Reviews

Formic Wars: Burning Earth by Giancarlo Caracuzzo, Aaron Johnston, Orson Scott Card

munchin's review

4.0

Re-Read in preparation for reading the sequel.


First read March 31, 2012

life_of_karrot's review

5.0

This graphic novel has a lot going on, but wisely focuses on three main characters, one of which is a direct link to Ender's Game. The art presents a plausible futuristic world where scavengers mine asteroids and explore the frontiers of space, whilst Earth becomes highly commodified and driven by corporations. The incoming aliens create great tension that only increases as they approach Earth, and battle tactics are smart with a few really cool character showcases - and some surprisingly emotional moments, credit to the relationships established by the writing. A definite read if you're into alien invasions/ horror, or an advanced but gritty and realistic sci-fi Earth.

bdplume's review

3.0

I didn't realize when I first started searching for this that it was a graphic novel. I've got nothing against them, but it's not a medium I normally read. Still, I was excited to see this part of the Ender's Game story, so I was only slightly disappointed.

As it turns out, Card gets credit for the plot, but he turned to someone else for the scripting. I think it suffers just a little from that. This isn't to say that the writing of Aaron Johnston isn't good, it's just not really in Orson Scott Card's voice and so it doesn't always feel like part of the same larger story.

I was pleased with the story, so I'll definitely read the follow-up that is due out soon. I do recommend it to fans of Ender's Game, although ti definitely would not be a good starting point for someone unfamiliar with the original novel.