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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I nearly gave this book two stars, for I did care enough for the characters to make it to the end. Then I compared it to other books I had given two stars, and realized two was much too generous for my feelings toward this book. Large chunks were painful to get through, repetitive, poorly written, and just boring. I wish I had not chosen the audio book version, for while the voicing was fine, I was unable to skim or skip ahead with any confidence that I wouldn't miss any actual plot point.
Some background, as I understand it, in case you aren't well versed in the Ender universe. Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead were essentially written at the same time, feeding each other. Ender is the speaker for the dead, but that book skips to his solid adulthood. Decades after the books were written, and many (dozens?) of other books written as prequels and sequels and parallels...Mr. Card returns to those missing years in the life of Ender. We all want to know what happened, right?
What he wrote was an embarrassing mix of colony worlds, political and religious doctrine, fill in the blanks events or merge all of the other novels, and the occasional actual interesting piece of character development. I have long said that Ender's Game and Shadow are great novels, regardless of what you think of Card's personal views. This, however, is not. Long emails between characters serve as soapboxes for his personal views (worse, without actually moving forward the plot or characters). I would like to get my hands on an ebook copy just to do a word count on monogamy/monogamous. We get it already! One Man- One Woman! We can read the political bumper stickers between the lines. It is all just made worse because it is BORING.
There are a few scenes that are light and witty and smart. There are a few characters I would have liked to see more of (Sel, Abra, Dorabella), but many were tools.Valentine had real potential in the early parts, when she lived with her parents as a teenager. She too disappointed me as she just (by her own admission) lived Ender's life with him.
Sigh. A great disappointment, one that makes me unsure whether I can stomach any more of the series.
Some background, as I understand it, in case you aren't well versed in the Ender universe. Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead were essentially written at the same time, feeding each other. Ender is the speaker for the dead, but that book skips to his solid adulthood. Decades after the books were written, and many (dozens?) of other books written as prequels and sequels and parallels...Mr. Card returns to those missing years in the life of Ender. We all want to know what happened, right?
What he wrote was an embarrassing mix of colony worlds, political and religious doctrine, fill in the blanks events or merge all of the other novels, and the occasional actual interesting piece of character development. I have long said that Ender's Game and Shadow are great novels, regardless of what you think of Card's personal views. This, however, is not. Long emails between characters serve as soapboxes for his personal views (worse, without actually moving forward the plot or characters). I would like to get my hands on an ebook copy just to do a word count on monogamy/monogamous. We get it already! One Man- One Woman! We can read the political bumper stickers between the lines. It is all just made worse because it is BORING.
There are a few scenes that are light and witty and smart. There are a few characters I would have liked to see more of (Sel, Abra, Dorabella), but many were tools.Valentine had real potential in the early parts, when she lived with her parents as a teenager. She too disappointed me as she just (by her own admission) lived Ender's life with him.
Sigh. A great disappointment, one that makes me unsure whether I can stomach any more of the series.
This book fell pretty flat for me.
Despite enjoying myself back in the world of Ender, it felt like the majority of this book was filled with half baked characters and plot.
Eventually, I am finding it spoils the spin off Shadow series that I haven’t yet read which would explain some of these feelings while also introducing new feelings of disappointment.
Still solid but not what I was wanting out of a “direct sequel to Ender’s Game”.
Despite enjoying myself back in the world of Ender, it felt like the majority of this book was filled with half baked characters and plot.
Eventually, I am finding it spoils the spin off Shadow series that I haven’t yet read which would explain some of these feelings while also introducing new feelings of disappointment.
Still solid but not what I was wanting out of a “direct sequel to Ender’s Game”.
Great insight into Ender's life in the years immediately following the end of the war. Although chronologically it fits in during Ender's Game it really is a sequel to the Bean books, and an insightful and fun read.
This is my 12th book in the Endersverse, and I'm still amazed when I read a new book in this sweeping series. While there have been some that have seemed somewhat unremarkable on their own, but still welcome to keep me in this incredible universe, this book was amazing. There are so many exciting twists and turns, realizations and reflections. At points it has the feel of a chess match between masters, at others a thriller, and then there are poignant moments that are incredibly touching. I wish I had read this book much earlier and the other books would have been even richer for having this one in it. There's some serious profundity in this book on victory and regret and truth, things that are only possible because of genius children, travel at near light speeds, and people of incredible insight and others easily swayed living amongst them. Even if you haven't read many books in this series, and don't expect to read them all, you should definitely read this one.
I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this more than I expected. I think I might have been worried about Enderveree fatigue, but actually this was the right decision to read after “Shadow of the Giant” as the Shadow series was where my weariness had started to set in. Returning back to Ender now felt like coming home, and was a nice breath of fresh air to see this character again in a more substantial way.
