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science fiction
Series · science fiction
Homecoming Saga
The Homecoming Saga series by Orson Scott Card has 5 known books (5 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Memory of Earth (1992).
- Books
- 5 known books (5 novels)
- Published
- 5
- First published
- 1992
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Science Fiction
- Last checked
Start here: The Memory of Earth (1992) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Memory of Earth
The Memory of Earth opens the Homecoming Saga in March 1992, introducing Harmony -- a planet kept deliberately pre-industrial by the ancient orbiting computer Oversoul -- and the family of Nafai it recruits to journey back to a mythic, half-remembered Earth. It runs 332 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Memory of Earth - Book 2:
The Call of Earth
The Call of Earth , published in 1993 at 332 pages, continues Nafai's family through Harmony's court intrigues as Oversoul's degrading circuits push them closer to the journey back to Earth.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Call of Earth - Book 3:
The Ships of Earth
The Ships of Earth , published in 1994 at 384 pages, follows Nafai's family through their generation-spanning voyage back to a transformed Earth, continuing Card's science-fictional retelling of the Book of Mormon's opening narrative.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Ships of Earth - Book 4:
Earthfall
Earthfall , published in 1995 at 384 pages, brings Nafai's family to the transformed Earth their voyage was aimed at, as the saga moves into its final act.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Earthfall - Book 5:
Earthborn
Earthborn closes the five-book Homecoming Saga in May 1995 at 378 pages, resolving the difficult founding of a new society on Earth that Nafai's family set out for five books earlier.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Earthborn
About the Homecoming Saga series
Forty million years in the future, the last remnants of humanity live on the planet Harmony, kept deliberately primitive and pre-industrial by Oversoul, an ancient orbiting computer originally programmed to prevent the kind of technological self-destruction that drove humans off Earth in the first place. When Oversoul's degrading circuits threaten to fail and release Harmony's people into unrestrained technological development, it recruits the family of Nafai to journey back to a mythic, half-remembered Earth and retrieve the means to fix itself. Card has been explicit that the Homecoming Saga is a loose science-fictional retelling of the Book of Mormon's opening narrative, transplanting its family drama, sibling rivalries, and themes of exile and return onto a far-future interstellar canvas.
Across five novels -- The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth, Earthfall, and Earthborn -- the saga follows Nafai's family from Harmony's court intrigues through a generation-spanning voyage back to a transformed Earth and the difficult founding of a new society there, blending Card's interests in family psychology, politics, and religious allegory.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Homecoming Saga?
Five: The Memory of Earth (1992), The Call of Earth (1993), The Ships of Earth (1994), Earthfall (1995), and Earthborn (1995).
What order should I read the Homecoming Saga in?
Publication order: The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth, Earthfall, Earthborn. It's one continuous story rather than standalone entries.
Is the Homecoming Saga connected to Ender's Game?
No -- it's a separate far-future setting with no shared characters or continuity with the Enderverse.
Is it true the Homecoming Saga is based on the Book of Mormon?
Card has said the series loosely reimagines the opening narrative of the Book of Mormon (the story of Lehi's family) as science fiction, though it stands on its own as a story without requiring familiarity with that text.
Does the Homecoming Saga have a satisfying ending?
Yes -- Earthborn (1995) concludes the story of Nafai's family and the founding of their new society on Earth; no further volumes have been published.
If you like the Homecoming Saga series
Reading order last verified .