''Earthfall'' (1995) is a science fiction novel by American writer

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

. It is the fourth book of the

Homecoming Saga The ''Homecoming Saga'' is a science fiction series by Orson Scott Card. The series is patterned on the Book of Mormon. Some of the names also come from the Book of Mormon. The series, containing five volumes, takes place forty million years i ...

, a fictionalization of the first few hundred years recorded in the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

Plot summary

The children of Wetchik are ready to board the starship ''Basilica'' and embark on their journey from the planet Harmony back to the origin of humanity:

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. However, the rivalry between Nafai and Elemak promises the journey will be anything but peaceful. Each faction already has hidden plans to prematurely awaken from the long hibernation, to have the upper hand when the landing occurs. The children become pawns in their parents' power struggle - valuable potential adults that can strengthen each faction. But the Oversoul is ultimately in control, having uploaded a copy of itself into ''Basilica's'' central computer, so that it can monitor the ship at all times. After landing on Earth, the fragile peace wrought on board is merely a mask for the turmoils of passions that boil beneath. Not only do the colonists have to deal with the split, there are also the mysteriously symbiotic alien races that have evolved on Earth since humanity's departure. The quest to understand the Angels (giant bats) and the Diggers (giant rats) that were foreshadowed in the dreams is not an easy one. The focus throughout the course of this novel begins to drift away from the original generation of characters in order to delineate the passage of time. The factions that developed among the original generation have now spread to their children, through no fault of the children themselves. Nafai finds himself and his "Nafari" living and working primarily amongst the angel people, whereas the "Elemaki" associate much more closely with the diggers. It is this dissociation that eventually breaks nearly all the bonds—literally, for Hushidh and Cheveya—between Nafai and his older brother, Elemak. As Elemak's rage and hatred for Nafai grow, he ingrains such feelings into his family and the digger people, laying the foundation for war. After the death of Volemak the Nafari migrate northwards away from the landing site to found a new nation.

Reception

A 1994 Kirkus review wrote, "Card's series would be more reader-friendly with fewer characters, and if the individual entries were more self-contained. Nevertheless, it continues to impress."

References

External links

About the novel ''Earthfall'' from Card's website
* 1995 American novels Novels by Orson Scott Card American science fiction novels 1995 science fiction novels Mormon fiction Tor Books books {{1990s-sf-novel-stub

Plot summary

Reception

See also

References

External links