Hart's Hope

By: Orson Scott Card

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Carrington Macduffie

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

Enter the city of Hart's Hope, ruled by gods both powerful and indifferent, riddled with sorcery and revenge. The city was captured by a rebellious lord, Palicrovol, who overthrew the cruel king, Nasilee, hated by his people.

Palicrovol, too, was cruel, as befitted a king. He took the true mantle of kinghood by forcing Asineth, now Queen by her father's death, to marry him, raping her to consummate the marriage. (But he was not cruel enough to rule.) He let her live after her humiliation; live to bear a daughter; live to return from exile and retake the throne of Hart's Hope.

But she, in turn, sent Palicrovol into exile to breed a son who would, in the name of the God, take back the kingdom from its cruel Queen.

©1983 Orson Scott Card (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A fantastic tapestry woven around wholly believable characters." (Fantasy Review)

Mesmerizing fantasy!

I love Hart's Hope. It's a glory among fantasy. No, it's not clean and pretty and sweet and upbeat, as some people expect after reading some of Card's novels. It is, in fact, dark-dark-dark, and the ending is ambiguous.

But it has one of the most intriguing story constructions you'll ever encounter, and a milieu so unique and deep, you'll never forget it.

I warn you again: This is DARK fantasy. But with lyrical, soaring prose that hypnotizes you from the first word, it's worth reading -- or listening to. Get it. You won't regret it.

Thanks for not spelling out the moral of the story

Does power always corrupt? Do horrifying incidents always create horrifying villains? Is a queen evil if she rules with absolute power and torments her tormentors and yet gives a good life to her people? At what point does revenge consume the avenger? At what point is justice served?

Anyway, all these questions are asked and none of them are answered - which is nice because I like to be left to figure out the moral of the story on my own.

The narration is fantastic. And the story itself will keep you listening if only to find out if justice is served. The material is mature and disturbing, however, so be prepared for unpleasant goings-on (i.e. rape, infanticide, torture).

It gets better

I struggled through the beginning, but it gets better. Not my favorite Card book personally.

A horrible beautiful awful shining masterpiece.

This is a book not for the faint of heart. It is sad and horrible. Terrible things are done and evils great and small are committed. Yet there is a great depth of story and world, that is honest and frank. Though it is achingly sad and shockingly disturbing, it is one of OSC’s greatest works with real characters and a unique world.

Take a chance on this one.

Beware this story is very dark and disturbing.

I was given this book shortly after it was published. I read and re-read the paper book a few times, gave it to friends to read too. The story stuck with me and I got the audiobook, it did not disappoint.

Amazing

Great book. Great author, orson scott card is one of the best storytellers . One of my favourite stories.

Cool book for sure! Way out there and fun!

This book is well read and performed. The story is unique and kept my interest!
Now to find my next OSC book to devour!

Hey Card, Keep Your Day Job

Moonlighting as a moral fantasist isn't going to work out for you, Mr Card, so please stick to hard SciFi. Leave the high moral fantasy to those whose oeuvre it is. Leave allegory to the ancients. This was such a frail, anemic, transparent attempt at metaphysical allegory, which generally remains at the bottom of the heap of moral writing, at least in contemporary fiction.

Truly Wonderful

This is not an "Ender" universe, (and I loved Ender's universe!). But this is a much different kind of story.

Card is a master storyteller and in this book is he at the top of his game. I do not normally purchase titles in the "fantasy" genre, but I will take whatever this author offers. The story takes many twists and turns. The pace is languid, so be patient. The depth of the characters and the wonderful conclusion will make it worthwhile.

Whoever paired Card with this narrator is a genius. Stephan Rudnicki often performs Card's work, and he breathes real magic into Card's beautiful prose

Wow!

A very dark story that Orson Scott Card tells well as usual. I admire his ability to end a story well and this book certainly is a prime example of that.