High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet--to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats. To protect them, most of all, from themselves.
The Oversoul has done its job well. There is no war on Harmony. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no technology that could lead to weapons of war. By control of the data banks, and subtle interference in the very thoughts of the people, the artificial intelligence has fulfilled its mission.
But now there is a problem. In orbit, the Oversoul realizes that it has lost access to some of its memory banks, and some of its power systems are failing. And on the planet, men are beginning to think about power, wealth, and conquest.
Forty million years ago a colony ship from Earth settled the planet Harmony. An orbiting computer was put in place to keep the people from destroying themselves. The society is sort of pioneer, feudalism, mysticism with some technology (computers, stun guns). We get the idea that this is due to the Oversoul (the orbiting computer) tweaking people away from ideas that would allow them to build things conducive to war. There are no wheeled vehicles, no wagons, no gunpowder, etc. After 40 million years though the oversoul is not quite what it used to be.
Our main characters live in or around the walled city of Basilica. Card has set up a bunch of rules for Basilica, men can't own property inside the gates, there's a lake in the middle of the city where men aren't even allowed to go. I wouldn't call it a matriarchical society, men still have power, too. Marriage contracts are on a year by year basis, leading to there being a lot of half and step brothers and sisters.
There are several plot lines going on. Nafai is the youngest of four brothers in the Wetchik clan. He has issues with Elemak, or Elemak has issues with Nafai. There is the city wide struggle for power. Gabullufix is advocating building war wagons for one of the neighboring empires so they can fight a different neighboring empire. People are getting visions from the oversoul, Nafai and Issib are learning things from the computer library.
The first book deals mainly with the power struggles within Basilica. In the second book we start getting scenes from factions outside of Basilica. We learn more about the oversoul and how it has kept in communication with the people.
The books were very compelling, and the plot lines came together pretty well at the end. Well worth going out to your used book store. I suggest you get both or neither.
