Hatrack River Forum: Homebody

This is topic Homebody in forum Discussions About Orson Scott Card at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by SkeletonRock (Member # 10563) on :

Hi, I'm just curious what you think about this book. I read it not that long ago and it's hard for me to believe it's an OSC book. I mean, it's probably the best book about a house that's alive and can kill you that i've ever read, but still, it's a book about a house that's alive and can kill you. It's just such a hackneyed idea. I was pretty disappointed in it. Am I alone?

Posted by Nathan2006 (Member # 9387) on :

I really liked it. OSC has openly said that it's an overused idea, and most think it's not his best effort.

Personally, haven't not read *any* horror books, and barely reading any gothic or dark fantasy books, I thought the idea was fresh.

But really, I didn't care about the fantasy element. I loved the characters. A little contrived in the beginning, but great throughout the rest of the book.

Overall, I really like Homebody. But it's not OSC's best. It's not really a 'filler' book, but it's not the book I give out to people who have never heard of him.

I have 'Enchantment' for that. [Big Grin]

Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :

lol.. I agree with Nathan here. It's not the best he's ever written, but I thought it was pretty good. And, it's not REALLY about a house that's alive and can kill you. Instead, it's about how humans pour the spirit of themselves into the things they care about.

Enchantment is still better.

Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :

Homebody is one of my favorite books, to say nothing of one of my favorite OSC books. To say that it's about a house that's alive and can kill you is like saying that The Shining is about a haunted house. Or that The Stand is about a plague.

Posted by hatrkr81 (Member # 9317) on :

I thought Homebody was a great book. It was one of the first stand alone novels of Card's that I read and I loved it. I don't think I've ever been disappointed in an OSC book. He's one of only 2 author's I can say that about, the other being Neil Gaiman.

Posted by Shawshank (Member # 8453) on :

I was slightly disappointed with Songmaster the first time I read it. I've read it since and I like it a little bit more.

Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :

I just got finished reading Homebody today, and I really enjoyed it. Pretty much plowed through it in about half a day. It reminded me a lot of Treasure Box and little of Lost Boys. I guess that's sort of inevitable, given that they're all "scary" books from the same author [Smile]

Anyhow, just wanted to throw in my two cents that it's a worthwhile book and a really enjoyable read.

Posted by Steve_G (Member # 10101) on :

I just finished Homebody. I liked it a lot. Though some of the elements of the book were cliche', the parts that were genuine OSC really stood out. I'm talking about the mysticism he invented where the house gets strength from the people who live in it or the love that's poured into the house when its built. He did a great job with that. The ending was one you could see coming from a mile away, so it wasn't a surprise, however it was also the ending you hoped for, and were satisfied with reading.

I would have liked to see a floorplan of that house. I'm a visual person and have made my career in architecture, having a floorplan to look at occasionally would have been fun.

If I ever get around to reading it again, I think I'll try to draw it from the descriptions given in the book.

Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :

Ah Steve, if you do that, share it around. It certainly sounds beautiful.

Posted by Clumpy (Member # 8122) on :

I liked Homebody quite a bit - a little more, in fact, than his other supernatural thriller "Treasure Box." As usual, the synopsis of the book doesn't do it justice.

I don't want to give anything away, but OSC was remarkably prescient in "Homebody," anticipating a few concepts that Hollywood flicks would use over just the next couple of years.

It's not just an "evil house" book - check it out.

[ March 01, 2009, 05:29 AM: Message edited by: Clumpy ]

Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :

I too liked Homebody much more than Treasure Box.

Posted by DDDaysh (Member # 9499) on :

You know, I thought after I read Treasure Box that it was "ok" but I'd never read it again. I have read it again though, a couple of times, and it's grown on me. I still like Homebody better (it's more traditional OSC for one thing), but Treasurebox has it's merits.

Posted by Nathan2006 (Member # 9387) on :

I preferred this book over Treasure Box. But, I still rather liked Treasure Box, not much, but enough... It was the first OSC fiction book I ever read. I followed it up with Ender's Game, which I liked much better. And now OSC is among my favorite authors.