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The Ships of Earth
Travel Diaries: Nafai Today Elemak took most of the men out to try our hand at hunting game with pulses. I seem to be pretty good at it, and was the only one to actually hit anything. Maybe I have a chance of being more than just a stuck up whiny brat in his eyes after all. I still don't really understand Elemak though. Ever since the beginning of our journey, when he threatened to execute me for insubordination after I objected to his wanting to turn back to Basilica, and I escaped his ropes with the help of the Oversoul, he's been more civil with me, but I feel that he still resents it. Doesn't he make a living out amongst the desert dunes, why did he want to return to Basilica anyway? I know that Mebbethew practically drowned himself in the adultary and gluttony that was the social scene in the city, so it's no surprise that he would want to turn back. Dol, Sevet, and Kokor all were like Mebbethew, maybe even worse, but they hardly do anything here anyway, and being women, actually had some position of prestige. Elemak is a desert traveler, his entire life was spent trading between the cities. I've always admired him for that, though I wouldn't say it to his face now. Maybe it's because he's never in a position of permenent power here. I suppose in his band of traders, there was no question to his rule, but here, with my influence with the Oversoul after the events in Basilica, he sees me as a threat to his command. If only he understood how much I hate those memories of killing Gaballufix and helping us escape through the city. Though it was on the Oversoul's orders, there's not a moment where I wish it hadn't chosen me. The feeling of blood on my hands hasn't left my mind since then. But Elemak seems to see it as a mark of pride. He would've done it out of honor rather than out of neccesity I suppose. Possibly with time, my brother may come to understand my side of events, but for now, I just hope that our hunting trips can be a way to bridge the gap between us.
'The Ships of Earth' is very different, but also has many similarties to 'The Motorcycle Diaries'. First and foremost is the fact that one was written from imagination and the other details events that really occured. In TMD (The Motorcycle Diaries) Ernesto and Alberto go on a trip to reach North America, the center of the 'industrialized world' and on the way, see the everyday struggle of the native inhabitants in their own world. They travel closer to 'civilization' while taking in the sights of poverty and conflict, until the end, where they emerge changed and hoping to create a better life for all people. Compared to this, in TSE (The Ships of Earth) the main characters are actually travelling away from civilization and culture, making their way from Basilica and it's lights and comforts, on a journey to return to Earth. Earth, which was ravaged millenia ago by the wars of humanity. Nafai and his companions are divided on their goals, which some wishing to return to easy lives in Basilica, while others determined to reach Earth. Ernesto in TMD wishes to change the world so he can better life for the poor and suffering he sees on his journey. Nafai in TSE wants to preserve humanity by taking his band of travelers to the spaceships created by the first colonists in order to travel to Earth before the failing Oversoul can no longer keep the human civilization on Harmony from creating the weapons of war that will lead to the same consequences that Earth suffered so long ago. In both stories, the characters are trying to help a greater good, but are doing it in very different ways. Ernesto is trying to help his fellow people reach civilization, with improved medicine and equality. Nafai is trying to keep the human race alive by rejecting technology and advancement because of the dangers we pose to each other with them. 'The Motocycle Diaries' only has two sections with a motocycle, while 'The Ships of Earth' is a science fiction novel, about the danger of technology. I found this amusing
The Ships of Earth was based off a fictionalization of the first chapters of the Book of Mormon. Many Characters and events are mirrored very closely with these pages.
The Book of Mormon
My Opinion: Compared to the other books of Orson Scott Card that I've read thus far, including Enders Game, and most of the Bean series, I did not like the Ships of Earth as much. Personally, I like sci-fi books with a lot of action or at least some clever manuever, but the Ships of Earth has neither. In fact, the Ships of Earth was more or less, just the story of a group of people solving their personal issues while also happening to be on a journey to save all mankind at the same time. While the timespan and length of the trip neccesitated that at least some of this happened, I would've appreciated it a lot if Card had at least tried to keep that to a minimun. As it is now, it's more of a soap opera than a space odessey. Cool if you're into that sort of stuff, but for me the fluff just starts to get tedious after a while. Just imagine Twilight without the Vampires, or Harry Potter without magic, and you have The Ships of Earth... I would recommend it only on the interesting views it takes on human culture and religion, but other than those tidbits, it's pretty much a flop in my book.
The Setting of TSE took place mostly on the Planet of Harmony. The travelers journeyed through several different types of terrain, ranging from desert to forest and mountain. This slideshow show a few examples of the ground the group covered in their trip
The Ships of Earth deals with many aspects of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. As the characters are restricted to simple means of travel, the trip to the spaceships takes place over the period of several years, and during that time, not everyone has reached self actualization, which causes distress and conflicht throughout the whole group. As different people change and adapt, the positions of individuals constantly moved along the triangle. Personally I hated this aspect of the book. It made it part sci-fi, part bad soap opera...
Orson Scott Card
This is a Science Fiction Novel, based in the far future. Humanity had destroyed Earth's ability to sustain life long ago and now lives on several different planets scattered throughout the universe. On one planet, Harmony, the colonists build a great computer mind linking all humanity through an advanced mind link, and ordered it to keep humanity in check from future conflict. The colony then abandoned most technological advancements and stepped backwards into a strange mix of the future and the past. For millenia, the system worked, and the Oversoul kept peace on Harmony while keeping civilization from advancing too far towards the end of destruction. However, as time went on, the Oversoul began to lose memory and function as time took its toll on it's systems. In order to keep the humans on Harmony in peace, it decided to send a small group of the most connected humans back to Earth to contact the 'Keeper of Earth' another computer with the knowledge to fix the Oversoul. And thus the journey began.
Sample Chapter 1
