the series, either.)

I enjoyed the way the brothers are portrayed. One thing I love in this series is that Card provides a solid reason why the older brother keeps rebelling against his father and, uh, the computer that is in charge. It is a perfectly logical reason for such illogical behavior. The family relationships are really fleshed out and defined here.

I also enjoyed the strong female characters Card presents. I think he did a wonderful job with Chevya (did I spell that right) in this novel; she does a wonderful job for standing up against Elemak for what is right. I think Card makes an interesting point about the parents who remain silent, for fear of retribution against their children; in times of danger, parents must be protective. But I also struggled with this, because if any group was set up to consider the long term effects of passivity, this would be THE group. That said, there are times when the here-and-now takes priority.

The conclusion of the novel is both interesting and disconcerting. I’ve never seen anyone hold a grudge like Vas. I don’t necessarily know that Elemak’s response was best. Somehow, through the entire series, despite his manipulative, selfish thirst for revenge, I still felt sorry for Vas. Mind you, he didn’t create much of a persona to have sympathy for – being willing to walk away from your child to achieve revenge definitely proves that you have crossed the line - uh, okay, in case attempted murder didn’t already – yeah, I really shouldn’t sympathize with him, but for some reason, I did. It’s probably because, of all the “bad guys” in the series, he didn’t whine, complain, or beat children. I suppose he was the most like Elemak, which is odd; committed, decisive, and willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants. But he was more subtle. His actions in this novel caught me completely off guard, despite the fact that all of the signs were there.

Overall, a great conclusion to the series. I always hoped for some form of reconciliation between the brothers, but since I knew the story this was based on, I knew it was not to be. The novel was well written, well paced, and engaging, and despite the fact that I’m reading it for the fifth or sixth time – if not more – I am still highly motivated to turn the next page and start the next chapter.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this series should end here. It's such a perfect spot to cut off and leave everyone alone... but I will read book five just to know what the future of Earth is for these people.
Orson Scott Card is a great writer. I have never hated a character as much as I hate Elemak. This book was definitely the one where I hated him the most... agh, some parts were so hard to read. I was seething. This is probably my least favourite of the series so far. It was the emptiest, in my opinion.

[Jeff Koeppen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Earthfall the fourth installment of the five book series called Homecoming. The series is originally set on the planet Harmony, which inhabited by humans who are the descendants of people who fled a ruined earth a long time ago, all of whom are monitored by an orbiting satellite called the Oversoul. Somehow, all the people of Harmony are genetically altered so that the Oversoul can speak to their minds and influence their thoughts and actions. This was all set up by original settlers so that the Oversoul could maintain peace on the planet, and prevent the invention of certain technologies which would lead to weaponry, etc., which lead to the downfall of Earth. Well, the Oversoul is getting old and worn down and it is losing its ability to perform its duties, and things are starting to unravel on Harmony.

The Oversoul recruits a family from Harmony to make the trek from their homes across a desert to Vusadka to where the ships from Earth used to carry humans to Harmony are hidden. In Earthfall the group makes the to Earth with their portable Oversoul called the Index to obtain hardware and software upgrades from the Earth's governing intelligence, the Keeper of the Earth, necessary to save the aging Oversoul and re-establish harmony on Harmony. Or so I thought. The main characters are the same as the prior three novels plus their offspring, so the cast of characters really grew and with all the nicknames my old brain became confused at times and I was often flipping back to the family trees which were included in the beginning of the book.

When the Oversoul chose who would make the journey back to Earth she included a lot of folks who didn't like each other. So the long trip back included a lot of arguing and fighting which led to physical violence, and I wondered who would make it alive. Because of the long trip, the space travelers had to take turns going into suspended animation and who went when and for how long was also a source of conflict. Nobody trusted each other. Eventually, they made it to the future Earth and the hatred and fighting amongst the new settlers from Harmony continued. The future Earth was occupied by two sentient races, a giant flying intelligent bat-like creature and an intelligent subterranean digging creature and of course, it didn't take long for the humans to learn to communicate with them and involve them in their in-fighting.

Card is really good at character development and world building. It give him props for doing a great job at both in this series. Some things continue to grate on me, though. Why would an intelligent entity choose to include people that hated each other on a mission to essentially save itself? Would you put mortal enemies on the ISS? Also, I thought the point of the mission was to contact the Keeper of the Earth and get the upgrades for Harmony's Oversoul. All that happened on Earth after first contact was fighting, learning the ways and language of the two intelligent species, and more fighting.