I know the criticisms of this book for “rewriting” the final chapter of “Ender’s Game”, but I found it to be honestly the right move as the Ender universe has expanded so much in the many years since EG first came out. Also, some talk about the religious views of the author getting in the way, specifically about marriage and having babies, but I found this one to be more tame and natural than the way it was forced so heavily into “Shadow Puppets”. Maybe Graff’s one email towards the end of this novel got a bit sentimental about having vs not having kids, but it felt real to the character.
My only complaint is it felt almost like three different novels in that there was kind of three major conflicts that all had a full introduction, raising stakes, climax and resolution. But in the end, it was all held together by the common thread of telling the story of how Ender got from the end of EG to the place we find him in “Speaker for the Dead” (well, kinda, it’s ending at the start of the planet hopping journey he took but the years between the start and the end are described enough in Speaker).
The in red only short novella “Shadows in Flight” is next, and then only “The Last Shadow” to tie everything up in the main two series of the Enderverse.
I know the criticisms of this book for “rewriting” the final chapter of “Ender’s Game”, but I found it to be honestly the right move as the Ender universe has expanded so much in the many years since EG first came out. Also, some talk about the religious views of the author getting in the way, specifically about marriage and having babies, but I found this one to be more tame and natural than the way it was forced so heavily into “Shadow Puppets”. Maybe Graff’s one email towards the end of this novel got a bit sentimental about having vs not having kids, but it felt real to the character.
My only complaint is it felt almost like three different novels in that there was kind of three major conflicts that all had a full introduction, raising stakes, climax and resolution. But in the end, it was all held together by the common thread of telling the story of how Ender got from the end of EG to the place we find him in “Speaker for the Dead” (well, kinda, it’s ending at the start of the planet hopping journey he took but the years between the start and the end are described enough in Speaker).
The in red only short novella “Shadows in Flight” is next, and then only “The Last Shadow” to tie everything up in the main two series of the Enderverse.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-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:
Complicated
adventurous
slow-paced
This book fills in the in-between years of Ender's life, and shows how he went from the person he was at the end of Ender's Game to the person he was in Speaker for the Dead.
I appreciated the nod to Ender's parents, and the brief peek into colonization. I didn't, however, see how Alessandra and Dorabella were necessary to this book.
I appreciated the nod to Ender's parents, and the brief peek into colonization. I didn't, however, see how Alessandra and Dorabella were necessary to this book.
http://divagaciones-de-una-poulain.blogspot.mx/2015/06/ender-en-el-exilio-orson-scott-card.html
Este libro ni siquiera es una secuela del Juego de Ender. No. Definitvamente no. Ni si quiera es un libro medio tangencial al Juego de Ender, como me gusta decir que es la Sombra de Ender. Todo lo que ocurre en este libro ocurre en algún punto entre los últimos capítulos de El Juego de Ender y resulta prescindible, aburrido, lleno de personajes olvidables, en la mayoría de los casos conflictos predecibles y de relleno. Relleno total. Aunque esté bien escrito el relleno no deja de ser relleno, y tuve que sufrir de eso durante todo el libro.
Al estar escrito después de la saga de Bean, la spoilea sin ton ni son, así que si quieren salvarse de todos los spoilers, más te vale leer la saga de Bean primero. Además de que esa, aunque peca de los errores comunes de Scott Card no es tan terrible como la existencia de este libro en sí.
No me lo tomen a mal: el desarrollo del mundo de Scott Card es maravilloso, pero en este libro no encontré nada realmente de mi interés. Una madre loca que quiere conseguir marido o hacerle de celestina a su hija para que se quede con Ender, a una Valentine más bien opacada una buena parte del libro y a unos colonos de lo más aburridos, que parece que durante la mayor parte del libro, sólo se limitan a "estar allí". No es que no pasen cosas con un mínimo de interés en la colonia antes de que llegue Ender, la cosa es que todo eso se podría haber cortado unos cuantos capítulos.
En fin. Relleno, ya lo dije. El libro es una sucesión de relleno y de tramas sin cerrar en los anteriores que tampoco es que aparezcan muy cerradas por aquí. De hecho, la trama que más me interesaba leer, que fue el gran cabo suelto de la saga de Bean, se resuelve en apenas unas cuantas páginas y sin gran confrontación. Esperaba algo más explosivo, aunque los personajes sólo tuvieran un duelo intelectual. Esperaba algo más, punto.
Aquí voy a hacer un pequeño paréntesis para decir que Scott Card no parece entender del todo algunas cosas de las mujeres: siempre me ha parecido perturbador la manera en que algunos de sus personajes desean tener hijos, algunas mujeres como si fuera una obligación, otras porque descubren el anhelo de una manera casi desesperante. Me resulta extraño porque no he conocido a alguien que reaccione así ante la maternidad. Sin embargo, de momento no juzgaré demasiado.
