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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Falante pelos Mortos.
It's been my favorite book for a long time. Each year I consider writing an in-depth review, and have always balked. The old "if I look at it too closely, it won't be what I perceive it to be". I don't know if that in-depth review will ever happen, but let me say this about it: that are a lot of reasons I read books: they might fun, or relatable, or sexy, or informative, etc. And that's alright.
But this book makes me want to be a better human. The way Ender travels thru space, for thousands of years, with his burdens, and pain, and sorrow. And comes to be someone who cares, and loves, and understands, deeply.
Oh to be that wise, and vulnerable.
And Human's speech about star flight!!!!!!! It always moves me. Such a beautiful commentary on selfishness, and living with other people, and having community. Honestly, it's one of my favorite speeches I've ever read.
I hope this book continues to bring me joy and also contemplation every time I read it. It holds up so far.
It's been my favorite book for a long time. Each year I consider writing an in-depth review, and have always balked. The old "if I look at it too closely, it won't be what I perceive it to be". I don't know if that in-depth review will ever happen, but let me say this about it: that are a lot of reasons I read books: they might fun, or relatable, or sexy, or informative, etc. And that's alright.
But this book makes me want to be a better human. The way Ender travels thru space, for thousands of years, with his burdens, and pain, and sorrow. And comes to be someone who cares, and loves, and understands, deeply.
Oh to be that wise, and vulnerable.
And Human's speech about star flight!!!!!!! It always moves me. Such a beautiful commentary on selfishness, and living with other people, and having community. Honestly, it's one of my favorite speeches I've ever read.
I hope this book continues to bring me joy and also contemplation every time I read it. It holds up so far.
I found it interesting that in the introduction, the author confesses that *this* is the story he really had in mind when he first started writing the Ender books, but that it turned out that the kind of backstory he created for this story actually became the first book in the series, [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1214413570s/375802.jpg|2422333], and this the sequel even though it was conceptualized first.
It seemed more adult to me than Ender's Game. Where the subjects of that book were children and computer games (though against a backdrop of war, and with some serious political/philosophical threads), the subjects of this book are adults and anthropology and biology, in the context of studying an alien species. I think that changes the whole tone of the story.
Also, some of the characters occasionally lapse into their "native" Portuguese, and although most of the Portuguese phrases are translated, not all of them are, and some of the names are Portuguese as well. The introduction in my edition talked about this and offered some pronunciation tips so you could try to work out the characters' names in your head, but I didn't want to flip back to the intro every time I came across a Portuguese word, so I probably made up my own [very wrong:] pronunciations. I sortof thought that detracted, or at least distracted, from the story somewhat.
In the end though, maybe because of my background in anthropology, I found the central problems of the book -- how to interpret the actions of an alien species, how to explore a unfamiliar culture without contaminating it, and whether there are different levels of alienness (other-ness) that carry correspondingly different levels of responsibility in our behaviors towards them -- to be extremely fascinating. So, four stars.
It seemed more adult to me than Ender's Game. Where the subjects of that book were children and computer games (though against a backdrop of war, and with some serious political/philosophical threads), the subjects of this book are adults and anthropology and biology, in the context of studying an alien species. I think that changes the whole tone of the story.
Also, some of the characters occasionally lapse into their "native" Portuguese, and although most of the Portuguese phrases are translated, not all of them are, and some of the names are Portuguese as well. The introduction in my edition talked about this and offered some pronunciation tips so you could try to work out the characters' names in your head, but I didn't want to flip back to the intro every time I came across a Portuguese word, so I probably made up my own [very wrong:] pronunciations. I sortof thought that detracted, or at least distracted, from the story somewhat.
In the end though, maybe because of my background in anthropology, I found the central problems of the book -- how to interpret the actions of an alien species, how to explore a unfamiliar culture without contaminating it, and whether there are different levels of alienness (other-ness) that carry correspondingly different levels of responsibility in our behaviors towards them -- to be extremely fascinating. So, four stars.
It baffles me how Orson Scott Card, who is terrible, could have written such a beautiful, elegiac work. The characters are well developed, and Card continues the work he did in Ender’s Game with world-building and lore. The final resolution with the piggies was satisfying yet unsettling.
While I liked this far better than Ender’s Game, I was disappointed to see that the female characters were, once again, shoved to the side. (Ah, yes; there’s the Card with whom I am familiar.)
While I liked this far better than Ender’s Game, I was disappointed to see that the female characters were, once again, shoved to the side. (Ah, yes; there’s the Card with whom I am familiar.)
adventurous
challenging
it feels good to sometimes take a breath from all these ya books and read some deep sci fi and think about humanity
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Death of parent
Fantastic, I think Ender Wiggin is one of my new fav characters in all of fiction. He strives for peace and abhors violence even though he is more than capable of it. I love the dichotomy so much and the subject matter of discovering a new alien species is masterfully told. I may not agree with Orson Scott Card as a person on most things, but I respect him immensely for his ability to tell a story.
People told me I would love this more than Ender's Game, and they were right!
Another great read in the Ender's series. The story holds up surprisingly well for 30ish year old sic fi. Looking forward to the next one.