Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
This all felt like that movie in a longer series which is not awful but not great because it only served to set up the big moments in the final sequel eg HP and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Mocking Jay Part 1 etc. Yes some things happen in it, but you can tell the bigger things that really get into it / all the main action is coming later. This novella is short and a fast read, but it was a fast read at the expense of feeling like fluff. I have always been a bit more team Ender than team Bean, but he was kind of let go with a whimper here and that was kind of a bummer. And I agree with many of the reviews here that the three children felt exactly like a rehash of Peter, Valentine and Ender.
As for the revelations that come at the end which have some potentially staggering repercussions on what we thought we knew for the original Ender series…I’m not sold on it being the truth. I’m gonna try to do this spoiler free but with enough detail that those who read this can understand. … Okay I couldn’t do that, lol, here’s your spoiler warning if you made it this far.
The idea that it’s lies on the part of the Hive Queen as to the fact that there was more out there in other ships beyond the one Ender has, specifically the one in this ark that was still alive when Ender first found the “only” hive queen…I’m still not certain that this means that there actually ARE others in other ships. It might have been a lie when told at the time of Ender writing The Hive Queen, or it might have been something that became true — that when Ender is in Lusitania 3000 years later finding her the colony he inevitable settles her into that then she’s the only one. And the “even the workers had thoughts too, they are slaves”—to be honest I thought that was how it was when I first read the Ender books anyway, so this didn’t bug me.
I hope perhaps Last Shadow will address this, and I’m cautiously optimistic that the last book here will tie these final threads and answer questions like this, where the descolada virus came from, what happened to Achilles Jr, and where are Bean’s kids now. Maybe not all of these will be answered, but hopefully most.
So yes, overall this book wasn’t the best, but I have the feeling I will have needed to have read this in order to bridge the gap between the two series in this universe, and I’m just happy this book was short enough not to feel like a slog to get through. Onward to the final book.
As for the revelations that come at the end which have some potentially staggering repercussions on what we thought we knew for the original Ender series…I’m not sold on it being the truth. I’m gonna try to do this spoiler free but with enough detail that those who read this can understand. … Okay I couldn’t do that, lol, here’s your spoiler warning if you made it this far.
The idea that it’s lies on the part of the Hive Queen as to the fact that there was more out there in other ships beyond the one Ender has, specifically the one in this ark that was still alive when Ender first found the “only” hive queen…I’m still not certain that this means that there actually ARE others in other ships. It might have been a lie when told at the time of Ender writing The Hive Queen, or it might have been something that became true — that when Ender is in Lusitania 3000 years later finding her the colony he inevitable settles her into that then she’s the only one. And the “even the workers had thoughts too, they are slaves”—to be honest I thought that was how it was when I first read the Ender books anyway, so this didn’t bug me.
I hope perhaps Last Shadow will address this, and I’m cautiously optimistic that the last book here will tie these final threads and answer questions like this, where the descolada virus came from, what happened to Achilles Jr, and where are Bean’s kids now. Maybe not all of these will be answered, but hopefully most.
So yes, overall this book wasn’t the best, but I have the feeling I will have needed to have read this in order to bridge the gap between the two series in this universe, and I’m just happy this book was short enough not to feel like a slog to get through. Onward to the final book.
I’m to invested in this series and characters to not love every book. Though it never ceases to amaze me how much detail the author goes into when it comes to the science and level of detail in version of the universe, whether it is explaining a ship function, or alien species I can’t imagine the amount of time and energy he spent making all these details then having them all work together over 10 or so books! This was a great conclusion to Beans saga that now lives on through is three legumenites :) I hope Card writes the final book in the series to wrap it all up!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Audiobook review follows my comments on the book.
I should say that I'm a huge fan of the Ender and Shadow Sagas, they definitely rank highly in my list of favorite books. This novella, however, didn't quite do it for me.
The book focuses primarily on Bean's three children who share his genetic disease - Sergeant and Ender are practically complete opposites, while Carlotta tries to play for both teams. The similarities between Ender, Peter and Valentine are striking.
It also bears resemblance to [b:The Worthing Saga|40304|The Worthing Saga|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316739156s/40304.jpg|979095], one of Card's earlier works. In both, humans who are slightly evolved go out in search of their own world to colonize.
I did however enjoy the new information on the Formics - which got me a little excited about [b:Earth Unaware|13151129|Earth Unaware|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327948408s/13151129.jpg|18329141], and should make for some interesting conflict in [b:Shadows Alive|11949135|Shadows Alive (Shadow, #6)|Orson Scott Card|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|16910881].
In short, if you're a fan of the series - read it. If you're not a huge fan, you could probably take it or leave it.
Audiobook: Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki continue to be two of my favorite audiobook narrators, and Emily Janice Card did amazing as well. 5*s for performance!
I should say that I'm a huge fan of the Ender and Shadow Sagas, they definitely rank highly in my list of favorite books. This novella, however, didn't quite do it for me.
