"The resiliency of the human spirit is alive in this book"

America as we know it has been destroyed by a combination of nuclear and biological weapons. However, the final death is caused by a collective cultural lack of belief in anything non material. Amidst this manifest destiny of death and destruction remains a few oasis of civilization when a fringe survivor group forges a society along the expanded shores of The Great Salt Lake. With this background, awesome award winning Orson Scott Card provides five interrelated tales about the efforts of these few to reconstruct civilization anchored by religion.

Each story is well written and paints an optimistic future on top of a gloomy present and a dead past. The cast seems genuine adding to the reality of a doomed future America. Fans need to understand that this fabulous anthology is not a story a night collection because the theme makes the short stories seem more like chapters of a fantastic science fiction novel though each entry can stand alone. Mr. Card once again proves he is the ace of genre writers.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 26, 2001