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This second volume of Orson Scott Card's five-volume anthology of short stories features seven tales exploring possible future scenarios for the human race. A fascistic government's capital punishment extends beyond death. Intellectually superior aliens from a doomed world choose Earth's dogs as their new vessels. Not-quite-human beings on an Earth wasted by biological warfare continuously fight an enemy which has long been annihilated.
These and other possible fates may be discovered in this collection, which includes:
"A Thousand Details"
"Clap Hands and Sing"
"Dogwalker"
"But We Try Not to Act Like It"
"I Put My Blue Genes On"
"In the Doghouse"
"The Originist".
These and other possible fates may be discovered in this collection, which includes:
"A Thousand Details"
"Clap Hands and Sing"
"Dogwalker"
"But We Try Not to Act Like It"
"I Put My Blue Genes On"
"In the Doghouse"
"The Originist".
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
27 people are currently reading
601 people want to read
About the author
Orson Scott Card
891 books20.7k followersOrson 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 22, 2014
Excellent intro & afterword both read by Card. Several different readers for the stories, all very good. He's not afraid of pushing limits, either.
A thousand deaths — was really good, but gruesome. Horrible, but really excellent thought, although the backdrop was pretty cliched. Still, the point was... Wow!
Dogwalker — Cyberpunk, excellent.
Clap hands and sing —
But we try not to act like it —
I put my blue genes on —
In the doghouse (with Jay A. Parry) — Hah! Great!!!
The originist - A really interesting idea written in the Foundation universe. Shows how Card feels about marriage, I think.
Since I listened to this & the description here didn't have a TOC, I lost track of which was which. One story seemed like a pedophile's dream, but isn't, although it could be. Well, it's ambiguous & makes a person think.
That's what I like best about Card, he thinks a lot & makes me think, too. People who dismiss him because he's honest about his religious & political convictions are the losers. Not reading a book because the author is stupid, crazy, or weird would be counterproductive to my enjoyment of their works & remove some of the best. People who are uncomfortable with thinking outside their narrow little worlds might want to skip these stories. Each was quite different & unsettling. Awesome!
A thousand deaths — was really good, but gruesome. Horrible, but really excellent thought, although the backdrop was pretty cliched. Still, the point was... Wow!
Dogwalker — Cyberpunk, excellent.
Clap hands and sing —
But we try not to act like it —
I put my blue genes on —
In the doghouse (with Jay A. Parry) — Hah! Great!!!
The originist - A really interesting idea written in the Foundation universe. Shows how Card feels about marriage, I think.
Since I listened to this & the description here didn't have a TOC, I lost track of which was which. One story seemed like a pedophile's dream, but isn't, although it could be. Well, it's ambiguous & makes a person think.
That's what I like best about Card, he thinks a lot & makes me think, too. People who dismiss him because he's honest about his religious & political convictions are the losers. Not reading a book because the author is stupid, crazy, or weird would be counterproductive to my enjoyment of their works & remove some of the best. People who are uncomfortable with thinking outside their narrow little worlds might want to skip these stories. Each was quite different & unsettling. Awesome!
October 21, 2025
Flux is the second collection of short fiction by Card that formed a fifth of the massive Maps in a Mirror hardcover volume... which I wish I had bitten the bullet and purchased instead of all of the mass market paperbacks, but it's too late now. This one contains seven stories from 1978 - '89, six of them from genre magazines including Analog, Asimov's, and Omni, and a long novella (the Originist) set in Asimov's Foundation universe that appeared in the first Foundation's Friends anthology. I thought that they were all good stories, both thought-provoking and well-written. A Thousand Deaths is a very graphic piece, difficult to read, and I don't think anyone would guess Card was the author if they read it with the author's name redacted.