The book focuses primarily on Bean's three children who share his genetic disease - Sergeant and Ender are practically complete opposites, while Carlotta tries to play for both teams. The similarities between Ender, Peter and Valentine are striking.
It also bears resemblance to [b:The Worthing Saga|40304|The Worthing Saga|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316739156s/40304.jpg|979095], one of Card's earlier works. In both, humans who are slightly evolved go out in search of their own world to colonize.
I did however enjoy the new information on the Formics - which got me a little excited about [b:Earth Unaware|13151129|Earth Unaware|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327948408s/13151129.jpg|18329141], and should make for some interesting conflict in [b:Shadows Alive|11949135|Shadows Alive (Shadow, #6)|Orson Scott Card|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|16910881].
In short, if you're a fan of the series - read it. If you're not a huge fan, you could probably take it or leave it.
Audiobook: Scott Brick and Stefan Rudnicki continue to be two of my favorite audiobook narrators, and Emily Janice Card did amazing as well. 5*s for performance!
I was pleased to see a new Enderverse book available for Kindle, especially as many of OSC's books are not available digitally, and so despite the slightly high price of $11.99 I picked it up with the last of my Christmas gift cards. I did not read the reviews, much to my now dismay, and was pleased at the idea of an "enhanced edition" with extra material on the digital version.
What they didn't tell you is that this is a severely abridged book, missing well over half of the material. The extra material made up a total of about ten pages. What is this, I don't even...
The story might be readable in the original version, but I don't know for sure. This version was choppy, simplistic, boring, and simply caricatured characters from previous Ender novels, including Ender himself. While the premise was interesting, the flat characters of the children killed the story, and even the interesting interactions with those left on the Formic ship at the end of the book failed to save it.
I am incredibly disappointed with OSC and his publisher for putting this book out in this manner on Kindle. If it was done without his consent that's one thing, and I hope he will fight to make it right by making the FULL and UNABRIDGED version available to all of us who vastly overpaid for this horrific piece of crap. If it was done with his consent, well then he's gotten the last dollar of my money he ever will. I love the Enderverse and OSC's writing in general, but I'm not going to be taken advantage of by him and his publisher.
(edit) I was able to return the book to Amazon for a refund, so I am less upset now. However, my outrage over how the book is marketed and sold still stands, and it needs to be corrected. Additionally, my rating of the book in the form that I read it still stands, as it was so simplistic and one-dimensional that it doesn't deserve to even have a character named Bean or Ender in it.
What they didn't tell you is that this is a severely abridged book, missing well over half of the material. The extra material made up a total of about ten pages. What is this, I don't even...
The story might be readable in the original version, but I don't know for sure. This version was choppy, simplistic, boring, and simply caricatured characters from previous Ender novels, including Ender himself. While the premise was interesting, the flat characters of the children killed the story, and even the interesting interactions with those left on the Formic ship at the end of the book failed to save it.
I am incredibly disappointed with OSC and his publisher for putting this book out in this manner on Kindle. If it was done without his consent that's one thing, and I hope he will fight to make it right by making the FULL and UNABRIDGED version available to all of us who vastly overpaid for this horrific piece of crap. If it was done with his consent, well then he's gotten the last dollar of my money he ever will. I love the Enderverse and OSC's writing in general, but I'm not going to be taken advantage of by him and his publisher.
(edit) I was able to return the book to Amazon for a refund, so I am less upset now. However, my outrage over how the book is marketed and sold still stands, and it needs to be corrected. Additionally, my rating of the book in the form that I read it still stands, as it was so simplistic and one-dimensional that it doesn't deserve to even have a character named Bean or Ender in it.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Card has long been a favorite of mine and his Ender series and Bean series remain some of my favorite series of all time. Sadly, this one is a bit of a disappointment. It ends the story of Bean but not well, unfortunately. Bean is basically a secondary character in this one and is almost relegated to the background so that his three kids can be the focus. Unfortunately, the three of them really have no personalities and are basically indistinguishable from each other. While I didn't find them or annoying, I did find them to be very one-note and flat characters. The story was extremely technical and full of lots of scientific jargon that was distracting and confusing. It's sad that this has to be the book that Bean's story ends with. He was such a great and powerful character in the previous novels so to see him reduced to this is just sad and disappointing. I'm starting to lose faith in Card's writing prowess. I'm also wondering if he even reads his own novels as he doesn't even seem to know who his characters are anymore. The entire last third of the book basically completely undermines the entire Ender saga. This book really didn't need to exist. It does, though, and that means we have to deal with it as part of the canon, for whatever that's worth. He really should just quit while he's ahead. He's not making any friends here!
I do enjoy the Ender/Shadows books, but I think Orson needs to leave them be now.
Quick read, but this novel never needed to be written. Card should have moved on from the Enderverse long ago.
2.5 stars. Not as polished as other of Cards works. Reads as a short story just to move the story along, as Bean's children come across a strange ship on their travels while Bean is a giant, unable to move on the ship and close to death. Will they find the answer to Anton's key so that they can live out their lives normally? Not enough time with the characters to form attachments. Unsure if this because this is the abidged, illustrated version?