Por otro lado, aun cuando en los libros de Scott Card hay una diversidad casi exagerada de personajes en cuanto a razas y nacionalidades, parece que mientras más libros escribe, más difícil le resulta esconder sus ideas con respecto a temas políticos y de índole parecida. Leyendo entre líneas me encontré con muchas de sus ideas que ya he leído en muchos lados. No es uno de esos autores que te estampen lo que piensan en la cara, como John Green, que parece saludarte desde cada página, pero con mucha atención, se pueden captar un par de frases aquí y allá que lo delatan.
Es natural, le pasa a cualquiera. Sólo que eso me recuerda que odio todas y cada una de sus ideas políticas y la mitad de sus opiniones. De hecho, odio la perspectiva de darle de comer a una persona como él.
Pero bueno, hablando de si recomiendo o no este libro, diré que sólo puede tener algún interés en aquellos que no saben si continuar la saga y quieren algo ligero, a los fanáticos empedernidos y a los que tengan ganas de saber que pasa con ciertos personajes de la saga de Bean. Lo demás no importa. Es relleno.
Este libro ni siquiera es una secuela del Juego de Ender. No. Definitvamente no. Ni si quiera es un libro medio tangencial al Juego de Ender, como me gusta decir que es la Sombra de Ender. Todo lo que ocurre en este libro ocurre en algún punto entre los últimos capítulos de El Juego de Ender y resulta prescindible, aburrido, lleno de personajes olvidables, en la mayoría de los casos conflictos predecibles y de relleno. Relleno total. Aunque esté bien escrito el relleno no deja de ser relleno, y tuve que sufrir de eso durante todo el libro.
Al estar escrito después de la saga de Bean, la spoilea sin ton ni son, así que si quieren salvarse de todos los spoilers, más te vale leer la saga de Bean primero. Además de que esa, aunque peca de los errores comunes de Scott Card no es tan terrible como la existencia de este libro en sí.
No me lo tomen a mal: el desarrollo del mundo de Scott Card es maravilloso, pero en este libro no encontré nada realmente de mi interés. Una madre loca que quiere conseguir marido o hacerle de celestina a su hija para que se quede con Ender, a una Valentine más bien opacada una buena parte del libro y a unos colonos de lo más aburridos, que parece que durante la mayor parte del libro, sólo se limitan a "estar allí". No es que no pasen cosas con un mínimo de interés en la colonia antes de que llegue Ender, la cosa es que todo eso se podría haber cortado unos cuantos capítulos.
En fin. Relleno, ya lo dije. El libro es una sucesión de relleno y de tramas sin cerrar en los anteriores que tampoco es que aparezcan muy cerradas por aquí. De hecho, la trama que más me interesaba leer, que fue el gran cabo suelto de la saga de Bean, se resuelve en apenas unas cuantas páginas y sin gran confrontación. Esperaba algo más explosivo, aunque los personajes sólo tuvieran un duelo intelectual. Esperaba algo más, punto.
Aquí voy a hacer un pequeño paréntesis para decir que Scott Card no parece entender del todo algunas cosas de las mujeres: siempre me ha parecido perturbador la manera en que algunos de sus personajes desean tener hijos, algunas mujeres como si fuera una obligación, otras porque descubren el anhelo de una manera casi desesperante. Me resulta extraño porque no he conocido a alguien que reaccione así ante la maternidad. Sin embargo, de momento no juzgaré demasiado.
Por otro lado, aun cuando en los libros de Scott Card hay una diversidad casi exagerada de personajes en cuanto a razas y nacionalidades, parece que mientras más libros escribe, más difícil le resulta esconder sus ideas con respecto a temas políticos y de índole parecida. Leyendo entre líneas me encontré con muchas de sus ideas que ya he leído en muchos lados. No es uno de esos autores que te estampen lo que piensan en la cara, como John Green, que parece saludarte desde cada página, pero con mucha atención, se pueden captar un par de frases aquí y allá que lo delatan.
Es natural, le pasa a cualquiera. Sólo que eso me recuerda que odio todas y cada una de sus ideas políticas y la mitad de sus opiniones. De hecho, odio la perspectiva de darle de comer a una persona como él.
Pero bueno, hablando de si recomiendo o no este libro, diré que sólo puede tener algún interés en aquellos que no saben si continuar la saga y quieren algo ligero, a los fanáticos empedernidos y a los que tengan ganas de saber que pasa con ciertos personajes de la saga de Bean. Lo demás no importa. Es relleno.