Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
28th out of 921 books
—
5,231 voters
Enchantment
As one of the most consistently exciting writers to emerge in the last twenty-five years, Orson Scott Card has been honored with numerous awards, immersing readers in dazzling worlds only he could create. Now, in Enchantment, Card works his magic as never before, transforming the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty into an original fantasy brimming with romance and adventure...more
Paperback, 422 pages
Published
May 31st 2005
by Del Rey
(first published January 1st 1999)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Jan 05, 2008
Steph
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in modern fairy tales, russian forlklore, fantasy, medieval Russian history
Recommended to Steph by:
Ed
Days before young Ivan's family moved out of Russia, he stumbled upon something terrifying and magical during a walk in the forest. Frightened, he ran. Years later, while visiting his childhood home, he finds himself drawn to the same clearing, only this time, he stumbles unwillingly into the midst of an unfolding drama for events that happened--are happening--hundreds of years earlier.
Readers of fairy tales and Russian mythology will appreciate how Card carefully yet effortlessly works familiar...more
Readers of fairy tales and Russian mythology will appreciate how Card carefully yet effortlessly works familiar...more
16 likes · like · see review
view 1 comment
I almost really loved this book. However, for me it suffers from the same problem that other Orson Scott Card books do...the characters (not the Ender's series but his other books). The plot of this book is truly brilliant. It is very creative and fun and imaginative. It is a great story but the characters...oh, help us. They just aren't all that great. I mean they say the things they should say and do the things they should do but I think the author is lacking in his ability to tap into the sub...more
13 likes · like · see review
This is one book that my husband and I both enjoy and love to read together over and over. One of our favorites. It is a modern day Sleeping Beauty story, but it doesn't end when he wakes her up. Instead, the couple goes through the struggles of getting to know and understand eachother, including trying understand eachother's cultures, which are hundreds of years apart. They must learn how to love eachother and support eachother in trials and danger (which includes being chased through time and...more
Warning, I'm being totally honest. You may not agree.
This book is awful! If it were a movie, I should have walked out hours ago. Instead, I just wanted to know what happens. And when I actually got to the end of the book about 3 minutes ago, it wasn't even a very good ending!! It took 350 pages to build up to an anti-climactic ending.
Why is it awful? The author uses every opportunity to throw in a foul word or sexual comment. It's like he's a 14-year-old boy who thinks it's fun to talk about be...more
This book is awful! If it were a movie, I should have walked out hours ago. Instead, I just wanted to know what happens. And when I actually got to the end of the book about 3 minutes ago, it wasn't even a very good ending!! It took 350 pages to build up to an anti-climactic ending.
Why is it awful? The author uses every opportunity to throw in a foul word or sexual comment. It's like he's a 14-year-old boy who thinks it's fun to talk about be...more
22 likes · like · see review
As we outgrow our childhood, we say goodbye to many fun traditions. No longer do we believe in the Easter Bunny or hope that the Tooth Fairy will bring us gifts in the night (although some financial assistance for crowns and wisdom teeth extractions would be nice). With adulthood, we stop reading books that begin with “Once upon a time… ”. But, some days, when work is, well work, and newspapers are filled with stories about the bad economy, a fairy tale seems like the perfect escape from the rea...more
3 likes · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
4 likes · like · see review
So generally I don't read science fiction. But, I had two friends highly recommend this book. "My favorite book," one of them said. So I read it. Not easily at first because I don't read a lot of fiction these days. But, you know what....it was a delightful book. I really did enjoy it. A little romance. And not the normal science fiction that I was expecting. Good stuff all around.
5 likes · like · see review
OMG that was just so freaking cool! :D My last book for 2011, which I couldn't finish because it's kind of enormous, and so my first for 2012 as well. A nice end AND start to the years :D And I was hooked in straight away, there was no gradual warming up - I loved it from the start. The writing is just so delicious, and the tale itself so rich and wonderful... the perfect mix of fairy-tale fantasy and darkness. I LOVED the language geekery so much as well, that was utter brilliance. And the snap...more
2 likes · like · see review
On the surface this book sounds great. Fairytales, fantasy, basis in actual folklore type stuff; it's even decently written.
However I found the characters so unlikable that the story was ruined for me. The main character abandons a fiancee that he was very happy with...*until* he met the princess. How..quaint and realistic. I hope you can detect the sarcasm. The mother is bordering on cruel to the previous fiancee. I do think the personalities and relationship, for the most part, were interprete...more
However I found the characters so unlikable that the story was ruined for me. The main character abandons a fiancee that he was very happy with...*until* he met the princess. How..quaint and realistic. I hope you can detect the sarcasm. The mother is bordering on cruel to the previous fiancee. I do think the personalities and relationship, for the most part, were interprete...more
6 likes · like · see review
This book was worth reading. There were elements I loved - the slight skewing of fairy tale, and the contrast between the modern world and the ancient world makes for unlimited writing fodder. As always, Card's use of enchantment and sorcery is charming. The anthropologist in me loved the discovery of ancient language and early writing. The story was definitely good.
