Ender in Exile
by Orson Scott Card
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Book Reviews of Ender in Exile
Book Review: An Ender Fan in the Making
Summary: 4 Stars
Orson Scott Card has explained that Ender in Exile, the direct sequel to Ender's Game, occurs primarily between chapters 14 and 15 of the first book. Here in the sequel we get greater detail and insight into what was just covered cursorily about Ender's life after the war in Ender's Game.
It becomes clear that Ender cannot return to live on Earth, or else he will become the subject of a dangerous and violent political tug-of-war to see who can use the returned hero with greatest results. It is decided that he will be shipped, with his sister and others, to live on one of the former alien (formic) planets now being colonized by people from Earth. Much of the book is spent onboard the traveling starship, where we meet some of the new colonists, and watch as Ender tries to come to terms with his conduct during his training and the war. We also meet other people of import already living in the new colonies, and get updates on old familiars like Bean and Graff.
I have to say, starting this book immediately after finishing Ender's Game left me feeling very disoriented. I felt like I had just left a world of tight, shadowy, psychological intrigue and was then blasted into a bright, chatty, open-book one. It left me trying to refocus, like when the lights get flipped on in the middle of a dark night. It took me a few chapters, but after a while I was definitely able to get into a groove.
I don't think it's unusual to have felt disoriented as a reader, and not just because of the 23yr time difference between the writing of the two books. Ender himself - and the world at large - are thrust into a new normal as the war is over and people struggle to redefine themselves and their priorities. Ender is no longer a soldier, but a statesman, and that fact alone requires more conversation and interaction in this story. Until now, the government's main focus was to keep Ender isolated and sharp for his fighting duties, but now he's placed in the midst of a new intergallactic colony and asked to lead. On a more intimate level, he is also reunited with his sister, and we watch as Ender tries to regroup and relearn the concept of family.
Though Ender's story has changed, Card manages to stay true to what is so appealing about Ender as a character. He is still thoughtful and precise, very calculating in his observations and careful in his execution. He makes an effective leader, for the same reasons he made an effective fighter: he takes the time to invest himself and his concern in whomever he is meant to face.
I felt there were a few complications in the story, and at least one of them was addressed in Card's afterword. With some of the new characters introduced in Ender in Exile, I had the feeling that I was already supposed to know who they were. Although Card includes them in the story, most of them aren't allowed to reach any kind of bloom - they're left a little flat. I'm speaking specifically of Virlomi and Arkanian. It made me wonder if Card was using this chance to introduce characters already written into the later Ender's sequels. As he acknowledges in the afterword, this is true. But not having read any of the other sequels, it made me feel like I was out of the loop.
I was also very confused at how Card wrote Ender's parents in this book. For the entire duration of Ender's Game, we are led to believe that Ender's parents are uninvolved and unaware. In fact, while I was reading the book, I questioned aloud, "How can three such incredibly intelligent children come from two totally oblivious parents?" I wonder if others have voiced the same complaint, and that is why Card felt compelled to give us a "just kidding!" in regards to the parents. We're supposed to believe that John Paul and Theresa Wiggin were cognizant of their children's doings (especially Valentine and Peter) but were just playing dumb? I just couldn't buy the total shift in their behavior and representation. (side note: based on what others have said, Card writes more about the parents in later Ender sequels, and since I haven't read those, maybe it's harder for me to see why there's such a drastic change in their presence here.)
Those concerns aside, I really enjoyed this book. I wouldn't recommend reading it as a stand-alone - too much of it depends on understanding what Ender lived through in Ender's Game. But this story as a continuation of his coming-of-age and an exploration of the expanding reach of humankind is engaging and very rewarding.
Thanks go to Julie Harabedian at FSB Associates for the free review copy of this book.
Book Review: Terribly written, barely worth it.
Summary: 1 Stars
It's times like this when I wonder if fellow reviewes are being serious- this book is pretty awful, and from a very objective standpoint. The argument against, to me, mostly boils down to Card writing in too much of his own beliefs and trampling any chance of a story ever happening in the process.