I've got the fifth and final installment and will be reading that. I don't think any of the first four installments were great, but they were just interesting enough to make me keep turning the pages and want me to pick up the next book. I do think Earthfall was my favorite of the series so far.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Computerul principal de pe planeta Harmony nu mai era el însuşi; sau, mai degrabă, dacă am privi din altă perspectivă, era de două ori el însuşi. Dincolo de el însuşi, pentru că îşi duplicase programul principal precum şi toată memoria personală şi o descărcase în complexul de computere de la bordul navei spaţiale Basilica. Dacă ar fi fost interesat în vreun fel de „identitatea” personală, ar fi intrat într-o stare de confuzie, neştiind care dintre secvenţe era el cu adevărat. Dar nu avea ego şi, prin urmare, îşi dădea pur şi simplu seama că programul de la bordul navei Basilica începuse ca o copie exactă a celui care supervizase viaţa umană pe planeta Harmony, vreme de patruzeci de milioane de ani.
Şi eu mi-am dat seama că, din momentul în care s-au separat cele două copii, ele au început să se diferenţieze una de cealaltă. Acum aveau misiuni diferite. Computerul principal de pe nava spaţială Basilica va păstra funcţionale sistemele de menţinere a vieţii şi pe cele ale navei până când aceasta din urmă va ajunge la destinaţie, planeta Pământ. După aceea va încerca să-l contacteze pe Păstrătorul Pământului, să obţină noi instrucţiuni şi ajutorul pe care ar putea să-l ofere Terrei, apoi să se întoarcă spre a completa şi regenera computerul principal de pe Harmony. Pe parcurs, va încerca să păstreze în viaţă echipajul uman şi, în măsura posibilităţilor, să replanteze pe Pământ viaţa umană.
Computerul principal de pe Harmony avea o sarcină mai simplă, dar în acelaşi timp mult mai dificilă. Mai simplă, pentru că nu era altceva decât o continuare a ceea ce făcuse timp de patruzeci de milioane de ani – să vegheze asupra oamenilor de pe planetă, spre a-i împiedica să se ucidă unii pe alţii. Mai dificilă, pentru că echipamentele sale, care fuseseră suprasolicitate pentru a rezista cu mult mai mult decât cele zece milioane de ani pentru care fuseseră proiectate, se degradau continuu, în acest răstimp fiinţele umane devenind din ce în ce mai puţin sensibile la puterile cu care fusese învestit computerul.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As book four opens, the family chosen to repopulate Earth has completed the work of building the ancient star ships that will take it home. But an unending hatred between two brothers could pull the family apart. The aging father insists that family members swear an oath to follow his youngest son, Nafai. To keep the peace, everyone enters the oath, but the oldest brother is quietly biding his time until the old man is dead, and he can take over.

But is there another way to ensure that future generations of the colonists will follow the more righteous Nafai? Indeed, there is. Although all the colonists were supposed to sleep for 10 years in suspended animation, Nafai and his associates program the computer to awaken a select number after the ship had been in transit for a short time. These children would be under Nafai’s supervision once they were awake, and he could work with them without interruption to gain their loyalty.

The problem is, Elemak, the oldest son, had played computer programmer, too. He fixed things such that he and his children would wake up some six years or so into the voyage. With everyone awake, the divisions began in earnest, with Elemak insisting that Nafai had robbed him of the loyalty of his children. Elemak made every attempt to torture his younger brother and kill him, but the cloak Nafai wore protected him from the worst of things, and he lived despite their best efforts to kill him.

Meanwhile on Earth, the Keeper of Earth alerted two groups of non-human species that the humans were coming. It involves some interesting forms of worship and dreams, some of which bogged me down a bit. But by reading to the end, I understood the purpose of the two species and their interaction with the humans once they arrived.

I highly enjoyed this, and I read the commercial edition, so I can’t speak to the NLS narration, but I’m sure it is excellent and compelling. It certainly was in the first book.

[James]

Earthfall, the fourth volume in Orson Scott Card's space opera Homecoming series The Oversoul of the colony planet Harmony selected the family of Wetchik to carry it back to long-lost Earth. Now grown to a tribe in the years of their journey to Harmony's hidden starport, they are ready at last to take a ship to the stars. But from the beginning there has been bitter dispute between Nafai and Elemak, Wetchick's youngest son and his oldest. On board the starship Bailica, the children of the tribe will become pawns in the struggle. Two factions are each making secret plans to awaken the children, and themselves, early from the cold-sleep capsules in which they will pass the long decades of the journey. Each side hopes to gain years of influence on the minds of the children, winning their loyalty in the struggle for control of reclaimed Earth. But the Oversoul is truly in control of this journey. It has downloaded a complete copy of itself to the Ship's computers. And only Nafai, who wears the Cloak of the Starmaster by the Oversoul's command, really understand what this will mean to all their plans for the future.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great continuation of the story. I started this book on a flight, and couldn't wait until my travel was over, so I could read the rest of it on the return flight.

This book finally started to answer some of the questions from the first three books. The evolution/science that had happened on Earth was interesting, and complicated enough to answer the limited population in a very believable way.

When the book ended, I thought that once again, OSC had a book that, although it was one of the middle books of the series, it could have been used as the last book in the series. It could have left the rest of the story to the imagination, leaving the story almost closed but still open for interpretation.

