The Worthing Saga: Amazon.ca: Orson Scott Card: Books

Product Description

Including the novel "The Worthing Chronicle" and expanded short fiction, this is an epic space history in which Lared dreams of distant places and strange people like Abner Don, slayer of worlds, and Jason Worthing, starfighter. From the author of "The Tales of Alvin Maker" series.

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Jason Worthing takes the drug Somec, which increases the life span of humans, and he is sent into space on a ship carrying human embryos, supplies, and teaching robots in order to colonize a planet and perpetuate the human species. Reissue. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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First Sentence
In many places in the Peopled Worlds, the pain came suddenly in the midst of the day's labor. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

51 Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book, awesome concept, Jun 29 2004

By	C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Worthing Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

I think that this is one of Card's best books. A little more mature than Ender's Game and simply more entertaining than the Homecoming series. In the Worthing Chronicles (the first and main part of this book), the story of Lared and Jason Worthing is told. The book contains a very complex universe in the distant future with many diferent planets and cultures. The most fascinating is the culture of the planet Capitol and the use of somec to obtain "immortality" by the rich and famous. The connections between this society and our own are somewhat disturbing with the complete abandon of any kind of morals and the separation of the elite classes from the others. My favorite character in the book has got to be Abner Doon, whom some people consider the "devil" but could be said to have saved the human race. The lives of Lared and the other villagers are very interesting and Card's way of writing to explain multiple cultures and tie in the distand past with the present is amazing. The last part of this book, Tales of Capitol and Tales of the Forest of Waters, help to tie together a lot of missing information and just make the whole story better by increasing the reader's understanding of the very complex universe that Card has created. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and reccomend it to anyone of any age.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Card's "Q" Document, May 11 2004

By	Kendal B. Hunter (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Worthing Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is OSC "Q" document. His three mains series-Ender, Alvin Maker, and Homecoming-all trace themselves back to this collection of stories. Jason Worthing ins Ender Wiggin, the Tinker is Alvin Maker, and the sweep of history in both "Saga" and "Homecoming" are rooted in the Book Of Mormon. In fact, it is this sweep of history that appeals so much to me. It rivals "Foundation" and "Dune," and Card has a better sense of individual humans within the flow of time.

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3.0 out of 5 stars A Mormon theodicy., May 3 2004

By	Felix Sonderkammer (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Worthing Saga (Mass Market Paperback)

Like most of Card's fiction, the book is heavily influenced by his Latter-day Saint heritage. God is a mortal man who hibernates in orbit, coming to the surface every several generations to provide guidance for his stumbling "children." Due to a mishap en route, the colony ship was damaged and the hibernating colonists that survived lost their memories. Jason Worthing, the pilot of the ship, was the only one to survive and thus is responsible for guiding a civilization from infancy to the space age.

Oh, and Worthing is a telepath. He eventually reproduces, creating a race of telepaths. Eventually they become powerful enough to control the minds of others, most notably to remove pain and avert injury. Worthing's descendants take it upon themselves to rid the universe of all pain and suffering. Eventually, though, the telepaths decide they are depriving the inhabitants of the universe of something important by keeping them from suffering.

The story is told by an inhabitant of a backwater village who writes Worthing's story as Worthing dictates it to him (just like the alleged ancient prophet-historian Mormon). In the conclusion, Worthing decides to use his power one last time to save a child and her father in a scene reminiscent of the Atonement of Christ.

The last part of the book is a series of short stories that are intended to provide background for the world in which the story takes place. They are mediocre and not worth reading.

The first part of the book, however, is quite interesting and is (alas!) probably the best characterization of the Mormon view of God and the problem of evil.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tale Only Card Could Have Written
I have been a fan of Cards for about 3 years now, and I've read at least three quarters of his amazing collection. Read more

Published on Jan 12 2004 by AgEnT ZeR0

5.0 out of 5 stars What is the nature of morality?
recently re-read The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card. This book really matters to me, on a number of different levels. Read more

Published on Dec 27 2003 by Dan

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning insight into humanity
I have never read a book like this. The start felt uneven, but it tugged at my curiosity as the characters revealed themselves. Read more

Published on Nov 18 2003 by Bruce

4.0 out of 5 stars Its okay but there is better out there
This is an interesting book with some interesting concepts but I found it to drag quite a bit. If you haven't read the Dune series or the Foundation series, or even the Ender's... Read more

Published on Jul 11 2003 by Eric P. Medlock

5.0 out of 5 stars Changed my view on life
It seems a little outrageous to say that it changed how I view life, but it really did. I'm not a big reader of the fantasy genre and I just happened to pick this book up at a... Read more

Published on Mar 27 2003 by Veronica Canfield

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant book
This book is brilliant.

It is actually a set of short stories which Card put together over a time, inspired by some other Science Fiction stories (timeless ones, just as this... Read more

Published on Feb 10 2003 by Nathaniel Harari

5.0 out of 5 stars Card examines importance of opposition
In the Worthing Saga, Card uses his gift of story-telling to weave a sort of exteneded fable, with a moral so distinctly and beautifully writ, that the reader cannot help but feel... Read more

Published on Sep 30 2002 by Tobias J Clausen

5.0 out of 5 stars Card's Non-Ender Masterpiece
It took me a while to realize that much of the Worthing Saga was a collection of stories, just because they flowed together so well. Read more

Published on Sep 21 2002 by Winston J. Pennyworth III

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting mix of ideas and action
The Worthing Saga contains bits and pieces from other SF books (Asimov's "Foundation" and Herbert's "Dune") but ultimately is Card's own work, with his... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2002 by Jerry Ball (Dexter Circle)

5.0 out of 5 stars Card will grip your imagination and intellect
Orson Scott Card is perhaps the greatest living science-fiction writer still writing. This book is prime evidence. Read more

Published on Dec 16 2001 by Brian Melendez