Amph Beyond the Enderverse -- The Other Works of Orson Scott Card

While Orson Scott Card is most often renowned for his work in the vastly complex Enderverse, he is also the author of many other equally fascinating novels and series, such as Invasive Procedures, Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, and Wyrms. And so, this thread is for the discussion of the non-Ender books that Card has written.

 

So, has anyone read his Pastwatch novels?

 

Nope, I haven't, but I did read Enchanted, which was....interesting. What are the Pastwatch books about?

 

I was not aware there was more than one Pastwatch novel...

 

I've read his Homecoming series, which was good, though not as good as the Ender series (probably to be expected, really). It trailed off a bit in the fifth and final book, which I thought was well below the first four, but still worth reading.

I've also got Empire on my shelf right now waiting to be read...

 

Qui Gon Reborn please respond!

 

Empire is really good. I read it two summers ago, and it was pretty awesome. I read it in like a day. Enchanted was pretty entertaining. Worms (I think that's the name) is pretty interesting, but I thought it was a little weird. Folk of the Fringe was interesting as well.

 

I forgot about Folk of the Fringe, that was pretty good, you're right.

 

Just finished Empire... wow. Definitely a good book and worth the read, and quite thought provoking. Though I did find myself wondering if the author wasn't an established science fiction author, whether it would have been in the sci-fi/fantasy section, since although it was set in the future (I think that future was actually 2008, though it wasn't ever said explicitly) pretty much all the tech stuff was modern, except for the mechs and hovercraft - and I'm certain those mechs are possible with today's technology.

Also, as a historian with a focus on the late Roman Republic, and taking a class about the early Roman Empire right now... doubly disturbing.

 

Sorry. I sort of gave up after nobody posted here for about two and a half weeks. You could've shot me a PM. I don't mind a kick in the rear deflector once in a while.

Pastwatch is about a group of historians who believe that, by journeying into the past and stopping Christopher Columbus from discovering America, they can alter the world's structure for the better and change humanity. It's extremely fascinting, both on the historical and the science-fictional levels.

 

Card's works tend to be more thought provoking than your average science fiction/fantasy novel. Empire was definitely that way, but its his other works as well.

 

They all have underlying messages, that's for sure, but what's really wonderful is that they can be interpreted in different ways. It's not simply one viewpoint that is constantly thrust at the reader. I love an author who assumes that the reader is intelligent.

 

I know what it's about. I've read it like 3 times. I was wondering about you saying his Pastwatch novels... plural.

 

Well, there is another one out, I believe, but I haven't read it yet.

 

I think you are wrong... I've never heard of one anyway.

 

According to wikipedia, there are two more Pastwatch novels planned, but neither has been released yet.

 

Okay THAT is ****ing cool. I LOVE the first one.

 

I'll have to pick it up sometime, since I haven't read it yet.

 

I seriously love Pastwatch. It's utterly fascinating. But I am also a huge fan of living history that is interesting.

 

That's right. I wasn't really sure. My Barnes and Noble is always short of Card's books, anyway.

 

I've read his Alvin Maker series. The first couple books started it out really promising, but by the last couple of books I just felt underwhelmed. It's been I while since I read them, so I can't really remember the specifics. I just sort of remember thinking that the last couple books were a little repetitive and didn't have much actually happen.

 

That seems to be kind of a trend with his different series. I felt the same way about Ender.