By: Orson Scott Card Publisher: Tor Books Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Tor Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 384 Publication Date: November 11, 2008 Release Date: November 11, 2008
After twenty-three years, Orson Scott Card returns to his acclaimed best-selling series with the first true, direct sequel to the classic Ender's Game.
In Ender’s Game, the world’s most gifted children were taken from their families and sent to an elite training school. At Battle School, they learned combat, strategy, and secret intelligence to fight a dangerous war on behalf of those left on Earth. But they also learned some important and less definable lessons about life.
After the life-changing events of those years, these children—now teenagers—must leave the school and readapt to life in the outside world.
Having not seen their families or interacted with other people for years—where do they go now? What can they do?
Ender fought for humanity, but he is now reviled as a ruthless assassin. No longer allowed to live on Earth, he enters into exile. With his sister Valentine, he chooses to leave the only home he’s ever known to begin a relativistic—and revelatory—journey beyond the stars.
What happened during the years between Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead? What did Ender go through from the ages of 12 through 35? The story of those years has never been told. Taking place 3000 years before Ender finally receives his chance at redemption in Speaker for the Dead, this is the long-lost story of Ender.
For twenty-three years, millions of readers have wondered and now they will receive the answers. Ender in Exile is Orson Scott Card’s moving return to all the action and the adventure, the profound exploration of war and society, and the characters one never forgot.
On one of these ships, there is a baby that just may share the same special gifts as Ender’s old friend Bean…
loosely linked short stories about Ender My wife got me this book for Christmas. And while I was reading it she kept asking how it was. I kept describing it as "It's OK". After finishing it, that's still how I feel. It was OK. Nothing I'd recommend to anybody else.
One thing I did like was that Ender was "Ender" - the magically gifted kid who understands people and overcomes obstacles with his incredible ingenuity. Much better than in Xenocide and Children of the Mind when Ender is a stupid useless person who eventually disintegrates into a ball of dust (sorry for the spoiler, but you won't want to read them anyway.) It was fun to read about what Ender was thinking and how he overcame the difficult situations.
What I didn't like is that the story wasn't really a story. There was no buildup, no climax, no conclusion. It was more just a bunch of random short stories about "things that happened between the first book and the second book". It was just a mishmash of different people - a little bit of semi-interesting planet exploration (gold bugs), a little bit of the colonists (fairy people), a little bit of Ender's Shadow (Achilles), a little bit of Peter, a little bit of Graff. But it wasn't really interesting how it was all tied together. I was almost dreading each new chapter, because I knew I'd have a bunch of new people and a new plotline that I'd have to dive into that didn't really have much to do with the previous chapter.
I love Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, and I mildly enjoyed the Ender's Shadow series. So I'm glad I read this book. But it's not something I'll probably ever reread. I would suggest checking it out of the library instead of spending money to add to your home book collection.
Another worthy book in the Ender series This book is aimed at existing Ender fans who want more details on the aftermath of the Bugger War. That being said, it helps to have more than a passing
The novel really has four distinct and almost separate parts to it. This is not specifically a problem, but does mean that it is not bound together by a single, overarching story. A familiarity with the Ender universe is really quite necessary for this book.
Card's stories are character driven and this book is no exception. In each incarnation of the Ender series, Card takes the extra effort to further develop his characters. Rather then rehashing what he has written before, Card has his characters look at past situations in a different light in order to reveal new truths. Along the way he makes observations about the future, politics, religion, the nature of man and human relationships that are unique and interesting.
On the downside, the stories Card tells can seem too premeditated. Card is the puppet master and you feel at times that he is pulling a little too hard on the strings. The dialogue as in many of Card's novels is often forced and unnatural. Characters often speak in the same voice. (Card's voice?) When the characters argue you get the idea that Card likes clever repartee and often 'out clevers' himself. The situations are sometimes a little too contrived--for example the production of Shakespeare play by future colonists during their space voyage to their colony named 'Shakespeare'.
However, when Card gets into his characters' heads and talks about their motivations, their unique histories, their philosophies, and their ideals he usually hits a home run. This is what keeps the book moving and interesting. The plot of the various stories are but window dressing for the well developed characters. In the end, the plot is really secondary. Card is able to put a new spin on old material and come out with something fresh and different. This kept up my interest--I couldn't put this one down.
This is what makes Card a brilliant writer. I am convinced that if he had chosen to write straight fiction he would have achieved a more broad based acclaim as an author. Those of us who are fans of science fiction, however, are blessed that he has chosen to pen in this genre. That being said, this is not Card's strongest effort in the Ender saga. It is, however, a quick and easy read and I am still looking forward to the next book in this series.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too Where did Ender disappear to after he saved planet Earth from the formics? What happened to Peter and his bid for world domination, to Valentine in Peter's shadow, and to the human race and its government between ENDER'S GAME and SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD?