First off, the problems with exposition. In many places in the book, Card just spells out what he wants to get at rather than writing his ideas into a story. One character will turn to another, and just say in explicit terms exactly how they feel about any given situation, rather than Card bothering to actually write any of that into a story. Ender and his siblings, his father, Graff, and others all just turn to other characters and spell out the plot point-by-point. Card even breaks any attempt at a solid narrative just for characterizations, sometimes styling what is ostensibly the silent narrator's prose to be like that of the character so it seems to come from their voice and not his. He does this early on with the character Alessandra, for example. From the non-quoted text, "There was no chance that an unstable, irresponsible- no, pardon me, I mean "feckless and fey" person like Mother...". This would at best be an unwarranted shift between first- and third-person if it happened in a vacuum, but it leads into the second point...
Card's self-insertion. His obsession with the Portuguese language is less strong than it was in the latter part of the Ender series, which is very refreshing, but it pops up again here and there. Bits of Portuguese even started popping up toward the end of the parallel-running Bean saga. If you didn't know, Card spent time as a missionary in Brazil, and takes plenty of opportunity to write Brazil and the Portuguese language into this series. Even with this toned town, there's still too much of Card happening here. One example is a scene when two scientists casually state that monogamy is clearly the best way to raise children, and that this has been proven countless times. This is immediately backed up by the goodness of democracy- not only is monogamy scientific, but it was voted on. Why, monogomy must be right if it's both scientific and democratic! For those who don't know, Card has been a major mind on the front to "protect the sanctity of marriage" (ie: by denying gay marriage), and has written at length about the topic in a number of mediums, using very similar arguments, and the entire debate about monogamy is a sham to talk about the sanctity of marriage.
So in the end, you're left with the classic case of a sequel that's only worth the random errata it adds to the series. And even this is riddled problems. At some point, Card forgot critical points of what he wrote about the series, was perhaps too bothered to go back and read the books, and had to openly ask fans to fill him in. In his own words, from the Afterword, "I can't trust my memory about details in Ender's Game and the Shadow books". This has prompted some outraged fans to wonder if Card had a ghost writer help him with the original books, though I'd say that's taking it a bit too far. Card has been gracious enough to say that he's resolved these plot holes by rewriting Ender's Game, for an edition to be re-released at some point in the future. I wish I had this power over my own life. You might call this the "George Lucas" approach.
If you're new to the series, you should be starting with Ender's Game anyway, and personally I'd skip Ender in Exile entirely and just read the Bean ("Ender's Shadow") series to get the rest of the story. There's another book due in that line, "Shadows in Flight", that might hopefully provide a better resolution to the overall arc. If you've come this far into the series, reading the entire Ender saga and perhaps Bean's as well, you're probably going to read this book regardless of reviews. I only ask that you consider checking it out from a library, as it's an only passable read that you'll have to go through to dig out the answers you've always wanted regarding this chapter of Ender's life, and you might be glad to return it when you've gotten your fill, considering you'll have to repurchase Ender's game at some point to round things out if you continue on that path.
Book Review: The Untold Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Ender In Exile (2008) is the tenth SF novel in the Ender series, following First Meetings. This work, however, overlaps the first book in the series: Ender's Game. It provides the missing story of Ender immediately after the defeat of the Hive Queens.
In this novel, Andrew (Ender) Wiggins has won the war, but lost the peace. He has gained a reputation for warfare that makes him a menace to America's enemies (and some friends). If he goes back home, someone is sure to try to assassinate him.
Valentine Wiggins is Ender's older sister. She is also Demosthenes, the well-known web pundit. Although she would like him to come home, Valentine sees the dangers to her brother. So Demosthenes demands that Ender be sent home as soon as possible.
Peter Wiggins is the eldest sibling. He is also Locke, another well-known web pundit. At first he wants Ender to come home, but soon realizes the probable effects on his plans. So Locke suggests that Ender be shipped to a colony.
John Paul and Theresa Wiggins are the parents of Peter, Valentine and Andrew. They also want Ender to come home, but see the dangers to him and to the country. They push their older children in the right direction.
Hyrum Groff is the Colonel in charge of Battle School. He has already developed Ender into a superb strategist, but now he is trying to spread the human race among the stars. He sends an email to Ender's parents that starts them thinking about the risks of Ender coming home.
In this story, the Colonization Ministry announces that Ender will be sent as Governor to Colony 1. The voyage to the colony will take forty Terran years, although the onboard period will be only two years. Naturally, the Ministry doesn't tell the colony leaders who the new governor will be.
When Ender learns that Earthside news is not being sent to the colony, he suggests a change in policy. Then the current governor finds out that Ender will be the next governor. The two governors -- current and designated -- discuss colony problems while Ender in enroute.
One of the problems they discuss is the colony name. Colony 1 is only a bureaucratic designation. After considering the issue, they propose the use of "Shakespeare" as the new name.
Ender has an ongoing problem of his own. The ship's captain -- Admiral Quincy Morgan -- is offended at the idea of the teenager becoming governor of the colony. Morgan plans on staying on Shakespeare either as the power behind the throne or as the new governor himself after returning Ender back to Earth.
Ender also has a problem with a female admirer. Alessandra is a year older than Ender and has been convinced by her persuasive mother that Ender is perfect for her. Alessandra will do anything to get her mother to stop talking at her.
Ender also has a deepset need to understand the Hive Queens. He finds that the Hive Queens were aware of human intentions and capabilities. So why did they group themselves together on the home planet?
This tale covers Ender's time on Shakespeare and then on Ganges. Some of this story was previously related in Ender's Game, but with slightly different facts. The author has since revised Ender's Game and some other books in the series to reconcile these differences.
The story shows Ender as a politician. He knows the names and histories of his constituents and tries to keep abreast with their doings. He works to provide their needs rather than their wants. Too bad that real politicians don't do the same. Read and enjoy!
Highly recommended for Card fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of effective leadership, persistent research, and human relationships.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Book Review: Card gets his points across
Summary: 1 Stars
I have read all the Ender and Bean books, and was excited to read "Ender in Exile". While the book is slow and not particularly exciting, there are engaging moments and it was a marginally satisfying read on these grounds.
On the other hand, while reading this book I became bothered and alarmed at the shape it was taking. We are told early on, for example, that women are their most fertile when they are 15 year old girls. This is not true (it's the early 20's), so I wondered why this statement would be in the book. I guessed that it might be a rationalization for the behavior of someone the author holds in esteem. I looked some things up and became more convinced.
The biological determinism mentioned by other reviewers is quite disturbing. The author states that people don't really change after their birth, and not too-subtly makes the point that children inherit their most deep-seated personality traits from their parents, whether or not they ever meet them, and this is a reason why any reasonable person would have children. It goes without saying that this is irresponsible pseudo-science. What is a child of rape to think reading this book? In fact the climax of the book is nothing but a strong statement of biological determinism, and quite a disappointment.
As other reviewers have noted, the book is essentially a screed on marriage and childbearing. In the worldview of this book, celibacy is never the right choice. Card states that in order to be a true member of the human race, one must have children. In this line of thinking Card is willfully ignorant of the many people throughout history who have happily benefited from choosing a celibate lifestyle - such as Jesus for example, who advocated celibacy. In the book's afterword, Card refers to one of his children as "the last one to leave home." That is all we are told about her; her name and her place in his collection of children. Nothing about her as an individual; those details are secondary.
A character who chooses celibacy to further his higher goals suffers in the end as a result. And the only character who is pointedly denied the right to have children despite wanting to is the only male Jewish character in the book (why Jewish?), which brings me to my next point.