What I didn't like is that in many areas it read like a romance novel. The are sections of the book where the constant inner dialog...more
What I didn't like is that in many areas it read like a romance novel. The are sections of the book where the constant inner dialog...more
This book was unbelievably clever,
A professional runner studying dead languages - happens to take an internship... being about the only person in the entire world who could survive what happens to him.
The thought of reading ancient stories and having them be about your mom, or dad, or something that's happening to you right now...
The politics and religion of the ancient world were genius - and critical to suck a reader in to believe the situation is plausible.
The thought of ancient Gods coming...more
A professional runner studying dead languages - happens to take an internship... being about the only person in the entire world who could survive what happens to him.
The thought of reading ancient stories and having them be about your mom, or dad, or something that's happening to you right now...
The politics and religion of the ancient world were genius - and critical to suck a reader in to believe the situation is plausible.
The thought of ancient Gods coming...more
Sleeping Beauty is awakened not by Prince Charming, but a Jewish-American graduate student with a penchant for Slavic languages and long distance running. Ivan Smetski returns to his childhood home of Ukraine for some research and relaxation. While on a run, he seeks out a meadow in a forest he once came upon as a child. To his surprise, the woman he saw lying asleep on a pedestal all those years ago was not a figment of his imagination. After defeating a bear that guards "sleeping beauty," Ivan...more
Orson Scott Card, in my limited experience, tends to breathe a powerful idea into his novels- a spark that animates the plot and engages the reader- and then rely too heavily on the idea to write the novel for him. "Enchantment" is more of that. The idea here is the eternal power of Story to bind people together, to become a touchstone across cultures and times. I loved this theme; Card knew what he wanted to say, and he gets this point across.
He takes a rather pedestrian route to get there, tho...more
He takes a rather pedestrian route to get there, tho...more
Sheesh, I loved the concept, but did Orson really have to be so R rated? I can't recommend this book to anyone, because it went down paths it really didn't have to go.
7 likes · like · see review
I had some difficulty in deciding whether to rate this book three or four stars.
The story telling, in my opinion, was excellently done. The narrative kept me interested and compelled to keep listening throughout without resorting to any cheap, over-the-top, cheesy-action-movie antics to do so. I think it's a testament to the author's abilities that(view spoiler)...more
The story telling, in my opinion, was excellently done. The narrative kept me interested and compelled to keep listening throughout without resorting to any cheap, over-the-top, cheesy-action-movie antics to do so. I think it's a testament to the author's abilities that(view spoiler)...more
Orson Scott Card is sick, sick, sick. Right now you're probably thinking, "Whoa, no need to get angry. If you don't like his books don't read them." Well that's easy for you to say. You didn't spend a half an hour looking for available e audio books on the city website, and finally decide--against your better judgement--to give him another try. He's such a talented author, after all. Not ALL of his books are obnoxiously trashy. And in fact, throughout the first few chapters I thought I'd made a...more
1 like · like · see review
An awesome modern-day fairy tale told by a very good writer. Seriously, what's not to love in this book? Likable characters, magic spells, far away lands, a blend of two different time periods, and characters that change. And aside from a pretty darn good story, I loved the philosophies of the book and I'd stay up late at night just thinking about it.
I love this book for three main reasons:
1) It's full of one-liners that convey deep philosophies and true-to-life statements that I heartily agree...more
I love this book for three main reasons:
1) It's full of one-liners that convey deep philosophies and true-to-life statements that I heartily agree...more
1 like · like · see review
No spoilers. I went looking for this book recently because I would've sworn Robin McKinley wrote it. This is quite an unusual foray into fairy tale-fantasy for Orson Scott Card. I am ever so fuzzy on the details, but I remember enjoying it quite a lot, and feeling as though the ending needed a follow-up novel (which is probably a huge part of the reason I thought it was McKinley).
1 like · like · see review
Jul 10, 2007
Lisa
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
folks who like novelizations of fairy tales.
Shelves:
adultfictionmalewriters
Ivan is trapped in a time-warped version of Sleeping Beauty and Baba Yaga. A unique and interesting read with lots of great character development.
As a child, Ivan happens upon a sleeping woman in the forest of Russia. She both frightens and bewilders him. He returns as an adult grad student researching ancient Russian languages and folklore and finds her again. This time, he releases her from her spell and is betrothed to her in marriage as a result. When they return to her village, Ivan discov...more
As a child, Ivan happens upon a sleeping woman in the forest of Russia. She both frightens and bewilders him. He returns as an adult grad student researching ancient Russian languages and folklore and finds her again. This time, he releases her from her spell and is betrothed to her in marriage as a result. When they return to her village, Ivan discov...more
I really enjoyed this. Retelling of a fairy tale, yackity yackity...