August 13, 2011
"Flux" is a 1992 collection of short stories by Card that contain some rather "interesting" stories all set in future planets or versions of history. "A Thousand Deaths" from 1979 is one of the more graphic stories ever told by Card in that it deals with a government that allows a convicted criminal to die multiple times by more & more horrific deaths until they get the confession they want. "Clap Hands and Song" from 1982 asks the question if you could repeat a happy time with someone one last time would you & what you you pick. "Dogwalker" from 1992 is an entry into the cyberpunk genre of sci-fi & involves a man who logs correctly into a government program for the first time something not normally done. "But We Try Not to Act on It" from 1979 is set in a time when the government not only knows your every move but controls what you see on TV & whether or not it can be turned off. You also get a glimpse of what happens if your favorite character/show gets turned off. "I Put My Blue Genes On" from 1978 takes us to a time when the Earth in uninhabited & future aliens try to find out why. "In the Doghouse" also from 1978 asks the question what if dogs are really aliens. Lastly, "The Originist" from 1989 is set in Asimov's Foundation universe & deals with one persons entrance into that world. Most of these tales are very easy to read & offer a nice glimpse into possible futures that in some cases nearly 20 years later don't seem all that farfetched. Yes there are some misses in the stories & even a few surprises by Card's standards but mostly this is a wide variety of things in & of itself.
July 21, 2018
Read a few stories and they had some interesting things but man I don't know why I keep reading shit by a homophobic misogynist just because he wrote a couple of books i loved as a kid.
April 21, 2010
This is a collection of six short stories and a longish novella which takes up almost half the book--and was the only story I honestly liked. I do get and appreciate the point Card is making in "A Thousand Deaths" but found it just too sadistic and gruesome--I could barely make myself skim some parts. Card in the Afterward admits this is the one story of his "so sickening" his wife couldn't even finish it. "Clap Hands and Sing" is a story Card says he meant as "bittersweet"--but given the pedophilic overtones (old man time travels to his twenty-two year old self, still a virgin in body--to have sex with his lost love--when she was fourteen.) "Dogwalker" as Card explained, was his attempt at Cyberpunk--and like the other works in that genre, I found it largely incoherent and irritating. (And from what Card says, that's about the way he feels about the genre too.) "But We Try Not to Act Like It" is a dystopia reminiscent of Fahrenheit 457 but it never cohered for me. Neither did "I Put My Blue Jeans On." I found "In the Doghouse" just plain silly.
Which leaves the longish novella of 100 pages--"The Originist." It's essentially a work of fan fiction, based on the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. In the Afterward he expresses disdain for the entire idea of fan fiction, but thinks he did right by Asimov but that he wrote the story "at the expense of a purely Orson Scott Card novel that will probably never be written." I found that ironic because in no other story of the collection did I hear Card's voice and themes more clearly--and I don't think that voice or themes or communitarian values are anything like those of Asimov--but are very much those of Card and remind me of themes explored in his Ender series and particularly Speaker of the Dead. Maybe that's why "The Originist" is the one story included I did like. But not enough to push this to a three star rating worthy of retaining it's place on my bookshelves.
Which leaves the longish novella of 100 pages--"The Originist." It's essentially a work of fan fiction, based on the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. In the Afterward he expresses disdain for the entire idea of fan fiction, but thinks he did right by Asimov but that he wrote the story "at the expense of a purely Orson Scott Card novel that will probably never be written." I found that ironic because in no other story of the collection did I hear Card's voice and themes more clearly--and I don't think that voice or themes or communitarian values are anything like those of Asimov--but are very much those of Card and remind me of themes explored in his Ender series and particularly Speaker of the Dead. Maybe that's why "The Originist" is the one story included I did like. But not enough to push this to a three star rating worthy of retaining it's place on my bookshelves.
June 22, 2010
"A Thousand Deaths," which imagines advanced means of interrogation, punishment, and government control, is brutal but truly excellent. It's Orwellian, while the other dystopian story, "But We Try Not to Act Like It," is more like Huxley. "Clap Hands and Sing" is a time-traveling tale with a surprisingly sweet ending. "Dogwalker" is Card's stab at cyberpunk, a genre that Card despised but wanted to try, and I think he did fairly well. "I Put My Blue Genes On" and "In the Doghouse" are kooky space stories with important side points to make about government and society. And "The Originist," which takes up nearly half of the page count, is a novella set in Asimov's Foundation world.
