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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this a decade ago as a 15 yo and found it veeery slow and arduous. Listening to the audiobook was a much more enjoyable experience. It kinda feels like a bunch of vignettes being tied together by Ender's presence. I liked it but like not Like like, yanno.
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finally got my hands on a copy of this book and finished reading it last night. Let me start off by saying that I am a mega-nerd when it comes to the Ender Universe. I pass out copies of “Ender’s Game” to family and friends like delicious literary hot-cakes. And I positively love the first two sequels, “Xenocide” and “Speaker for the Dead”. Sadly my love seems to fade and disappointment creeps into my opinion of the rest of the books as Card seems to become obsessed with political speculation, genetic traits and religion.
This particular novel (what I assume to be the last of the series) falls into the disappointment camp. Yes loose ends (get it, ends? Ender? Hurr. Hurr.) were finally tied up and the so-called lost years after Battle School were revealed. But the book proclaims to be a direct sequel to “Ender’s Game” and I really don’t think that is a wise recommendation. Readers will need to be familiar with the Shadow books in order to understand the drama happening on Earth and the Speaker Books to understand what happens afterward in the new colonies. I know it sounds like it all fits together chronologically, but it doesn’t fit logically. There are far too many plot points needed from the other books for the new reader to really understand all that is happening.
Okay, I’m losing you aren’t I? All this gibber gabber about other books. Let’s get down to the details. “Ender in Exile” is about a young man named Ender who is brilliant, a hero, and deeply remorseful. We follow the immediate years after he has saved humankind from Alien invaders and the sudden knowledge that he was fighting a real war, not just playing a training game. (The time between chapters 14 and 15 of Ender’s Game.) In this way we are “introduced” to his sister Valentine as a young woman, as any fan knows, Val is an equal brilliant child with a penchant for passivism and writing history texts.
My biggest frustration is that the young Valentine in this book is a sad, sappy, side-kick who doesn’t ever seem to know what is happening despite her role as Ender’s confidant. I realize that they haven’t seen each other in six years; she’s a young adult with her own priorities and secret identities and he is a lonely teenager struggling with hero’s fame and unmeasureable guilt. So they don’t always talk, and when they do they don’t always agree… but for godsake! They are two of the smartest people alive, who happen to be siblings stuck together in the same starship and still don’t understand one another? I don’t get it.
Another big annoyance? Genetic heritage was used far too often as explanation of personality (think of the sibling equation Peter + Val = Ender), critical decisions (to kill or not to kill an innocent?), and so forth... Why not get into the mind of these people? Why write off such key moments as the mere combination of genes? Is their nothing of value in their environment that could shape these individuals, the nurture to their nature?
Anyway. Long short made short, I really enjoyed diving back into the EG Universe and getting some closure about Bean and Petra’s stories as well many other beloved, or loathed, characters. But I really feel Card could have done better. Then again, maybe I’m simply growing up and finally seeing the flaws and bias I missed in his writings when I was younger.
This particular novel (what I assume to be the last of the series) falls into the disappointment camp. Yes loose ends (get it, ends? Ender? Hurr. Hurr.) were finally tied up and the so-called lost years after Battle School were revealed. But the book proclaims to be a direct sequel to “Ender’s Game” and I really don’t think that is a wise recommendation. Readers will need to be familiar with the Shadow books in order to understand the drama happening on Earth and the Speaker Books to understand what happens afterward in the new colonies. I know it sounds like it all fits together chronologically, but it doesn’t fit logically. There are far too many plot points needed from the other books for the new reader to really understand all that is happening.
Okay, I’m losing you aren’t I? All this gibber gabber about other books. Let’s get down to the details. “Ender in Exile” is about a young man named Ender who is brilliant, a hero, and deeply remorseful. We follow the immediate years after he has saved humankind from Alien invaders and the sudden knowledge that he was fighting a real war, not just playing a training game. (The time between chapters 14 and 15 of Ender’s Game.) In this way we are “introduced” to his sister Valentine as a young woman, as any fan knows, Val is an equal brilliant child with a penchant for passivism and writing history texts.
My biggest frustration is that the young Valentine in this book is a sad, sappy, side-kick who doesn’t ever seem to know what is happening despite her role as Ender’s confidant. I realize that they haven’t seen each other in six years; she’s a young adult with her own priorities and secret identities and he is a lonely teenager struggling with hero’s fame and unmeasureable guilt. So they don’t always talk, and when they do they don’t always agree… but for godsake! They are two of the smartest people alive, who happen to be siblings stuck together in the same starship and still don’t understand one another? I don’t get it.
Another big annoyance? Genetic heritage was used far too often as explanation of personality (think of the sibling equation Peter + Val = Ender), critical decisions (to kill or not to kill an innocent?), and so forth... Why not get into the mind of these people? Why write off such key moments as the mere combination of genes? Is their nothing of value in their environment that could shape these individuals, the nurture to their nature?
Anyway. Long short made short, I really enjoyed diving back into the EG Universe and getting some closure about Bean and Petra’s stories as well many other beloved, or loathed, characters. But I really feel Card could have done better. Then again, maybe I’m simply growing up and finally seeing the flaws and bias I missed in his writings when I was younger.
This is, as the author points out, that missing piece of the story between Ender's Game Chapters 14 and 15.
It's also apparently an end-cap to the Shadow series, which I haven't read so I guess I just spoiled that for myself.
I have every intention of moving on to Speaker for the Dead now. Again. I'm doing another read-through.
