empressbrooke
Written on Dec 1, 2008
I was skeptical going into this - In fact, I only read it today because it has to go back to the library soon and I didn't want to return it unread. I kept thinking that it couldn't possibly be interesting since we already know what happens. Could it really be worth reading about events that were already discussed in other Ender books? Of course, I had the same type of reservations about [b:Ender's Shadow|9532|Ender's Shadow (Shadow Series, Book 1)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166028017s/9532.jpg|3145587] and ended up being wowed by that one.
Ender in Exile isn't the same sort of homerun that Ender's Shadow was, but that didn't stop me from tearing through it in two sittings. Seeing Ender's thought process following the end of the Formic War was much more satisfying than reading about it as events that had already occurred, as we did in [b:Speaker of the Dead|7967|Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, Book 2)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165651993s/7967.jpg|2327777] and its sequels. I also really liked witnessing the creation of the colony program and seeing the seed that started the universe we meed in Speaker.
On the downside, I did get a little twitchy about Card retconning things for consistency. In his defense, his afterword explains his reasoning, and his reasoning mostly makes sense. I just worry he's veering into George Lucas territory when he has to start publishing new editions of his old books with changes.
Also, the subplot with Alessandra and her crazy mother seemed sort of tacked on - I couldn't really figure out what the purpose of it was, except to demonstrate Ender's brain power. I sort of wished they'd been done away with so that there was more time to focus on Ender's recovery and his removal from his family. One thing I wished the book had included was at least one response from Ender's parents to his first letter home. The text says that they continued to correspond, but we're not told any more than that. His letter packed a powerful punch, and it's a shame we didn't get to see what his parents had to say in return.
Although this is billed as a direct sequel to Ender's Game, it wouldn't make any sense without reading the Shadow books first. The loose threads in [b:Shadow of the Giant|8647|Shadow of the Giant (Shadow Series, Book 4)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165699277s/8647.jpg|4088] are tied up here, and while they only take up a small portion of the book, I can't imagine they would make much sense (or have much impact, since it does lay down a short summary) without having read the previous books.
Ender in Exile isn't the same sort of homerun that Ender's Shadow was, but that didn't stop me from tearing through it in two sittings. Seeing Ender's thought process following the end of the Formic War was much more satisfying than reading about it as events that had already occurred, as we did in [b:Speaker of the Dead|7967|Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, Book 2)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165651993s/7967.jpg|2327777] and its sequels. I also really liked witnessing the creation of the colony program and seeing the seed that started the universe we meed in Speaker.
On the downside, I did get a little twitchy about Card retconning things for consistency. In his defense, his afterword explains his reasoning, and his reasoning mostly makes sense. I just worry he's veering into George Lucas territory when he has to start publishing new editions of his old books with changes.
Also, the subplot with Alessandra and her crazy mother seemed sort of tacked on - I couldn't really figure out what the purpose of it was, except to demonstrate Ender's brain power. I sort of wished they'd been done away with so that there was more time to focus on Ender's recovery and his removal from his family. One thing I wished the book had included was at least one response from Ender's parents to his first letter home. The text says that they continued to correspond, but we're not told any more than that. His letter packed a powerful punch, and it's a shame we didn't get to see what his parents had to say in return.
Although this is billed as a direct sequel to Ender's Game, it wouldn't make any sense without reading the Shadow books first. The loose threads in [b:Shadow of the Giant|8647|Shadow of the Giant (Shadow Series, Book 4)|Orson Scott Card|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165699277s/8647.jpg|4088] are tied up here, and while they only take up a small portion of the book, I can't imagine they would make much sense (or have much impact, since it does lay down a short summary) without having read the previous books.