December 30, 2023
So as I read this I realized that i had read most of these stories before, but I kept reading all the way through as I really enjoy his work.
December 22, 2018
Most of these stories are better than the previous collection (Changed Man), although none of them area really all that great. Many of them seem to be about men trying to demonstrate their strength or masculinity, which I in general find to be a very boring topic.
A Thousand Deaths: (4/5) Upsetting and almost a King-like horror story, a political prisoner is executed time and time again as punishment until he repents, but he never does.
Clap Hands and Sing: (4/5) A neat (but) creepy story: old man reflects on a lost love from his youth and creepily time travels back in time so that he can have sex with her. Luckily (?) she did the same thing, so it's not really all that creepy in the end. So yeah, it's very creepy.
Dogwalker: (2/5) A very mediocre cyberpunk story involving knowing someone enough to guess their password.
But We Try Not to Act Like It: (2/5) A society in which you have to watch TV and the programs you watch are tuned to make you a more stable person. Bleh.
I Put My Blue Genes On: (2/5) Humans from off-world come back to Earth to find human descendants fighting a boring battle with bio-weapons. Very forgettable.
In the Doghouse: (2/5) What if alien's tried to take over Earth, but instead of conquering humans, they conquer dogs? Yeah.
The Originist: (4/5) Ugh. An Asimov's Foundation story. I do not like the Foundation series, but still found myself interested in this one. You certainly need to be familiar with the Foundation story to 'get' this one, and unlike most of Asimov's stories, this one is driven with interesting characters with interesting motivations. Too bad it really devolves into a debate about what a wife should do for a husband, and to a somewhat lesser degree, about what a husband should do for a wife. It's by far the longest story in this collection, and it's probably the best.
A Thousand Deaths: (4/5) Upsetting and almost a King-like horror story, a political prisoner is executed time and time again as punishment until he repents, but he never does.
Clap Hands and Sing: (4/5) A neat (but) creepy story: old man reflects on a lost love from his youth and creepily time travels back in time so that he can have sex with her. Luckily (?) she did the same thing, so it's not really all that creepy in the end. So yeah, it's very creepy.
Dogwalker: (2/5) A very mediocre cyberpunk story involving knowing someone enough to guess their password.
But We Try Not to Act Like It: (2/5) A society in which you have to watch TV and the programs you watch are tuned to make you a more stable person. Bleh.
I Put My Blue Genes On: (2/5) Humans from off-world come back to Earth to find human descendants fighting a boring battle with bio-weapons. Very forgettable.
In the Doghouse: (2/5) What if alien's tried to take over Earth, but instead of conquering humans, they conquer dogs? Yeah.
The Originist: (4/5) Ugh. An Asimov's Foundation story. I do not like the Foundation series, but still found myself interested in this one. You certainly need to be familiar with the Foundation story to 'get' this one, and unlike most of Asimov's stories, this one is driven with interesting characters with interesting motivations. Too bad it really devolves into a debate about what a wife should do for a husband, and to a somewhat lesser degree, about what a husband should do for a wife. It's by far the longest story in this collection, and it's probably the best.
December 2, 2018
The best part about this audiobook was the introduction and the afterward, read by the author himself. What a treat to hear him talk about his stories, his ideas, and his process. I always like hearing writers talk about that, especially in their own voice.
I didn't enjoy all of the stories, but I liked most of them, and I loved one of them:
"The Originist" is a short story based on characters created by Isaac Asimov (whose work I have never read) and it was wonderful. I loved listening to Leyel and Deet talk about the origins of humanity and community, but more than that, the story surprised me by being a love story, and one of the best short fiction love stories I've read. What a treat.
I didn't enjoy all of the stories, but I liked most of them, and I loved one of them:
"The Originist" is a short story based on characters created by Isaac Asimov (whose work I have never read) and it was wonderful. I loved listening to Leyel and Deet talk about the origins of humanity and community, but more than that, the story surprised me by being a love story, and one of the best short fiction love stories I've read. What a treat.
