Book Review: Folk of the Fringe
May 16th, 2008 by jeremy
Book twenty in 52 books in 52 weeks
As you know, I’m a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction. Folk of the Fringe is Orson Scott Card’s collection of short stories about a post World War III United States. Each story is loosely tied together by different characters or settings. The first follows a group of Mormons being forced out of their homes in the Eastern United States, the second follows a refugee they rescue, etc.
He sets up some parallels between these modern-day Mormons and the people being forced out of their homes two hundred years earlier. Gangs are killing their husband and families are being forced out of their homes. Like before, these groups are heading to the Rocky Mountains for safety, convinced people will leave them alone once they get there. Once they arrive in the Salt Lake Valley, most of the city, including the Temple, is under water as the level of the Great Salt Lake has risen. There are new pioneers being sent out to “the fringe” to try and reclaim the desert, planting grasses and crops.
Some of the stories are more interesting than other, same with the characters. Some are downright unlikable, later being redeemed in different stories. Some people don’t fit in to the new culture as well as others, but find new places to go and ways to become par of the culture. The stories I liked the most seemed much too short, and the first story seemed to drag on much too long. I thought it was interesting to see the various landmarks and descriptions of the LDS church in the post-war setting, but it may be a bit boring and hard to follow for anyone that doesn’t know their Mormon history and how the LDS church is run.
Better than the horrible book by Card I read earlier this year, but not as good as some of his other early fiction.
Grade B-
My other reviews in 52 weeks here
Other people that are reading 52 books in 52 weeks
- Jamie reviews I am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
- Heliologue reviews The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil