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.
Amazon.com Review
High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches, programmed forty million years ago to guard the human settlement from all threats, especially themselves. In the latest in the Hugo- and Nebula award-winning author's Homecoming series, the great artificial intelligence has lost control of the population, forbidden technology has been rediscovered, war has broken out, and the only repair lies light years distant on a lost and ruined Earth.
"There seems little doubt that the whole series will prove as readable--and as morally committed--as we've come to expect from Card." --Locus
From Publishers Weekly
The fourth and penultimate book in Card's Homecoming Saga carries the travelers from the planet Harmony back to Earth at last?the first humans to set foot there in 40 million years. The journey through space intensifies the strife between Nafai, leader of the expedition chosen by the Oversoul (Harmony's master computer), and his brother Elemak, which erupts again into violence midway through the voyage. Nafai's Oversoul-given powers and the obvious futility of a rebellion in deep space force a renewed truce, but hostilities continue to simmer as the travelers reach Earth. As the humans establish a colony, they must make peace with two sentient species, evolved in humankind's absence, which live in a constant state of enmity. This action-packed, plot-rich installment features Card's typical virtues?well-drawn characters and a story driven by complex moral issues. As the narrative pace accelerates, however, the later episodes fragment and characters fade into the background. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
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.
Amazon.com Review
High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches, programmed forty million years ago to guard the human settlement from all threats, especially themselves. In the latest in the Hugo- and Nebula award-winning author's Homecoming series, the great artificial intelligence has lost control of the population, forbidden technology has been rediscovered, war has broken out, and the only repair lies light years distant on a lost and ruined Earth.
"There seems little doubt that the whole series will prove as readable--and as morally committed--as we've come to expect from Card." --Locus
From Publishers Weekly
The fourth and penultimate book in Card's Homecoming Saga carries the travelers from the planet Harmony back to Earth at last?the first humans to set foot there in 40 million years. The journey through space intensifies the strife between Nafai, leader of the expedition chosen by the Oversoul (Harmony's master computer), and his brother Elemak, which erupts again into violence midway through the voyage. Nafai's Oversoul-given powers and the obvious futility of a rebellion in deep space force a renewed truce, but hostilities continue to simmer as the travelers reach Earth. As the humans establish a colony, they must make peace with two sentient species, evolved in humankind's absence, which live in a constant state of enmity. This action-packed, plot-rich installment features Card's typical virtues?well-drawn characters and a story driven by complex moral issues. As the narrative pace accelerates, however, the later episodes fragment and characters fade into the background.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.