Ender in Exile
by Orson Scott Card
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Book Reviews of Ender in Exile
Book Review: Wrapping up both Ender's Game and the Shadow series
Summary: 4 Stars
I was really happy to have a new book about Ender Wiggin, one of my favorite characters of all time. Although large sections of this book weren't actually about Ender, the book as a whole was very interesting--and not really what I'd anticipated.
Even though we read the basic story of Ender becoming the Speaker for the Dead at the end of Ender's Game, this book filled in all the details, and the details really made the story. There were also some new storylines: some that began on Ender's colony before he arrived, some back on Earth, one that took place during his flight, and one that involved another colony and characters from the Shadow series (I thought this last storyline would need its own book to resolve--and maybe it should have had it).
There were a few times that the pacing felt off, sometimes going too fast, sometimes too slow, and it can be difficult so see beloved characters grow up, but I definitely enjoyed this book. It didn't mean as much to me or touch me the way Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) did, or even as much as Ender's Shadow (Ender, Book 5) did, but it's still an Ender book.
Book Review: A Study of Strategies
Summary: 4 Stars
Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card is a novel that captures the imagination immediately. It's a great story on its' own, so if you haven't read Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, don't worry about it. This is a story of dealing with the aftermath of war, not just one of our sad, little political disagreements, but a war that raged through the universe and completely killed off a major species. And it was a war fought by children. War is a young man's game and when it's over, no matter the age of a combat veteran, he's usually an old man to himself, by the time he leaves the battlefield. Ender isn't even a man yet, but he's in that place and has to deal with it. Those who never fought seek glory they can never have, and those who did fight shun glory as ugliness dressed up to look like honor. Ender is the hero of the greatest war man has ever fought and powerful politicians want to cash in on his popularity, the Military want use of his talent, skill and experience, governments want to use him as a threat and those envious of his accomplishments want him dead. What makes it all worse is that Ender watches while everybody else goes home and realizes that he's considered too dangerous to join them. As always the character of Ender is memorable, no matter which story you discover him in.Book Review: Fills a Gap for Ender Fans
Summary: 4 Stars
While it's not as strong as the earliest books in this series (by date written, not chronology), I can nevertheless recommend Ender in Exile to fans of the series. It fills in a gap in Ender's (and Valentine's) story, and introduces a few interesting minor characters. All the story lines involve the relationship between parents and children in some way, so someone with kids might relate to the book more closely than I did. Still, the story was interesting enough that I read it in a single day.
A number of other reviewers have commented on the inconsistencies between this book and earlier entries in the series. Card explains (in an afterword) that this was a deliberate choice--more of a "correction", really--and that he intends to rewrite the earlier books where possible to rationalize the storyline. I don't get the impression that this is a George Lucas style project that will ruin the series. To be honest, though I've read all but one of the books in the series (and re-read the earliest one or twice), it had been long enough since I'd read them that I hardly noticed the inconsistencies, and they didn't bother me when I did notice. Your mileage may vary.
Book Review: Not a classic, but it'll do
Summary: 4 Stars
This isn't a classic like Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1). But it's a decent space opera about colonization in the mold of Starman Jones, or Midshipman's Hope (Seafort saga). I liked this book even though I didn't particularly care for Ender's Shadow (Ender, Book 5) or Speaker for the Dead (Ender, Book 2) and the later sequels. So if you wanted more Ender after Ender's Game, but couldn't get into the other sequels/parallel stories, there may still be hope for you in this book.Book Review: Nothing special
Summary: 2 Stars
I was hoping for a lot more from this book. Just never seemed to go anywhere. Yes, we get more background information about some of the characters that we've come to know and love, but there just never seems to be a cohesive storyline that runs throughout the chapters. It seems more like a collection of short stories than anything else. Also, it's my opinion that it's very difficult to write a book where there are big differences in time between the chapters. When 5 years have elapsed between one chapter and the next one, it tends to get very disjointed. Also, since OSC is taking the effects of relativity into account, time becomes even more relative.