Treasure Box

By Orson Scott Card

   

For my first endeavor into the writing of Orson Scott Card, I picked up this book at a local book sale.  I have been slowly acquiring books from “the ender’s game” series, and thought it’d be fun to give Card a try before getting deep into a lengthy series.  In the end, I appreciated the writing style and the way the story began, but overall the story was flat and somewhat uninteresting.

            Quentin Fears is in the hospital with his sister Lizzy, who is in a coma due to a recent auto accident.  His parents have decided to pull the plug, but Quentin isn’t ready to give up his best friend.  Lizzy speaks to Quentin, and convinces him that it is time for her to go.  After Lizzy dies, Quentin develops certain habits and behaviors which are disturbing to his parents.  He reads Lizzy’s old books compulsively and acts out to express his grief.  Quentin’s parents have finally had enough, but Quentin is well down the path to becoming a recluse.

            Many years later, we catch back up with Quentin.  Card glosses over his uneventful adolescence and briefly addresses the success he has had as an adult.  Quentin is a very wealthy entrepreneur who has gained his riches mostly through computer programming.  However, Quentin is alone and looking for a woman in his life.  He soon meets Madeleine who is everything he could ever want in a woman.  She meets every expectation he has, but something isn’t quite right.  Her behavior in certain situations is unusual, and things get really weird when she takes Quentin to meet her family.  Madeleine then gets very upset when Quentin doesn’t open her grandmother’s box.  The next day, Quentin wakes up and finds his wife and her family gone.  The house is deserted and even looks as though it hasn’t been lived in for some time.  Quentin is very troubled and realizes that Madeleine is not the woman he fell in love with.  As he tries to find his wife, he begins to learn the truth about his wife and her family.  Quentin has fallen in love with a manipulative and powerful person, and a dangerous mystery threatens.

            I was initially intrigued and impressed by this book.  I thought Card did a good job creating some relatable characters, and making the reader sympathize with Quentin.  The initial situation was believable and well done.  However, I didn’t feel that this somewhat brief character development was sufficient to carry the character through the story.  The end of the book was exciting, but fairly predictable.  From checking out other reviews, fans of Card do not hold this novel in high regard.  I will definitely be reading more books by Card, but this one certainly didn’t light a fire under me to read another one. 

Rating: 2.75 out of 5 Bunsen Burners

Up Next: The Shining by Stephen King