Maps In A Mirror, Vol. 2

by Orson Scott Card

This extraordinary collection brings together all of Orson Scott Card's short fiction written prior to 1990. Card is a bestselling science fiction and fantasy writer who has been publishing short stories and essays since 1977, when he won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. This volume has 46 stories and is en-hanced with essays and memoirs. The book includes twelve works which rarely appear elsewhere. These are stories which have been superceded by later versions. Included here are the story 'Mikal's Songbird,' which grew into the novel Songmaster; the novella length 'Ender's Game', which became the award-winning novel of the same name; and the epic poem 'Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow,' which was the seed for Card's ac-claimed Tales of Alvin Maker series.

Genres: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Fiction, Horror

552 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1980

About the author

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.

Reviews

[Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orson Scott Card can tend to rambling, almost 1800s style exposition in his latter, novel length works; not here though: constrained by the boundaries of the short story form, he shows what a brilliant master he is of the written word. Every story has his wonderful characterisations, his imaginative settings, his deep philosophical musings, all clothed in exciting science fiction, fantasy and horror stories.

The stories themselves hold up well to multiple readings due to their multiple sub-texts.

As an added bonus for any writer, his generosity as an author shows in his honest dissection and examination of his own work with afterwords and frank discussion of each short story presented. They almost make a training manual for the budding short story writer.

I can't fault these stories - I have read all the volumes too many times to count, he is as adept at fables as well as far off futures.

Recommended to everyone that enjoys a good read.

(There are two books, the first comprising Volumes 1 and 2, the second comprising volumes 3 and 4 - in whichever version you find, the review I apply to all the volumes. His short stories are his best works.)

[Pamelarae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this book before I read Ender's Game. Being unfamiliar with Card at the time, I feel I would have gotten much more out of it. Maps in the Mirror blew me away with Card's talent, versatility, depth and insight. The talent of writers like Card is such a gift to those of us who read. He summarizes each section with personal experiences, insights into writing and the origins of each story. These were no less interesting than the stories themselves. And there are soooo many stories, it took a nice,long while to get through the book.