Ender in Exile

[keely_graesser]

So, who's read it? What did everyone think?

Personally I think the plot wasn't OSC's best but was still very engaging.  Overall the book felt to me like a family reunion of my favorite characters, so I was very pleased.  What's everyone else's thoughts?

Comments

[kleenexcow]

I really enjoyed the book! I agree with you about the book being a reunion of old favorites. I love how he was able to tie everything in so nicely. It just fit. And how great were moments like when Petra and Ender were talking about what she was going to do when she got home--knowing as the reader that it was totally false?

One major quibble I had, however, was that scene between Sel and his female assistant--and really, the whole arranged-marriages thing on Shakespeare in general--was so useless. The woman is never mentioned so we can presume she died sometime during that period. That’s one of only two scenes that take place on the colony in the forty years before Ender’s arrival, and by the time that Ender gets to the colony, they’re back to normal ratios. It doesn’t affect anything at all and was so...passionateless, since she just wanted to sleep with him for his genes, and he was able to completely refuse her. IDK, I love Orson Scott Card A TON, but the weird thing he has for marriage/love/sex being just about breeding always puts me off a little.

[keely_graesser]

I think the Petra and Ender scene was actually my favorite. And it broke my heart when he told her he loved her and she didn't believe him!

I agree with you about that scene with Sel. I, oddly enough, fell asleep last night thinking about that and how we never heard about the girl again. I think the scene was meant to show you Sel's character but you got more of that from his interactions with the first governor and then Po.

As for the breeding issue OSC has (which I think stems from his Mormonism but I'm not sure) it REALLY screams at you in the latter Homecoming books. Dunno if you've read those or not, they're good if you can get around some of OSC's obvious social beliefs thrown in.