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libcolleen's review against another edition
3.0
Very fun if you're already an Ender fan. Plus, the short stories are easy to read on breaks at work. I liked "The Polish Boy" the best because it gave me new perspective to think about Ender's father.
amotwell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
I much prefer the novel versions of these stories, and I think it's unfortunate that someone might encounter this book and have the novels spoiled for them. That said, I've read the novels, and this was a really fun revisit to Ender's worlds.
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
I promise this is the last Orson Scott Card book I will be reviewing for a long time. While I've enjoyed his books, it's time to move on to another author. First Meetings in Ender's Universe, however, was a nice collection of short stories filling in some of the gaps in the Ender series. While you may appreciate it more after reading all the books in the series, you could really appreciate it anytime after reading Ender's Game.
"Polish Boy" takes place during John Paul Wiggin's early childhood in Roman Catholic Poland, and also introduces us to one of my favorite characters of the Shadow series - Hiram Graff.
"Teacher's Pest" fast forwards us to John Paul's undergrad days, where the extremely bright, but bored young man is disgusted to discover he's been enrolled in a class taught by a graduate student. However Theresa Brown is much more than he expected. These first two stories give me something I've been craving ever since I read Ender's Game - proof that the parents of the extremely talented Peter, Valentine, & Andrew really are just as smart as their children.
"Investment Counselor" is the only one that sort of 'spoils' anything in the other books. While you don't meet Jane until Speaker for the Dead, this story takes place in the space between Ender's Game and Speaker, so while things in the later parts of Ender's story are foreshadowed, they aren't actually spoiled for anyone who hasn't read them. This story takes place just after Ender and Valentine have landed on yet another colony planet, only this is the first time Ender has been old enough to pay taxes. However, his immense government pension has complicated the issue, until a very helpful piece of software offers him its services.
"Ender's Game" is the original short story that later became the now popular novel. It's interesting to see the little details that were changed when the story was expanded, but for the most part, this story is remarkably similar.
"Polish Boy" takes place during John Paul Wiggin's early childhood in Roman Catholic Poland, and also introduces us to one of my favorite characters of the Shadow series - Hiram Graff.
"Teacher's Pest" fast forwards us to John Paul's undergrad days, where the extremely bright, but bored young man is disgusted to discover he's been enrolled in a class taught by a graduate student. However Theresa Brown is much more than he expected. These first two stories give me something I've been craving ever since I read Ender's Game - proof that the parents of the extremely talented Peter, Valentine, & Andrew really are just as smart as their children.
"Investment Counselor" is the only one that sort of 'spoils' anything in the other books. While you don't meet Jane until Speaker for the Dead, this story takes place in the space between Ender's Game and Speaker, so while things in the later parts of Ender's story are foreshadowed, they aren't actually spoiled for anyone who hasn't read them. This story takes place just after Ender and Valentine have landed on yet another colony planet, only this is the first time Ender has been old enough to pay taxes. However, his immense government pension has complicated the issue, until a very helpful piece of software offers him its services.
"Ender's Game" is the original short story that later became the now popular novel. It's interesting to see the little details that were changed when the story was expanded, but for the most part, this story is remarkably similar.
emilyreads23's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
psydneigh's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
4 short stories: John Paul as a kid when Battle School was interested in him, John Paul meeting his wife, the original Ender’s Game novella, and Jane revealing herself to Ender. Definitely not necessary, but I appreciated it.
bookgeekin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
piggygirl_94's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the back stories on Ender's parents. Also, the story about Jane was great. The bean/ender story was unnecessary, since it was almost directly taken out of Ender's shadow.
mellomorissa's review against another edition
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5