A few irritants though. Card gets a little preachy through his characters' thoughts. I normally don't mind some preachiness. Clearly you've got something to say or you wouldn't be writing, so by all means, say it. It just kind of bludgeons you over the head in this book, though. I mostly agree with what he has to say and it still grates on me.
Also, and I think this may be a continuing problem for Card, all the characters sound...more
A few irritants though. Card gets a little preachy through his characters' thoughts. I normally don't mind some preachiness. Clearly you've got something to say or you wouldn't be writing, so by all means, say it. It just kind of bludgeons you over the head in this book, though. I mostly agree with what he has to say and it still grates on me.
Also, and I think this may be a continuing problem for Card, all the characters sound...more
My second time reading this book, and I found it suffered a bit. Several years ago i read it and fell in love with the wonderful retelling of famous fairy tales. I still find the concept of the story innovative, but my patience with the characters' almost constant bickering wore thin. I found Card's treatment of women strange and the discussion of magic and witchcraft vs. natural intuition and feminism in general was weird. Baba Yaga is still great, though, and I would still recommend the book t...more
1 like · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Every reader has at least one story that haunts them. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card was that novel for me. The story I read, loved, and accidentally lost all within a month. I was 12 when I read it, and thought Enchantment was just a nice story about a princess named Katerina, and the man who saves her, Ivan. Yet re-reading the novel, as an adult, I was just as enchanted by Enchantment as before.
Orson Scott Card takes the classic sleeping beauty fairy tale, adds in Baba Yaga, and flips the en...more
I was surprised that this book came from the same author as Ender's Game because it is an entirely different type of story. I really enjoyed it, but mostly because I was a history major and the entire concept of traveling in time (and it's complications), the origins of folklore, and cultures meeting other cultures is fascinating to me. It reminded me of the cultural misunderstandings that took place between the Native Americans and Christian missionaries or the Japanese people and Christian mis...more
This is a tale of a young man named Ivan. He is born in Russia (later Ukraine) during the cold war, and at a young age his parents determine it is best for them to move to America. They travel to his Uncle Marek's farm as they attempt to flee the country. While there young Ivan stumbles upon a maiden asleep in the middle of a wood. Intrigued, he attempts to approach her, only to be scared away by some unknown underground dweller. As the story continues, Ivan grows up, leading a seemingly normal...more
Just as in the fairy tales, Ivan has discovered his purpose in life. While in the Ukraine visiting his uncle and working on his graduate dissertation, he comes upon a sleeping princess, whom he kisses and awakes.
That much of the story is familiar, but Orson Scott Card's take on the Sleeping Beauty tale is skewed into an enchanting tale that will leave the reader full of wonder and hope. There are witches, both good and evil. A talking bear. A princess who has no use for a modern man who doesn't...more
That much of the story is familiar, but Orson Scott Card's take on the Sleeping Beauty tale is skewed into an enchanting tale that will leave the reader full of wonder and hope. There are witches, both good and evil. A talking bear. A princess who has no use for a modern man who doesn't...more
Another amazing book by Orson Scott Card, Enchantment is the story of a young man named Ivan how discovers a girl asleep in a magical clearing. After rescuing Katerina from her spell by agreeing to marry her, she leads him to her world in the past, a place that is in present-day Ukraine. In her world he is completely out of place, and although he tries, can't really fit in. When Baba Yaga, a powerful and evil witch that put Katerina under the spell in the first place, tries to kill them to get K...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sleeping Beauty sleeps for a thousand years, and a young boy in Soviet Ukraine finds her on a grassy pedastal in a pit in the woods near his cousin's farm, while his parents are trying to get visas to leave the country and emigrate to America. He can't do anything about it, and he convinces himself that it was only a dream. Twenty years later, he's a graduate student, working towards a Ph.D. in Slavonic languages, and his thesis research brings him back to Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Un...more
This is the second or third OSC book I've read. I love his plots. He is so creative. Where does he come up with these crazy ideas? They are wild and fun and make great stories. I don't like the crude language he uses. This book was no exception. That's why I am giving it three stars, and also for the slightly pornographic love scene. Despite those drawbacks, I like this story because it has so much symbolism. It taught me a great metaphor for improving my marriage. The metaphor is a bridge. The...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better than Ender's Game? | 6 | 35 | May 05, 2013 08:08am | |
| Error: The listed author is incorrect | 1 | 7 | Sep 25, 2012 01:57pm |
Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th...more
More about Orson Scott Card...
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th...more
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“It's as if every conversation with a woman was a test, and men always failed it, because they always lacked the key to the code and so they never quite understood what the conversation was really about.”
—
56 people liked it
“The old tale of Sleeping Beauty might end happily in French or English, but he was in Russia, and only a fool would want to live through the Russian version of any fairy tale.”
—
25 people liked it
More quotes…
