The Worthing SAGA

"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things."

How do you write a science fiction novel that teaches this doctrine without anyone knowing? Read the Worthing SAGA to find out. I think half the fun of reading Card is to see how he manages to get doctrine across to the world like Seinfeld's wife puts broccoli into brownies.

This is the story of humankind spanning hundreds of worlds with a capitol planet like Coruscant (big city planet in Star Wars). A few humans have developed the power to read and explore people's minds, however they are tremendously feared and executed if discovered. One such boy has this gift/curse and the story chronicles his life and the downfall of several civilizations, brought on by ABNER DOOM.

But it gets better from the how-do-I-teach-LDS-themes perspective. Jason Worthing, the boy who can read minds has grown old and wants someone to preserve his story so future generations will know of his struggle for true happiness. With the help of a mysterious woman, they get Larid, a blissfully ignorant 14 year-old farm boy to write his story in the language of his people. The woman gives Larid visions or actual memories of Jason's life as if he experienced them himself. As the story of Jason unfolds, Larid learns to embrace the realities of life and is now ready to begin his own journey into the unknown.

Hopefully multiple things that I just said ring some Book of Mormon bells for you.

One of my favorite elements about a few Card novels is his use of people leapfrogging through time via hyperspace travel or in the case of this book, a drug called Somec. The elite of society are preserved through the centuries by waking for 1 to 2 months or sometimes weeks and then sleeping for five to 50 years so they can guide the rest of the pathetic human race to greatness. But is it really working or crippling mankind?

Once again, Card manages to have a vision of future technologies or ideas that in some cases have already become "reality" for us today. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it for your summer sci-fi pleasure.