June 1, 2017
Buenos relatos, pero extremadamente sencillos para tratarse de un gran escritor como Scott Card. Entretienen pero se olvidan rápidamente.
September 25, 2017
Another recent re-read. OSC is guaranteed to bend your mind at least once in this book!
October 15, 2017
A few of these stories are great. Others are pure torture.
And I always seem to enjoy reading his notes more than the stories themselves.
And I always seem to enjoy reading his notes more than the stories themselves.
September 20, 2019
Old school sci-fi.
January 11, 2020
I have really enjoyed many of Orson Scott Card’s novels !! I can say that these short stories were not my cup of tea! Sad to say!
September 4, 2021
The last story made me laugh out loud!
December 5, 2021
I really liked it, its a good selection of stories.
April 27, 2023
Good book, interesting stories, man is Card a dickhead though
Read
May 21, 2023DNF. Well written but terrible to read.
July 16, 2015
Finished reading: June 28th 2015
"The future is his, and the present is yours, but the past belongs to me. I don't know how far into the future his probability curves have taken him, but I can match him, step for step, century for century in the past."
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
February 20, 2021
[****] "A Thousand Deaths"
[**] "Clap Hands and Sing"
[**] "Dogwalker"
[***] "But We Try Not to Act Like It"
[***] "I Put My Blue Genes On"
[***] "In the Doghouse"
[**] "The Originist"
[**] "Clap Hands and Sing"
[**] "Dogwalker"
[***] "But We Try Not to Act Like It"
[***] "I Put My Blue Genes On"
[***] "In the Doghouse"
[**] "The Originist"
June 1, 2012
This is a collection of 7 short stories by incredibly awesome (note bias ;) ) sci-fi author Orson Scott Card, who wrote Ender's Game and et cetera. Of the 7 short stories, I would say that all but one of them I would give 5 stars out of 5. The one short story that I did not like as much was called "But We Try Not to Act Like It" and is located in the middle of the collection. I can't describe exactly why I didn't like it, but it was something about how the story seemed to lack direction or a conclusion. An interesting story, but no sense of satisfaction, no answer for the reader's questions at the end. I do know that sometimes authors purposefully end in an inconclusive or "unsatisfactory" way... but since that inconclusiveness is purposeful, I would consider that to be satisfactory. For short stories like those, the authors provide an answer: the final results of the story are inconclusive. But for Card's short story ("But We Try..."), Card appeared to give the reader a clear answer (not a purposefully inconclusive answer). But I couldn't understand it, and so the short story did not end in a satisfactory manner for me.
One nice addition to this short story collection is the afterword. In this section, each short story has a few paragraphs or pages that Card has written about his short story. As I finished a short story, I would flip to the afterword and read it. The little sections were short, clear, and gave cool insight into Card's writing process as well as the stories themselves. Of course, take this with a grain of salt because I am a person who loves writing. ;) However, there was more to the afterword then Card's writing process and the stories; there was also his own thoughts about his writing. This was particularly interesting for me because the one short story I didn't like as much ("But We Try...") was the one that Card said that he didn't like very much. So, I thought I'd reference his description of it in order to try to explain why I didn't like it: in retrospect, Card thinks "his story is idea-driven rather than character-driven, which means that it is ultimately forgettable. That doesn't mean it's valueless- [Card hopes] it's kind of fun to read once. But you'll certainly not be rewarded for reading it again. You already recieved everything it had to offer on the first reading" (266-267). I agree with what Card thought about his own short story-- while I enjoyed reading it, I don't feel any reason to read it again.
Finally, a warning. The first story in the collection is difficult to read because of its graphic content-- it's called "A Thousand Deaths" for a reason. But the story is still good, if you can manage it.
March 25, 2007
While traveling on business I finished my book. (The aforementioned Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman.) So I swung by the nearest bookstore, and walked away with this.
