Ender's War by Orson Scott Card

I finally gave in and decided to read Ender's Game.  This omnibus version also included Speaker for the Dead.  Overall, a pretty good story.  They are really very different stories. The first is a lot of fun and you soon forget the book is about little kids hardly out of diapers. The second by comparison is the weaker of the two.

I read both back to back, and enjoyed the moral and ethical issues raised by Card.  I'll give the guy credit for being true to his faith and having the courage to hang his message out there. 

Ender's Saga
Speaker for the Dead (©1986, 1991)
Xenocide (©1991)
Children of the Mind (©1996)

In 1998 I read Ender's Game, and along with Speaker for the Dead they made my top 10 list that year. It would be a few years before I would pick up the rest of the books. I had them all, it's just that I was having trouble getting back into the series. The first book was a lot of fun, since it was basically a juvenile adventure story - the remainder of the series however took an abrupt right angle turn into adult philosophical territory. No wonder the casual reader fell off the bandwagon - myself included. It didn't help that a couple of my buddies told me the rest of the books were "crap."

We meet an older and wiser Ender Wiggin. His self exile on the planet Lusitania with the planet's sentient population set the stage for the final novels. Along the way we meet up with Jane, a self aware computer and their fight to survive Starways Congress edict to destroy the planet and the virus it contains. The supporting cast of characters are fun and there are some fun twists involving Peter and Valentine.

So it came as a pretty big surprise when I started getting into the last couple of books. Card really has a deft hand and the way he fleshes out the story. As always he asking some pretty big questions, and in his own way trying to supply the occasional answer. Some of the bits were a bit out there, but I'm glad I finally finished off the series. Ender's Saga is really a set up novel with a trilogy attached to it.

Reviewed March 2002

Homecoming: Harmony / Earth
The Memory of Earth (©1992) / The Call of Earth (©1993) / The Ships of Earth (©1994)
Earthfall (©1995) / Earthborn (©1995)

This is an outstanding series of books, and as you would expect from Card there's a pretty heavy handed moral underpinning to the story. I may not agree with Mister Card on his personal theology, but hats off to him for writing honestly and with conviction.

Set in the far distant future, Harmony has existed for 40 million years, and its society hasn't grown or expanded. The Oversoul a complex computer network neatly oversees the inhabitants of the planet. The first four books explore the nature of faith, obedience, and patience. As the first few books progress, Card drew me in, and had me going along for the ride. As the fourth book finished up with the cast of characters back on earth, a lot of loose ends were tidied up in a few pages.

The final book takes place a few hundred years later, and my initial reaction was to cry foul. Where are the characters I have grown to love. What happened to them, blah blah blah ... But since it was an omnibus I wasn't finished so I kept reading, and as I went along I found myself actually liking the story. The last book displays Card's affinity for religious allegory, and it worked for me, I can see some people dropping off at this point; however, if you let yourself go along for the ride, it is an emotionally rich experience, and serves as a fitting finale to an excellent series.

Reviewed July 31, 2001

Ender's Shadow (©1999)

Absolutely amazing. This parallel novel to Ender's Game, tells the story of the Buggers, and how they were defeated by children. When I first saw this book I figured that Card was out to make a quick buck. So I started the book, and couldn't stop. Totally engrossing, and even though you know what happens, you can't help but want to see what happens next. I even felt the welling up of tears at times (embarrassing on the bus let me tell you) as I read. There's plenty of room for more stories, and from what I gather Mister Card is typing more as you read this.

Shadow of the Hegemon (©2000)

This one's not as good as the last one, however, it's a delight to return to Bean's world. Where Ender's Shadow was a clever retelling of Ender's story, Shadow of the Hegemon moves into uncharted territory. Peter Wiggin's development is fun, but if he's such a genius how come he's so stupid at times.

The whole brilliant kids thing starts to wear thin after a while, but Card makes up for these shortcomings by pacing his stories well, and after a while you just shrug and go along for the ride. And it is a good ride, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume.

Reviewed February 2002

Shadow Puppets (©2002)

Another excellent book in the post Ender saga. The book isn't without its faults, and at times it crosses over into some seriously maudlin territory. But, I read to be entertained, and on that score Shadow Puppets delivers - big time. The pages practically turn themselves, and of course there's ample room for another story.

Peter is the Hegemon, and Bean is growing like, well, a Bean. Achilles once again takes a curtain call as the resident bad guy, but we never really get to know more than the one dimension. We also get more elaborate cameos from many of the former Battle School brats. Along the way we get war, love, and peace. Not in that order.

I look forward to the next installment. This is fun easy to digest stuff. I've read enough plodding stuff lately, and this was a real nice change.

Reviewed November 2002

A War of Gifts: An Ender Story(©2007)

This is one of those near throwaway stories, that works despite itself. Although it's called "An Ender Story" Card takes the opportunity to revisit Battle School and tells a story of rebellion through Zeck Morgan, and Dink Meeker. While this isn't a Christmas Story, it is and it isn't.

In Battle School there are no religious observances, but young Zeck refuses to take part in any of the exercises due to his religious beliefs, and what starts as a simple act of kindness for a fellow Dutch kid when Dink leaves a Sinterklaas Day gift in his friend's shoe. One thing of course leads to another, and this simple act takes on more meaning than intended and of course along the way young Ender gets involved and fixes things in his own subtle way.

If you're a fan of the Ender series, particularly the first book, then this is a nice bit of nostalgia with some familiar characters.

Reviewed February 5, 2009