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john_the_captain's review against another edition
3.0
This is a good solid read but has some problems. See my blog about it here - https://johnthecaptainryan.blogspot.ie/2017/11/ender-in-exile-by-orson-scott-card-book.html
yaakovakiva's review against another edition
3.0
Finally finished this volume from the Enderverse, and I have to say that I struggled to stick with it. This book was very disjointed, wandered all over the place, and some of the storylines just really didn't interest me. The second half was definitely better than the first in that I became even more interested in the formics/buggers than I was when I finished Ender's Game. I think I'll be moving on to Speaker for the Dead next, because I really want to read more about the formics and their reasoning, history, and maybe their future?
I won't be reading this one again, but it had some good moments in it that make it worth the effort. The writing is not great, the characters are not always well-developed (especially the women... Card does not seem to understand women in the slightest), but there are some good nuggets in there, and I'm glad I caught those along the way.
I won't be reading this one again, but it had some good moments in it that make it worth the effort. The writing is not great, the characters are not always well-developed (especially the women... Card does not seem to understand women in the slightest), but there are some good nuggets in there, and I'm glad I caught those along the way.
autogeek's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book a lot better than the original (Ender's Game). Chronologically, the events in this book occur at the same time as the final few chapters of Ender's Game. But this was written 23 years after Ender's Game. And Card seems to have developed splendidly as a writer during this time.
Unlike in Ender's Game, where I felt the writing style, pacing and descriptions to be jarring and inconsistent, everything flows smoothly in this book. The descriptions are detailed, the pacing is consistent with nothing feeling rushed and the characters are all way, way better. And by better, I mean they behave in a more mature fashion, their motivations and thoughts are well explained and don't make you go 'WTF?' every few pages. Things generally progress much slower in this book than Ender's Game, but they keep the same steady pace throughout and are nevertheless very interesting.
Unfortunately, since this book is basically a fleshing-out of the final 2 chapters of Ender's Game, not only do you already know the overall plot, you also know not much is going to happen in this book. And that is basically the biggest flaw: the average (and already known) plot. Presumably, Card felt that the final few chapters of Ender's Game were not well done (rightly so) and wrote this book to fix his shoddy work. It is a great fix, sure, but it is a fix nonetheless.
Overall, the writing is of very high quality but is let down a bit by the plot which is average.
Unlike in Ender's Game, where I felt the writing style, pacing and descriptions to be jarring and inconsistent, everything flows smoothly in this book. The descriptions are detailed, the pacing is consistent with nothing feeling rushed and the characters are all way, way better. And by better, I mean they behave in a more mature fashion, their motivations and thoughts are well explained and don't make you go 'WTF?' every few pages. Things generally progress much slower in this book than Ender's Game, but they keep the same steady pace throughout and are nevertheless very interesting.
Unfortunately, since this book is basically a fleshing-out of the final 2 chapters of Ender's Game, not only do you already know the overall plot, you also know not much is going to happen in this book. And that is basically the biggest flaw: the average (and already known) plot. Presumably, Card felt that the final few chapters of Ender's Game were not well done (rightly so) and wrote this book to fix his shoddy work. It is a great fix, sure, but it is a fix nonetheless.
Overall, the writing is of very high quality but is let down a bit by the plot which is average.
mschadoux's review
challenging
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
natalie_mcw's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed it. If you like his Ender & Bean series (which I do, obviously), then this is a cool read because it ties together and fills in a lot of interesting plot details & twists.
yulie's review against another edition
3.0
While a pleasing, but not critical, entry into the Ender series, it was a mostly enjoyable foray. Of course, you knew Ender would end up victorious and, if you had read the quartet prior, you knew his thought processes and guilt behind everything with the Formics, making this novel become a bit of a rehash of everything already alluded to in the other novels. It was an interesting read nevertheless, as the novel explored the universe following the Formic war and how the colonisation of other worlds was handled.
Overall I enjoyed the book, however I thought it could've ended earlier.
I would recommend it to those who enjoyed the Ender universe immensely, however it isn't a critical read and is easily skippable.
Overall I enjoyed the book, however I thought it could've ended earlier.
Spoiler
It felt like it had ended after everything was cleared up on Shakespeare, but the addition of the Achilles and Virlomi 'saga' was still undergoing by the time that had all wrapped up, and as a result the end of that saga felt clunky and rushed. I understood that it was a device to aid Ender in absolving his guilt (somewhat), and probably a nod to Bean and the other series of books, but I thought it was a bit tacked on and clumsy in execution.I would recommend it to those who enjoyed the Ender universe immensely, however it isn't a critical read and is easily skippable.
schofield24's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not a big fan of science fiction but I have loved the Ender series since discovering it back in college. This is a great addition to the saga: a story of Ender's life immediately following the war of the "Buggers." Card spins a great tale, as always, and as always I find woven into the story little gems of truth that speak to me on a deeper level.
lilli_w12's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the story of Ender between "Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead". It was not what I expected it to be, but I enjoyed the characters, both old and new, and the interesting concepts (the Gold Bugs). I was so happy when the loose end from "The Shadow of the Giant" was tied up. Overall, a read I enjoyed for the most part and was one of O. S. C.'s better books.