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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a lot shorter than the other books by Card. It was a great setup for the next book, but I really just want to read the next book. I hope it comes out soon and finally ties everything back to the Ender Series.
This book is written differently than any other book in the series and it shows. I didn't hate it but I didn't like it as much. I did like references to events and characters from other books, but ultimately I felt like some revelations that were made don't matter in the grand scheme of things because of how Card had to write them in since Ender never hears about any of this. I do, however, feel sad for Bean, although this Bean is very different than the one that four books were written about.
This book is full of standard OSC tropes: genius kids, good parents making sacrifices that their children don't appreciate, the need to breed for the good of the species, etc. It's a pretty good read, though. The main plot points are signaled far in advance so there are few surprises, but there is one bit near the end that's unexpected. It's not a major twist, but like other books in the Shadow series, it shows us that things are more complex than the point of view we've been given previously in the Ender universe.
Uno de mis favoritos, en Ender en el Exilio, se muestra un hijo de Bean, que me defraudo ya que no mostraba la brillantez de su padre a su edad, lo cual me dejo un sin sabor al leerlo, pero en este muestra a los otros 3 hijos con la clave de Anton activada, los cuales son brillantes como su progenitor, mostrándonos como podría haber sido Bean si se hubiera criado en un entorno diferente, dejándome con ganas de una continuación y ver que mas pueden lograr estos genios.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While the content was excellent, the authors homophobic and lightly sexist values did colour its plot. The incestuous side plot for the sake of "go forth and multiply" was especially problematic. Definitely not up to the standards of the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest
Bean's children were not very likable; I do not agree that being brilliant necessarily makes one emotionally obtuse. Neither did I like finding out that Ender was such a sucker; seeing to the truth of things is kind of his special deal, and here we are, finding that he is demonstrably bad at it.
I don't like Orson Scott Card. There was a time when he was a gifted writer, but that was decades ago. And I'm rather glad of that, I must admit, because his homophobia and religious bigotry offend me.
But Shadows In Flight isn't as bad as most of his recent books have been. Yes, it has the usual "genius" children talking to each other in "shocking" ways; Card seems to find them irresistible. There's even some of Card's trademark child-on-child violence, which makes me wonder just how badly screwed up his head is. But for once he doesn't take it too far.
This is no [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316636769s/375802.jpg|2422333] or [b:Songmaster|31352|Songmaster|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312018544s/31352.jpg|2904642]. It isn't even [b:A Planet Called Treason|92974|A Planet Called Treason|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1264770593s/92974.jpg|10261084]. But it's readable and not annoying, which is a big improvement over Card's other work this millennium.
But Shadows In Flight isn't as bad as most of his recent books have been. Yes, it has the usual "genius" children talking to each other in "shocking" ways; Card seems to find them irresistible. There's even some of Card's trademark child-on-child violence, which makes me wonder just how badly screwed up his head is. But for once he doesn't take it too far.
This is no [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316636769s/375802.jpg|2422333] or [b:Songmaster|31352|Songmaster|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312018544s/31352.jpg|2904642]. It isn't even [b:A Planet Called Treason|92974|A Planet Called Treason|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1264770593s/92974.jpg|10261084]. But it's readable and not annoying, which is a big improvement over Card's other work this millennium.
Bean's kids are pretty annoying six year old super geniuses. I was disappointed to get so little Bean time since the focus is on the kids. I was saddened by the broken parent-child relationships. I was emotionally detached from all the characters--even Bean, whom I liked very much in the Shadow series.
3.5 stars, only read if you're a big fan of the series.