- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (1 Jan 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 006109398X
- ISBN-13: 978-0061093982
- Product Dimensions: 17.1 x 10.6 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,063,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Widely acclaimed, hugely successful speculative-fiction author Orson Scott Card takes another step into the mainstream with an extremely chilling, vastly engaging novel that sets the notion of family values on its head and chronicles a man's transformation from hermit to hero.
When Quentin Fears was 10, his sister left this world, the victim of a car accident. Her death made him withdraw from this world too -- into books, away from people. By the time he reaches adulthood, Quentin has become a certifiable recluse, moving restlessly from town to town, investing the millions he's made as a software creator and avoiding companionship. It's odd but maybe inevitable that on a rare outing to a party he should meet his dream woman, Madeleine. She's witty and beautiful and as naive to the world's ways as he is, and they marry in a matter of weeks. Their relationship seems idyllic but for one thing -- Madeleine's multigenerational, cantankerous, eccentric family who all live in a rambling riverside mansion in upstate New York.
But poor family dynamics isn't all that's wrong with them. Beyond the squabbling, there's an ancient family secret to which Madeleine holds the key. Only Quentin can stop her from unleashing an ageless malevolence that will rule the world. But to do so, he must do what seems impossible -- step outside himself into the world he has avoided. He must learn friendship, trust, forgiveness and the courage to face down the ultimate evil. Joining Quentin in this epic confrontation is a splendidly quirky cast of heroes, villains and witches -- from a no-nonsense nurse with a dash of the romantic in her to a small-town sheriff whose affable exterior conceals a dangerous pastto a 10-year-old girl named Roz whose malign powers are rivaled only by her smart mouth.
"Treasure Box" introduces the most spectacularly dysfunctional family in recent fiction and a singular hero whose only weapons against them are his mind and his heart. How Quentin defuses this volatile mixture of comedy and horror makes for a viscerally unsettling, poignant and appealing tale that's sure to draw the legions of fans Card has won in other genres and new fans as well.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Quentin Fears never told his parents the last thing his sister Lizzy said to him before they pulled the plug on her and let her die. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Quentin Fears never told his parents the last thing his sister Lizzy said to him before they pulled the plug on her and let her die. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Treasure Box is what I'd call 'old-fashioned' OSC writing: it definitely fits within his Tales of Dread mentality. It's a great book, I made the mistake of reading it on my own in a creaky old hotel room, stayed up all night to finish it and then couldn't sleep cos it scared me witless! I tend to like everything he writes, but only 4 stars here because the ending is a bit, well, contrived. Really good plot twist in the middle though. Recommended, even for people who haven't read OSC before - but bear in mind his sci-fi stuff is tons better.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Orson Scott Bard became my favorite author when I read Ender's Game. I began reading all of his other books, and while many were wonderful, only Treasure Box can compare to Ender's Game. Card's prose is wonderful. It has been called bland, but the reality is that we are so used to reading overdramatized, fake, trite writing that we cannot recongnize geniune writing when we see it. Card is the only author I have ever read who can seemingly make you cry without even trying, make you laugh without trying, make you fear without trying. His prose is subtle in a way to be ultimately effective. Too many people reviewing this book expected it to be a horror a la Stephen King, waiting for his type of thrills, and did not keep an open mind. Treasure Box is NOT a horror or a suspense. It is a psychological thriller of the best kind, and it is a shame that so many biased, narrow-minded readers are giving it a bad name. Maybe if we stop labelling books before we read them, we won't be as disappointed. After all, if you expected Brave New World or Lolita to be a horror book, you'd be disappointed, too.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This was my first book by this author, and I was not disappointed, as I found it to be a very creative and inventive book with some genuinely spooky moments. It started off a little slowly but then quickly picked up momentum.
The book revolves around Quentin Fears, whose childhood was marred by the tragic death of his beloved sister. Though it left him emotionally crippled, it did not stop him from discovering a talent he had for making money. Independently wealthy, his life is a fairly reclusive one, until he meets the women of his dreams, the mysterious Madeleine, a woman about whom he knows little. After a brief courtship, he marries her. After all, for him it was love at first sight.
When he finally goes to her family homestead in upstate New York and meets her family, a motley and bizarre crew at best, he realizes that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. It seems that Madeleine has a secret, and had she shared it with Quentin when they had first met, he most certainly would not have married her. You see, Madeleine is not exactly as she seems.
This is a wonderfully inventive and genuinely spooky book that has some great moments. Towards the end, however, the story sort of gets away a bit from the author. Still, this is a very entertaining read and one that will make me look for this author again.
The book revolves around Quentin Fears, whose childhood was marred by the tragic death of his beloved sister. Though it left him emotionally crippled, it did not stop him from discovering a talent he had for making money. Independently wealthy, his life is a fairly reclusive one, until he meets the women of his dreams, the mysterious Madeleine, a woman about whom he knows little. After a brief courtship, he marries her. After all, for him it was love at first sight.
When he finally goes to her family homestead in upstate New York and meets her family, a motley and bizarre crew at best, he realizes that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. It seems that Madeleine has a secret, and had she shared it with Quentin when they had first met, he most certainly would not have married her. You see, Madeleine is not exactly as she seems.
This is a wonderfully inventive and genuinely spooky book that has some great moments. Towards the end, however, the story sort of gets away a bit from the author. Still, this is a very entertaining read and one that will make me look for this author again.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Not perfect a nice light entertaining read
I can appreciate some other reviewers thoughts that OSC has not developed his characters to the depth of other books. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Robert
Starts well, then dies.
Orson Scott Card is one of the most gifted authors currently working. For a great example of his style read the first part of this novel. Read more
Published on 18 Jun 1999
I am a big OSC fan, but this one disappointed me
Unless you are an avid Card fan, I don't recommend this book. The story is cliched, and all the characters (except Quentin) are too shallow to care about. Read more
Published on 19 April 1999
Good plot, shallow charcters
Not up to cards standard, the plot is good with plenty of twists it has shallow charchters that don't even follow there descriptions, but don't get the idea that I'm being... Read more
Published on 12 April 1999
Could not put it down
I picked up this book at midnight one summer night and didn't put it down until I was finished. It was incredibly gripping, like all of Card's other books. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 1999
What a disappointment ! ! ! The badest book of OSC .
First of all excuse if my english isn't very good but I'm french. I've red all books of OSC translated in french and I love all of them. Read more
Published on 23 Aug 1998
Near-solipsistic failure of a novel.
I like most of Card's work, but this book was a total failure of an attempt at the thriller/horror genre. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 1998
A quick pleasurable read with good plot twists.
I am a loyal OSC reader and thoroughly enjoyed this book. In this book Mr. Card opens up the afterburners and doesn't look back. Read more
Published on 19 Jun 1998
Best left unopened.
I'm not one who has trouble separating an author from his characters, but as Card is known for wearing his religious affiliation on his sleeve in his writing, I couldn't help but... Read more
Published on 22 April 1998
Almost as bad as LOST BOYS.
Orson Scott Card is one of my most favorite authors and, in the past, I have purchased his books without even reading the back cover because I felt assured that nothing he wrote... Read more
Published on 15 Feb 1998
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fantasy > Contemporary
- Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- Books > Horror > Contemporary Horror
- Books > Horror > Fantasy
- Books > Horror > Ghosts
- Books > Science Fiction
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
