Professor Collings' absorbing study, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD (1990), the first full-length treatment of Orson Scott Card, did not circulate widely following its initial publication. Now it has been republished-along with several key essays exploring directions in Card's fiction-in trade paperback. Taken as a whole, the augmented study examines Card's unique vision and literary achievements, a consummate storyteller who blends science fiction and fantasy with his deepest religious beliefs and moral convictions. Included in ORSON SCOTT CARD: PENETRATING TO THE GENTLE HEART are not only the earlier book in its entirety but also significant essays on ENDER'S GAME as modern epic; on Card as an established writer of mythopoeic prose; on THE FOLK OF THE FRINGE as defining a mode of community and belief. The expanded volume includes a full index and bibliography. It will be of value to any student of Card's writing, particularly those looking for beginning points in discussing his life and his works.