Finally, Orson Scott Card provides the missing story in the ENDER series that readers have been waiting for! Card writes with his characteristic straightforward style that, though simple, belies the hidden ethical dilemmas presented to the characters every step of the way. And through it all, the story is as gripping as ENDER'S GAME and will keep you up all night until you reach the book's AWESOME conclusion.
Having saved the world from a race of super intelligent and ruthless fighting formics, Ender is exiled to the far reaches of space under the pretension of governing and developing a new colony for humans on a new planet. As always, the government plays an underhanded game in sending him off and all his doings, as Earth and its countries are still at war and unsettled after Ender and the other children of his Battle School won the war. Seen as "Earth's most deadly weapon," Ender soon guesses he will never return to Earth, his family, or any semblance of the life he once knew.
Instead, he begins to research his new obsession, the formic race he destroyed. The new colony he is going to is built on an old formic planet, so Ender goes willingly into hyperspace, aging only two years while everyone on Earth ages forty years. Valentine escapes the plans of Peter on Earth to join Ender in space and secretly, Ender is relieved to have someone he can trust. While Ender indulges in every spec of information on the formics and on the people of his new colony, Valentine waits patiently for Ender to confide his new plans to her while also beginning a series of historical novels on Ender, Battle School, and the Earth wars.
Upon landing on the new colony planet, Ender is hailed as a hero and a welcome source of leadership. He is also confronted with the best discovery he could have asked for - a species of creatures is found deep in a cave, hybrids between formics and a native creature. This is the closest Ender or anyone else has come to studying the actual formics themselves! Through his mental and telepathic communications with these creatures, Ender learns more than he could hope for about the planet and the formics history.
One day, Ender and a native person named Abra go off to explore the planet to find a location for a new colony. On this adventure, Ender discovers the answer to the question he has silently asked himself since he found out the game he played was really a war - "Why did you [the hive queens] let me kill you?"
The truth is more exciting than I can spoil for anyone who has breathlessly awaited this novel.
As always, Orson Scott Card intertwines the story of emerging governments, political struggle, and personal and moral dilemmas as the story of Ender unfolds. Kudos to him for not only continuing a series for over twenty books, but for doing so with inventiveness, brilliant writing, and a compelling story.
Reviewed by: Erikka Adams, aka "The Bookbinder"
Good, but could have been better. I enjoyed the book overall. I'm always hungry for more from the Ender universe. I only had two real beefs:
First, too many of the characters were flat. I had a hard time emphathizing with Valentine, for instance, which was not an issue in other novels. She didn't act right, say the things needed to make her "real". She was just a prop for Ender in this book.
Likewise, Arkanian Delphiki (Achilles) was unbelievable as a character. He was a supposed genius who acted like a simpleton or dupe every time he appeared. Also Admiral Morgan, though I suppose he was supposed to be a bit of an empty uniform any way.
Second, and this probably is the cause of #1, Card tried to cram too much into one novel. The dust jacket actually makes it appear that the primary storyline is what happens on Shakespeare and Ganges. (Frankly whoever wrote the dust jacket synopsis should be sacked as it blatantly incorrect.) In reality, about half the book takes place before he ever reaches a colony world, and his visit to Ganges and the "showdown" with a "brilliant young colonist who is out to destroy him" takes up only 2 chapters.
The Ganges storyline, frankly, felt contrived and tacked on. It could have been a novel unto itself if he'd built in some depth to the planet's culture and characters.
Card should have chopped some of the subplots out (especially the Ganges storyline) completely and focused on the trip and Shakespeare, using the time to develop the characters more fully and focus more on building a real Valentine that we could relate to.
Overall, a good and satisfying Ender/Bean book. It did a good job of tying up many loose ends (perhaps tried to tie up too many?) and helped us to see the transition beginning from Ender Wiggin to Speaker for the Dead.
More for Ender Fans I agree with others, this is a fun book for those who are enjoying the Ender saga. Definitely one to be read in published order, rather than chronological as there are many references to characters and events from other books and this one spans so many years.
Many have focused on the message of marriage, childbearing, reason for living, etc..., but I just focused on the plot and story and enjoyed the book for what it is. It was much better than several of the short stories that feel like they are just churned out for profit.
Card made a lot of effort to be consistent across his many Ender books and I think this adds to the entire story and finalizes some of the character storylines from previous books. I'm energized to re-read Ender's Game again as it continues to be the best book in the series.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
