science fiction

The Folk Of The Fringe - Orson Scott Card Book Review

Enter a review
of your own!
Other books by
author Orson Scott Card

"The Folk Of The Fringe"
Message Board
Orson Scott Card Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: Will B.

SCHOLARS:
sayruh  Beth  Katy Leung  Steven Potter  steven vanzant  David Gordon  Cec  Melissa Shauer  Anita Poon  Melissa  lloyd thayne  Justin Selva  Conner  marna  iris H elentuch  Dimitri Melamoud  gigi  anonymous  C Todd  
Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!
Review Summaries
" Tor, Aug 2001, 12.95, 272 pp. ISBN: 0312876637 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 "
Harriet Klausner, Resident Orson Scott Card Scholar

"THE FOLK OF THE FRINGE Orson Scott Card Tor, Aug 2001, $12.95, 272 pp. ISBN: 0312876637 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 "
, Resident Orson Scott Card Scholar


Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Plotlets: - surviving a post environmental/nuclear disaster
Spying & Investigations Yes
What is main char. doing? - finding a killer (criminal) - finding an assassin (political) - unraveling a conspiracy
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - weapon - method of transportation - info about lifeform(s)/society/phenomena - money/gems/treasure
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - champion of justice
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount - an average amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Desert
Earth setting: - near future (later in 21st century)
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books by Gordonator ranking
Resurrection by Arwen Elys Dayton
The Smoke Ring by Larry Niven
Light Music by Kathleen Ann Goonan
Melchior's Fire by Jack L. Chalker
The Secret Of Life by Paul McAuley





Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Book search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed book search
(click here)
or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion


Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!


Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!


Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game


Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

Charmed: Is Piper really a Halliwell? 11/13/2009 11:30:45 AM

Lord of the Rings: Why would Aragorn choose pig lips Arwen Evenstar over Eowyn? 11/12/2009 6:40:39 PM

Xena: 37 reasons why Xena and Gabrielle are... you know.... 11/12/2009 7:23:13 AM

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 11/11/2009 11:48:16 PM

Battlestar Galactica: Was Battlestar Galactica politically conservative? 11/1/2009 9:51:45 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Why were the Cylons so slow and thinking impaired? 10/31/2009 8:36:52 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 10/22/2009 2:43:11 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 10/19/2009 2:48:46 PM

Charmed: If Piper Halliwell gets pregnant, can Leo give her an abortion? 10/3/2009 12:29:33 PM

Star Wars: Why did stormtroopers wear armor that didn't work against blasters? 9/30/2009 9:48:47 PM


Newest slaves:
Quinn 9:26:14 PM
Heather Locklear (Melrose Place) 9:25:35 PM
Cat Woman 9:25:35 PM
Nikita (Peta Wilson) 9:25:08 PM
Shannon Elizabeth 9:21:53 PM
Nyssa 9:20:17 PM
Colonel Samantha Carter clone 9:19:44 PM
Rose Tyler (Dr. Who Squeeze) 9:19:41 PM
Galadriel 9:18:33 PM
Arwen Evenstar (Liv Tyler) 9:16:16 PM
All slaves
(click here)


Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)