And was immediately disappointed. I’d read some of the stories before, in another book. One of the stories, Fat Farm, was disturbing. Really disturbing. Well, in this compilation, he speaks about his writing style. This story was in a collection titled Tales of Dread. Card has this to say about dread.
"…the most potent tool of storytellers. Fear. And not just fear, but dread. Dread is the first and the strongest of the three kids of fear. It is that tension, that waiting that comes when you know that there is something to fear but you have not yet identified what it is..."
He’s right. What I didn’t like about that story was what he didn’t say- it left you wondering, which can be scary.
It’s an interesting compilation. He’s got stories about dread, holiness, pure good old fashioned sci-fi, and even some of his old stories from the Ensign and such. He’s a great writer, and borrows liberally from existing stories- and makes them very personal. I started out disappointed because I’d read some of them before. But there was plenty there I hadn’t read- and I wound up liking a majority of it.
My favorite part? The original story of Ender’s Game. One of my favorite books, it was fascinating to read the short story that it all came from. The novelization is much, much better. If you like Card, you’d like this book.
Fair warning: He engages in a lot of twist endings. Off the top of my head, four or five stories have shocking twists right at the end. I’m not averse to these (in fact, done well, I love them, like in Ender’s Game, the novel, not the short story) but if you loathe O. Henry, you’ll loathe Card too.
And was immediately disappointed. I’d read some of the stories before, in another book. One of the stories, Fat Farm, was disturbing. Really disturbing. Well, in this compilation, he speaks about his writing style. This story was in a collection titled Tales of Dread. Card has this to say about dread.
"…the most potent tool of storytellers. Fear. And not just fear, but dread. Dread is the first and the strongest of the three kids of fear. It is that tension, that waiting that comes when you know that there is something to fear but you have not yet identified what it is..."
He’s right. What I didn’t like about that story was what he didn’t say- it left you wondering, which can be scary.
It’s an interesting compilation. He’s got stories about dread, holiness, pure good old fashioned sci-fi, and even some of his old stories from the Ensign and such. He’s a great writer, and borrows liberally from existing stories- and makes them very personal. I started out disappointed because I’d read some of them before. But there was plenty there I hadn’t read- and I wound up liking a majority of it.
My favorite part? The original story of Ender’s Game. One of my favorite books, it was fascinating to read the short story that it all came from. The novelization is much, much better. If you like Card, you’d like this book.
Fair warning: He engages in a lot of twist endings. Off the top of my head, four or five stories have shocking twists right at the end. I’m not averse to these (in fact, done well, I love them, like in Ender’s Game, the novel, not the short story) but if you loathe O. Henry, you’ll loathe Card too.
January 17, 2013
Really enjoyed this book.
And then Leyel remembered what Deet had said about how people absorb stories from their communities and take them into themselves and use these stories to form their spiritual autobiography. They remember doing what the heroes of the stories did, and so they continue to act out each hero's character in their own lives, or, failing that, they measure themselves against the standard the story set for them. Stories become the human conscience, the human mirror. (p.246)
'Communities that make few or no demands on their members cannot command allegiance. All else being equal, members who feel most needed have the strongest allegiance.'
I know that my theories of community formation are true. That the vigor of a community depends on the allegiance of its members, and the allegiance can be created and enhanced by the dissemination of epic stories. (p.186)
No! No, not just language, not just tribes of chimpanzees chattering at each other. Stories, epic tales that define a community, mythic tales that teach us how the world works, we use them to create each other. We became a different species, we became human, because we found a way to extend gestation beyond the womb, a way to give each child ten thousand parents that he'll never meet face-to-face.
Stories that make the community seem more important, more central to human life. Because Rinjy could tell this story, it made her more proud to be a librarian, which increased her allegiance to the community and gave the community more power within her
And then Leyel remembered what Deet had said about how people absorb stories from their communities and take them into themselves and use these stories to form their spiritual autobiography. They remember doing what the heroes of the stories did, and so they continue to act out each hero's character in their own lives, or, failing that, they measure themselves against the standard the story set for them. Stories become the human conscience, the human mirror. (p.246)
'Communities that make few or no demands on their members cannot command allegiance. All else being equal, members who feel most needed have the strongest allegiance.'