The book's treatment of Hindus borders on bigoted. We are told that Indians ("Indian" is used interchangeably with "Hindu" in this book) are both stubborn and, when it comes to manual labor, lazy. A Hindu character says "Thank God" and another character mentally mocks this with "which one?" This statement is ludicrous, both because of the blithe ignorance of the author regarding Hindu theology (the statement makes perfect sense in the Hindu context), and because the author's Mormonism itself includes belief in multiple gods (but worship of only one).
The author makes it clear that raising livestock for slaughter and eating animals in general is as natural as can be. For one example, a particularly important scientific expedition can only be carried out if eating meat is included in the planning. After establishing this "fact", Card has a character say "being Hindu, I eat an exclusively vegetarian diet." Hinduism does not mandate vegetarianism and most Hindus are not vegetarian. Card is attacking a straw-man here.
In short I completely agree with previous reviewers Roy Perez and Akemi. The book is a disappointment and should be kept away from impressionable children and teenagers. We can expect another book down the road in which Ender finally does have the (perfect) family without which his life would, of course, be meaningless. "Ender in Exile", however, will be the last Card book I buy.
Book Review: Less Than the Sum of Its Parts
Summary: 3 Stars
What sets Ender in Exile apart from the the rest of the series is this: it is less than the sum of its parts.
A handful of its chapters had already appeared in short story form on Card's online sci-fi zine, Intergalactic Medicine Show. These stories were interesting and self-contained in their own right. But within the context of a novel, they strike me as being Card's Tom Bombadil: incidentally enriching to the established universe, but irrelevant to the narrative at hand.
The narrative at hand is Ender's post-war recovery, discovering the egg and writing the Hive Queen (the book), the changing relationship between Ender and the rest of his family, and (perhaps most of all, thanks to the dangling cliffhanger) dealing with the last of Bean's scattered children. If you've read the previous books, I don't think it will be any terrible spoiler to call this child by the name he calls himself, Achilles.
Each of these compelling plot threads are given at least an adequate, and sometimes a very compelling resolution--but only when I force myself to consider them as further self-contained short stories. Within the context of the novel, each is breezed through with such haste that I was on the second to last page of the book before I realized, "Oh, that was the dramatic climax, wasn't it."
Ender in Exile is published as a novel, but it's really a collection of episodic short stories that constitute a novel only in appearance. By sandwiching them together with hasty transitions, they are all diminished, competing for attention, never really integrating. Each part, if it had stood alone, would have done better. Summed together, they are all lessened.
In my ideal world, Card would have released a collection of short stories, perhaps a novella, dealing with things like the Alessandra/Dorianna/Morgan plotline and the gold bugs. Or--perhaps better still--leave them as-is on Intergalactic Medicine Show, affirming that Card's contribution to the zine actually has some worth and isn't just a venue for double-publishing the same work.
In my ideal, Ender's recovery, dealing with the last Hive Queen, dealing with his family, and dealing with Achilles would have spanned an entire novel at least as long as Exile instead of a few scattered chapters. The situation on Virlomi's colony world and the development of Achilles deserved far, far more than the two or three chapters they got. In those two or three chapters, Card telegraphed an emotional punch of a plotline. But I knew I would have cared far more about if I had really *known* young Achilles, if Ender's post-war troubles had been consistently expessed as an ongoing plot thread that *demanded* resolution. The emotional punch Card telegraphed was barely a tap on the shoulder. It still made me wince, but only because I was led to expect more.
Card said this is his best Ender book yet. I couldn't disagree more. Yet, it's not a bad book. It's still Ender, and it's still Card, which means it's still compelling enough fiction for me to keep reading all the way through to the last page within only a few days of purchasing it. That's more than I can say for the vast majority of books I buy.
The highlight of the book for me was Ender's touching reunion with Valentine. So well done. Though I wouldn't know until later that that early chapter would be the emotional climax of the book for me, it is not diminished. I only wish I could say Ender's collision with young Achilles delivered even a fraction of the catharsis it deserved.