History Literature / HomecomingSaga

* HiddenInPlainSight: In ''Earthborn'', [[spoiler:Shedemei]], now the Jesus-like figure "The One Who Was Never Buried", is living among the Nafari, using her real name. Every one simply assumes she was named after the historical [[spoiler:Shedemei]] and uses the original spelling and pronunciation, not the one adopted to Angel vocal chords. One elderly Digger woman figures it out, but [[spoiler:Shedemei]] has to play coy with her, because she can't trust her not to blurt the fact out, forgetting it's supposed to be a secret.

* HeroicSacrifice: Downplayed in that Nafai doesn't die, but he voluntarily gives up the Cloak of the Starmaster to [[spoiler:Shedemei]], in a maneuver to prevent all-out war between his followers and Elemak and the Diggers.[[note]]She needed the power of the Cloak to force Elemak to stop and listen, realizing in that moment that he wouldn't have stopped had that been Nafai, forcing him to kill Elemak. Which would've left the Diggers to run wild and go after Nafai's refugee group. With her, he could accept that Nafai had escaped with most of the humans, but left him with an entire people to rule, which is what he really wanted all along.[[/note]]

* {{Expy}}: For the Book of Mormon. In order to get around the serious problems stemming from Joseph Smith's stream of consciousness 19th century narration (stupid names, stupid plots, being really boring, being incredibly racist, wanting to get laid), Card changes most of the characters names (and Nephi [knee-fi] is now Nafai [nyeh-fi]) and definitely changes their culture. Instead of being a random colony of Jews that traveled to the Western Hemisphere in wooden submarines and dealt with the evil brown people living there (turning some white, genociding others), they're space Russians whose ancestors fled Earth after a [[ApocalypseHow nuclear war rendered it largely uninhabitable]], and are now returning to ThePromisedLand and dealing with the Angels (giant singing bats) and Diggers (giant rats that smear themselves with mud).

* IfItsYouItsOkay: The token homosexual character decides that he really doesn't mind sleeping with his wife, once they realize that [[MandatoryMotherhood they really don't have much choice]] [[PairTheSpares about getting married]].

* AdamAndEvePlot: Sixteen people from the planet Harmony[[note]]Only six of whom weren't a blood relation to one or more party members[[/note]] were selected to [[EarthThatWas return to Earth]] and re-establish the human population. It was established that since the Oversoul (the [[MasterComputer supercomputer]] that had been running the planet for millennia) had been running a breeding program for just this situation, any recessive traits that would pop up in such a closed population had been bred out of them (it was also revealed that Harmony was not the only such human-populated planet, nor was it the first to return to Earth).

* AdamAndEvePlot: Sixteen people (half of whom are biologically related to at least two other people in the group) from the planet Harmony were selected to [[EarthThatWas return to Earth]] and re-establish the human population. It was established that since the Oversoul (the [[MasterComputer supercomputer]] that had been running the planet for millennia) had been running a breeding program for just this situation, any recessive traits that would pop up in such a closed population had been bred out of them (it was also revealed that Harmony was not the only such human-populated planet, nor was it the first to return to Earth).

* TheChosenOne: Nafai, chosen to be "The Starmaster" (Basically, "Ship's Captain"). Though he was option #4 (Elemak was too selfish and headstrong to trust, Mebbekew too stupid and Issib was crippled from birth).
* CulturalRebel: Volemak is a true believer in The Oversoul, something that is seen by Basillican men as the sole territory of women.
* DieOrFly: When the Oversoul finally gets to speak to The Keeper, the Keeper's advice is [[spoiler: "let Harmony do what they will." After all that time, they'll either find their way back to Earth on their own or destroy themselves. Either way, The Oversoul's done all it can and then some.]]

* MomentKiller: Hushdih goes to talk to Luet about her misgivings about her inevitable marriage to disabled Issib. She realizes too late that she interruped Luet and Nafai's wedding night.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Thirsty". It's what her name translates to, but the actual spelling is never portrayed.

* IncestIsRelative: Outside of the intermarrying of the children of the colonists, Elemak is openly carrying on affairs with Sevet and Kokor, his paternal nieces.
** The central couple of "Earthfall" is Oykib, Nafai's younger brother and Chveya, Nafai's eldest daughter.