I know that my theories of community formation are true. That the vigor of a community depends on the allegiance of its members, and the allegiance can be created and enhanced by the dissemination of epic stories. (p.186)
No! No, not just language, not just tribes of chimpanzees chattering at each other. Stories, epic tales that define a community, mythic tales that teach us how the world works, we use them to create each other. We became a different species, we became human, because we found a way to extend gestation beyond the womb, a way to give each child ten thousand parents that he'll never meet face-to-face.
Stories that make the community seem more important, more central to human life. Because Rinjy could tell this story, it made her more proud to be a librarian, which increased her allegiance to the community and gave the community more power within her
January 3, 2013
This was a really hard collection to rate...Card's autobiographical material is so arrogant it's incredibly off-putting. It's amazing to me that someone can be so full of themselves in the first place, but to actually feel like you need to put it in print...wow. I'm not reading any more of this ass-hat's mockery of others while indulging in self-congratulatory wallowing. I'll rate this book based on the stories themselves.
Where The Hanged Man was Card's horror shorts, Flux covers his sci-fi stories. Overall, I'd say it's definitely above average for sci-fi short story collections I've read. You can definitely tell a lot of these are early in his career, but all of them are still really enjoyable, and most have solid characters.
"The Originist" was easily my favorite tale so far in the overarching Maps in a Mirror collection. It's set in Asimov's Foundation universe, and covers the time between the 1st and 2nd books published in that series. Really great characterization and philosophizing (i.e. solid Card work), coupled with Asimov's style, theories, and many many layers. As much as I love Card's writing, I think this combination of Asimov/Card is even better. It totally makes me wanna read Asimov right now! Good stuff, I've just gotta remember to focus on the fiction instead of the jackass behind it. I'll probably buy his books used from now on.
Where The Hanged Man was Card's horror shorts, Flux covers his sci-fi stories. Overall, I'd say it's definitely above average for sci-fi short story collections I've read. You can definitely tell a lot of these are early in his career, but all of them are still really enjoyable, and most have solid characters.
"The Originist" was easily my favorite tale so far in the overarching Maps in a Mirror collection. It's set in Asimov's Foundation universe, and covers the time between the 1st and 2nd books published in that series. Really great characterization and philosophizing (i.e. solid Card work), coupled with Asimov's style, theories, and many many layers. As much as I love Card's writing, I think this combination of Asimov/Card is even better. It totally makes me wanna read Asimov right now! Good stuff, I've just gotta remember to focus on the fiction instead of the jackass behind it. I'll probably buy his books used from now on.
August 7, 2009
The intro spends a lot of time name-checking his faith, which I've always found odd in novels. The first story, A Thousand Deaths, is probably one of the best, despite its dated feel, if only because Card does a good job describing the human suffering and hope. My only quibble with it is that it didn't seem like very long before the state gave up on Jerry, whereas his former professor was given a year.
Clap Hands And Sing I did not enjoy, because it rewarded the protagonist for going through with what, to him, was a morally reprehensible act.
Dogwalker I've read elsewhere. It stands up to a second reading, but is clearly his attempt at cyberpunk. It's good.
But We Try Not To Act Like It was not one of his favorite stories (per the afterword,) but remains one of mine. It's a constant reminder that the state does not always know best, and certainly not for every individual. There are limits to all good intentions, and even the powerful and well-meaning can make mistakes.
I Put My Blue Genes On was excellently done.
In The Doghouse was alright.
I would have enjoyed The Originist more if the protagonist wasn't so self-absorbed and self-regarding. I love the conclusions Card came to, however.
Clap Hands And Sing I did not enjoy, because it rewarded the protagonist for going through with what, to him, was a morally reprehensible act.
Dogwalker I've read elsewhere. It stands up to a second reading, but is clearly his attempt at cyberpunk. It's good.
