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protoman21's review against another edition
4.0
A great start to a new series in the Ender Universe! I immediately connected with the characters and the world that Card and Johnston have fleshed out for the die hard Ender fans. You can tell that these are the events that lead to his story without it being predictable and boring because of it. The characters and events on El Cavador drew me in the most, but I liked getting to see Lem's perspective as well. Wit's story felt completely disconnected from the rest of the story of space mining and the threat of the alien spaceship, so that partially led me to care about it a little less and be disappointed when one of his chapters came up. It almost felt like Card was trying to slip a few chapters of his Empire series into his Ender series. I'm excited to see more of Mazer, so that too was a disappointment that he was only briefly in one chapter and then dismissed. Overall I am excited with the beginning of this series and where it is going. I think I'll like it even more once all parties start to interact with each other.
katricia's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hivequeen's review against another edition
4.0
This book is definitely a must-read if you enjoy other books in the Enderverse. It was a really interesting take on the beginning of the war; I loved the fact that the story line revolved around miners rather than soldiers. Card and Johnston tied the story back to the Ender's Game story line, but in a more subtle and roundabout way than I was expecting. It continued the idea from the Ender's Game series that the most capable, brave, and smart people are often the ones that you would never expect to have those traits. First there was Ender and his fellow students at Battle School, now there is Victor, willing to risk anything to help humanity.
While I did enjoy reading the stories of the miners, the corporates, and the soldiers back on earth, there was one character that I wanted to hear much more about:
Overall, I thought it was great. It could have tied back a little bit more to the Ender's Game series in some places, but maybe that will happen in the second book!
Spoiler
By having the miners find the Formics ship, a whole different side of the war was revealed. People that just wanted to protect themselves and their family putting their lives on the line for the human race as a whole.While I did enjoy reading the stories of the miners, the corporates, and the soldiers back on earth, there was one character that I wanted to hear much more about:
Spoiler
Mazer Rackham. The authors stuck him in there for a chapter or two, then he disappeared just as quickly. I would love love love to find out more of his backstory, so I'm hoping to see more of him in the second book.Overall, I thought it was great. It could have tied back a little bit more to the Ender's Game series in some places, but maybe that will happen in the second book!
drprd's review against another edition
3.0
2.5. the writing is ok, but the pace is to slow. Plus, I don't think they got the physics right or some key details are unclear at least.
christina_likes_to_read's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly, I was disappointed in this book. I thought the story line lagged in places and it didn't hold my attention the same way the original Ender series did. It wasn't awful. It just wasn't as good as I had hoped.
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
3.0
I have such conflicting feelings about Orson Scott Card. I loved Ender's Game & Speaker for the Dead as well as the beginning of the Shadow series, but it's been clear for some time that Card's just milking the cash cow of the Enderverse for all it's worth. And don't even get me started on his politics.
Still this was better than most of his more recent Ender books (Shadows in Flight, Ender in Exile, A War of Gifts, etc.) and shows some promise for an entertaining series detailing The First Formic War. I did this on audio, which is really the best way to experience these because they're done so well, so that might also explain why I'm in such a charitable mood about the book.
The other reason I'm cautiously optimistic for this series is that I like what appear to be the two main characters, Victor Delgado, a bright 17-year-old apprentice mechanic on a Free Miner ship deep in the Kuiper Belt, and Lem Jukes, heir to the Jukes mining fortune, currently out in space testing an exciting new mining tool, and trying to escape from the his ruthless father's shadow. Card is at his best writing bright adolescents like Victor, as well as people who need to solve difficult problems. As the first humans to spot the first Formic ships, Victor and Lem definitely have some challenges to overcome.
Still this was better than most of his more recent Ender books (Shadows in Flight, Ender in Exile, A War of Gifts, etc.) and shows some promise for an entertaining series detailing The First Formic War. I did this on audio, which is really the best way to experience these because they're done so well, so that might also explain why I'm in such a charitable mood about the book.
The other reason I'm cautiously optimistic for this series is that I like what appear to be the two main characters, Victor Delgado, a bright 17-year-old apprentice mechanic on a Free Miner ship deep in the Kuiper Belt, and Lem Jukes, heir to the Jukes mining fortune, currently out in space testing an exciting new mining tool, and trying to escape from the his ruthless father's shadow. Card is at his best writing bright adolescents like Victor, as well as people who need to solve difficult problems. As the first humans to spot the first Formic ships, Victor and Lem definitely have some challenges to overcome.
flagstaff's review against another edition
3.0
First of a trilogy so a setup for the arch of the whole story. An introduction to a future reality that has humans as far out as the Kuiper belt. Maybe not hard SciFi but close enough for the story.
Enjoyed it.
Enjoyed it.
djdimond's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this, I really did. Unfortunately, it just felt slow going and a deviation from the quality I expected from Orson Scott Card. It's hard to relate to any of the characters, and the actions of the characters deviate so much from the internal monologue, that it's hard to get a feel for any of them. It was just this year that I first read the Ender's Game & Ender's Shadow series, and I finally understood what it was that everyone was so excited about. Unfortunately I can't say that the First Formic Wars trilogy has impressed me so far. I will finish the series and probably read the next trilogy when it comes out, just because I am a completionist, but I can't say that I have high hopes for it.
jmoses's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty decent. Some of the outer space tech seem silly to me, with arbitrary limitations to further the plot, but overall enjoyable. I'm certainly interested in the events leading up to Ender's Game, and of the first Formic War.
humanignorance's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars. Great world-building with detailed and interesting play-by-play accounting of actions involving advanced technology, which only got slow once in a while. The characters had mostly believable actions and motivations.