This book left only one question open: Who is the Keeper of Earth? The "answer" to that question required one more book, Earthborn. Unfortunately, THAT book was a pure abomination.

[Laura Mada · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4th installment of Homecoming Saga was more to my liking than the previous 2.
Finally, we find out who/what the creatures from the dreams sent by the Keeper of the Earth are. The scientific explanations for their genetically altered evolutions are somehow expected, though. And the way things are wrapped up (the decisions the human make) seem kind of rushed.
Nevertheless, the thought process is interesting to follow, as is the way in which the three civilisations interact.
I was sorry to see the original settlers returned from Harmony fade out quite quickly towards the end of the book.
However, I am looking forward to seeing how life on Earth evolves (again) and to find out more about the Keeper of Earth and (maybe) some of the other humans who relocated to different planets...

[Peter Spaulding · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I watched the show Ozark, I started to get annoyed with how helpless some of the characters are in the face of caricatures of evil. At some point, someone’s just going to pop the evil guy, right?

This suffered a bit from that.

But the Earth-side world building was absolutely incredible. Bats and rats evolving into sentience in a violent and symbiotic relationship AS A METAPHOR for the human tendency towards dissembling and violence is shockingly cool to me. Add to that the superhuman abilities of some and the high family drama… woof. 🐶

All of the haters of these books need to chill the hell out. I do not get what’s not to love about Mormon scifi, and I would totally read more of it if it existed.

[Steve R]

This fourth volume in Scott's Homecoming Saga involves the refugees from the planet Harmony landing in their ship Basilica on the planet of the title. The new generation of children born during the long voyage become inexorably bound up in the struggle between the factions led by the brothers Nafai and Elemak, which develop from intrigue and plotting on board to preparations for war once on the planet. Complicating matters are the new species which have developed on Earth in humanity's absence: the Angels, or giant bats, and the Diggers, or giant rats. They too become involved in the central conflict.

Not remembered.

[Mmonchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Después del tercer libro de la Saga del Retorno, que me decepcionó un poco, este retoma el ritmo inicial. Ahora la historia es de ciencia ficción, la primera mitad con un viaje espacial de larga duración y la segunda la colonización de un nuevo planeta, que es la Tierra pero 40 millones de años después.
El encuentro con especies inteligentes desconocidas está muy bien tratado, algo que ya hizo en La voz de los muertos, y también con un misterio en su biología que hay que resolver. Los personajes no humanos resultan creíbles y eso hace que entres en la historia.
Los avances temporales tan grandes que tiene la novela hacen que a veces se pierda de vista a los personajes, sobre todo a las nuevas generaciones, que no da tiempo a ver evolucionar.

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The family flies to Earth the whole time scheming and fighting each other. Once they get to Earth it is not much better. There are some of the groups with murder in their heart which is influencing the natives. The natives are named for where they live; angels in the air and diggers in the ground. The natives have their own religious and societal order with which humans interfere. The four separated groups must somehow learn to live together or war together. This was an annoying read. The people are just horrible throughout the whole book. The native life was reminiscent of the piggies from the Ender Saga, but not as good. Disappointing...

[mybluesunset · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the time I got to Earthfall, I was fully invested in the saga. It was here that I actually Googled the series and learned that it was patterned on the Book of Mormon. I don’t know much about that myself, but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment at all. The story stands on its own, and Card does a great job keeping the stakes high and the journey engaging.

Like the earlier books, there were moments where I had to remind myself who was who, but I appreciated the scope of the narrative. The Audible version kept me moving through the story, and I was glad it was included in my subscription.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The colony of people who have returned to earth from the planet Harmony settle into live on earth again. They meet two new races of 'people', the diggers (devils) and the angels (sky meat). This story explores the way a fraction happens among the original settlers of earth. The discovery of the new species was interesting. The act of learning to communicate with the new species was fun to watch.

The story builds to an exciting confrontation and the two sides of the group are split when Volemak finally passes on.

[Stéphane Bernes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce quatrieme volume laisse un gout d'inacheve. Ambitieux dans son developement des interactions entre les differentes especes intelligentes de la Terre, le recit ne decolle pourtant jamais vraiment, peu aide par des personnages prisonniers de leurs stereotypes.
Ce que l'auteur a mis quatre tomes a construire autour des reves de ses personnages accouche d'un denouement simplement decevant.
Finalement on ne retient que le clin d'oeil aux pequeninos de La voix des morts, du meme auteur, ecrit 10 ans plus tot, et dans mes souvenirs, meilleur.

[Will Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Card is excellent at creating epic tales, and he doesn't disappoint in this one. While the motivations of some of the characters to me seem a bit unrealistic at times, you can still identify with most of them the rest of the time. Like Ender Series, he really excels at creating out of this world characters that you can believe could possibly exist and then make them seem almost human to us. He still has the question of who or what is the Keeper of Earth, but hopefully we will find out in the next book.