But We Try Not To Act Like It was not one of his favorite stories (per the afterword,) but remains one of mine. It's a constant reminder that the state does not always know best, and certainly not for every individual. There are limits to all good intentions, and even the powerful and well-meaning can make mistakes.
I Put My Blue Genes On was excellently done.
In The Doghouse was alright.
I would have enjoyed The Originist more if the protagonist wasn't so self-absorbed and self-regarding. I love the conclusions Card came to, however.
Read
September 21, 2023I love Card's short fiction, but this was not my favorite. The stories tend to be pointed, satirical, and conceptual - which is not, I think, Card's best mode. I prefer the fables of "Monkey Sonatas," or the richer empathy of his novels.
Oddly, the two best stories here come when Card is borrowing someone else's style.
"Dogwalker" is cyberpunk; not exactly Card's genre, as he explains in the endnotes, but he makes it his own. As I was reading, I didn't realize how much this one would stick with me. It's a twitchy little story that gets under your skin.
"The Originist" is set in Asimov's "Foundation" universe. It accounts for almost 50% of the page count in this volume, and like 85% of the pleasure. It's all sharp dialogue, crisp ideas, and high-level theorizing about history and knowledge and power - in short, a worthy addition to Asimov's universe.
My advice: make sure you've read Asimov's first two "Foundation" books, then skip the other stories here (except "Dogwalker" and perhaps "Thousand Deaths") and read "The Originist."
Oddly, the two best stories here come when Card is borrowing someone else's style.
"Dogwalker" is cyberpunk; not exactly Card's genre, as he explains in the endnotes, but he makes it his own. As I was reading, I didn't realize how much this one would stick with me. It's a twitchy little story that gets under your skin.
"The Originist" is set in Asimov's "Foundation" universe. It accounts for almost 50% of the page count in this volume, and like 85% of the pleasure. It's all sharp dialogue, crisp ideas, and high-level theorizing about history and knowledge and power - in short, a worthy addition to Asimov's universe.
My advice: make sure you've read Asimov's first two "Foundation" books, then skip the other stories here (except "Dogwalker" and perhaps "Thousand Deaths") and read "The Originist."
May 17, 2011
Short story collection aren't my favorite thing to read, but Orson Scott Card is, so of course this was worth it. "The Originist," in particular, really got to me, in the way that only emotionally-charged science fiction can do. Card's views of marriage and love are certainly skewed towards straight couples, but he definitely understands the almost mystical mechanics of being in love, and for that I appreciate this story. The others were a nice, well-rounded collection of pieces in fine Card form, although the first story is so intensely and empathy-inducingly graphic I found myself putting it down during lunchtime. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to anyone who hasn't encountered Card's work before, as it's not really representative of who he is as a writer, but it's a great sidenote to his meatier novels.
December 8, 2014
In the end, i never really know how i feel about these stories and courtesy of the author's personally repugnant revelations, i am always left feeling even more uncertain.
Sufficient to say, for any Foundation fan, the Originst is a worthy and interesting story. Dogwalker also has its charms. Beyond that, i don't know what else to say and even if i did, there is just too much to say that doesn't feel like it belongs in a review of this one work.
Sufficient to say, for any Foundation fan, the Originst is a worthy and interesting story. Dogwalker also has its charms. Beyond that, i don't know what else to say and even if i did, there is just too much to say that doesn't feel like it belongs in a review of this one work.
May 2, 2016
El segundo tomo de Scott Card me parecio lento, mas que lento es que no me habituó a su vista de lo que es ciencia ficcion. Aunque "Vida de Perros" es muy buena "El originista" se lleva los laureles, un cuento basado en personajes amigos de Hari Seldon el creador de la fundacion en el Trantor del universo de Isaac Asimov. Ese cuento es hasta el momento no solo el mejor de Scott Card, sino el mejor que me he leido en mucho tiempo.
March 29, 2008
This collection of short fiction is now published with the other three volumes as Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card (or something like that). The others are good, but this one was always my favorite. The last story in the book deals lightly with concepts from Asimov's Foundation series, and is also basically an awesome elevation of library science!
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