The Call of Earth (Orson Scott Card)

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The Call of Earth
by Orson scott Card

****
One might term the second volume of the Homecoming series a 'typical' Orson Scott Card book, but this is by no means a bad thing. Card's strongest asset has always been his ability to portray the complex interactions and relationships between various complex people, and we get all those things in The Call of Earth. The characters from the first novel are developed extensively here, along with an interesting sub-plot that effectively gives this book its independence while linking the first and third books together.

Picking up from where the last novel left off (for the full plot see The Memory of Earth), a ruthless warrior named Moozh has risen in the wake of the Oversoul's deteriorating components. Using forbidden technology to take command of an army, Moozh moves in to take the city of Basilica. In the meanwhile, various people are disturbed by similar dreams, apparently from the Keeper of Earth itself.

The Call of Earth is paced faster than the first, and Card maintains a good balance between action and characterization. In particular, Card's understanding of the human condition makes for very poignant reading. The scenes which depict the love between Nafai and Luet are fiercely moving (no, I can't physically cry when I read books, it's just not possible, but this one made me come dangerously close), as are the increasingly bitter feudal battles between Nafai and his half-brothers Ellemak and Mebbekew.

However, one of the reasons I consider this a sentimental favourite rather than an all-time classic is because a lot of other people don't seem to like the characters all that much. Although I can relate to Card's characters better than any other authors' on average, I admit the conversations in this novel have little in common with the way people actually talk, being stilted and too emotionally charged. Some will complain that, like Xenocide and Children of the Mind, the dialogue is almost embarrassingly sentimental. I have no defense against this statement, only that for some inexplicable reason, I love all the characters in this novel, and so you may have a chance of liking them, too. My suggestion: read the first novel, and if you don't like it, chances are you won't like the rest of the series….but if you did like it go right ahead and read The Call of Earth!