It's also apparently an end-cap to the Shadow series, which I haven't read so I guess I just spoiled that for myself.
I have every intention of moving on to Speaker for the Dead now. Again. I'm doing another read-through.
I always enjoy books set in the Ender-Universe, but this book can hardly be called a novel. It has no conflict, nothing to resolve, no build-up, no stakes. Card introduces plot-lines at the beginning that completely fizzle out near the middle, only to be replaced by plot-lines that are extremely complex at the end of the novel. It's just kind of a mess. Like indulgent, canon fan-fiction. Not to mention that it just feels small in comparison to the high-stakes intelligence and spirituality of [Book: Ender's Game] and [b:Speaker for the Dead|7967|Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, #2)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165651993s/7967.jpg|2327777]. All the meat Card could have gotten out of the prequel concept was mostly squandered, and as a result the book mostly feels like a series of snapshots rather than an organic story.
With all that being said, however, Orson Scott Card (and Ender in particular) happens to be my particular kind of crack, and I still very much enjoyed it.
With all that being said, however, Orson Scott Card (and Ender in particular) happens to be my particular kind of crack, and I still very much enjoyed it.
Having already read Speaker For The Dead, which occurs later in the timeline, Ender In Exile filled in some missing peices in the storyline. This book is about Ender's life post-war. I really enjoy the authors' writing style and the entire Ender series.
While this is "The Direct Sequel to Ender's Game," it was not written directly after it. It is a bridge that he later wrote between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead (I hope I explained that right, because I didn't know it until a few minutes ago and haven't read Speaker for the Dead; Orson Scott Card discussed this in the afterward). This book was not particularly well-received by many Ender fans who have read several of Card's books over the years. However, from my perspective reading this a few months after reading Ender's Game, it is a fitting sequel.
As Ender ventures out to govern a colony on a former Formic planet, he faces much different problems than he faced in Battle School. It is less about military strategy and more about political strategy. Ender doesn't seem confident in his ability, nor do his rivals. However, they overestimate him. After all, Battle School was about more than military strategy. There were social issues at play, which of course is what led to his confrontations with Stilson and Bonzo. Ender does not disappoint. He brilliantly maneuvers around new rivals in completely different settings.
This book has no shortage of the Orson Scott Card elements that I love so much. The subtle tricks that Ender uses to control conversations and confrontations, especially when he refrains from response at the exact right moments, allowing the other person to do his work for him. Ender's brilliant leadership skills. Witty arguments between characters whose relationships are loving but complicated. A constant questioning of morality, the very existence of which proves the strength of the morality of the characters who question themselves.
There is significantly less battle action than Ender's Game. However, I don't have a problem with this. As Card writes, "It’s still war, even if there are no weapons but smiles and words." Card captures this new kind of war brilliantly, picking archetypes we've all seen and gradually revealing the manipulative strategies they use socially that are so similar to those used by Ender's more violent enemies. These elements make Card's novels a course in leadership. There is so much to learn from his stories and characters. However, Card's philosophies push a little too far late in this novel and not with enough support. Ender puts a questionable amount of faith in genetic determinism that almost gets him killed. Can morality really be inherited strictly through genetics? Card also gives fate a lot of credit, as Petra declares, "We're all beggars at the throne of fate." It is odd that two of Card's smartest, strongest characters give so much credit to fate despite having exceptional gifts for controlling their own destinies.
Given that the Ender books are often considered to be in the young adult genre, the volume of philosophy that Card discusses, even if you don't agree with it all, is perhaps his most impressive accomplishment. Like Ender's Game, Ender in Exile is exercise for the reader's mind and soul. It is a fine addition to the massive world of Ender's Game.
As Ender ventures out to govern a colony on a former Formic planet, he faces much different problems than he faced in Battle School. It is less about military strategy and more about political strategy. Ender doesn't seem confident in his ability, nor do his rivals. However, they overestimate him. After all, Battle School was about more than military strategy. There were social issues at play, which of course is what led to his confrontations with Stilson and Bonzo. Ender does not disappoint. He brilliantly maneuvers around new rivals in completely different settings.
This book has no shortage of the Orson Scott Card elements that I love so much. The subtle tricks that Ender uses to control conversations and confrontations, especially when he refrains from response at the exact right moments, allowing the other person to do his work for him. Ender's brilliant leadership skills. Witty arguments between characters whose relationships are loving but complicated. A constant questioning of morality, the very existence of which proves the strength of the morality of the characters who question themselves.
There is significantly less battle action than Ender's Game. However, I don't have a problem with this. As Card writes, "It’s still war, even if there are no weapons but smiles and words." Card captures this new kind of war brilliantly, picking archetypes we've all seen and gradually revealing the manipulative strategies they use socially that are so similar to those used by Ender's more violent enemies. These elements make Card's novels a course in leadership. There is so much to learn from his stories and characters. However, Card's philosophies push a little too far late in this novel and not with enough support. Ender puts a questionable amount of faith in genetic determinism that almost gets him killed. Can morality really be inherited strictly through genetics? Card also gives fate a lot of credit, as Petra declares, "We're all beggars at the throne of fate." It is odd that two of Card's smartest, strongest characters give so much credit to fate despite having exceptional gifts for controlling their own destinies.
Given that the Ender books are often considered to be in the young adult genre, the volume of philosophy that Card discusses, even if you don't agree with it all, is perhaps his most impressive accomplishment. Like Ender's Game, Ender in Exile is exercise for the reader's mind and soul. It is a fine addition to the massive world of Ender's Game.