Maps in a Mirror was published in 1990 covering the short fiction of Orson Scott Card, the multiple Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning author. Since then, Card’s has released other collections, but they have been themed, such as First Meetings in the Enderverse and short. Last year, Tor published Keeper of Dreams another anthology of Card’s fiction.
Keeper of Dreams contains 22 short stories and novellas (six science fiction, eight fantasies, two literary stories, two Hatrack River stories and four Mormon stories) along with commentaries by Card about the stories. Some of the stories contain popular characters from Card’s fiction like Alvin Maker and Ender Wiggins. And like Maps in a Mirror, a few of the stories are about Card’s Mormon religious culture. Throughout the stories, you start to see patterns, such as Card’s use of strong protagonists, family love and moral dilemmas. As with much of Card’s writing, he shows that he truly excels with character development.
Reading the collection is light looking at light through a prism. He is writing about life (the light) but Card allows you to see it from a variety of viewpoints and settings.
I don’t read a lot of short fiction nowadays. I like this collection and Maps in a Mirror because they show the breadth of Card’s interest in writing (he also does poetry and plays). I didn’t like or get some of the stories, but others I enjoyed immensely.
