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darthm00s3's review against another edition
2.0
Sorry Card, you lost me at curing OCD and Christianizing the pequininos
readay's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
onetrooluff's review against another edition
5.0
This is very socially- and ecologically-minded sci-fi. It also covers a lot of aspects of human relationships. I find that I really like the technical and scientific explanations of difficult concepts, and I'm impressed that OSC has thought them out so completely.
I think this was my favorite of the books that followed Ender's Game; the concept of supergeniuses purposely shackled with OCD traits by their creators was fascinating - I loved this storyline. It also covered a lot of social issues concerning caste and perception of a person's value in a caste-based society.
I think this was my favorite of the books that followed Ender's Game; the concept of supergeniuses purposely shackled with OCD traits by their creators was fascinating - I loved this storyline. It also covered a lot of social issues concerning caste and perception of a person's value in a caste-based society.
mschadoux's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
achilles05's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
maggs_beepboop's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
kmerms's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
stephaniekturner's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the most profoundly philosophical science fiction books ever written.
Humans have colonized the planet they call Lusitania, home to the "piggies," intelligent mammal-like animals with no technology. Then Ender Wiggin arrives, with the Hive Queen, the last remaining member of her high-tech species. Now three intelligent species must cohabit one world -- for if they leave it, they will take with them the ultimate biological weapon, the descolada virus.
Human contact with not one but two intelligent alien species sets the scene for a thorough and balanced discussion of some of the most important questions about being human:
What does it mean to be intelligent?
What does it mean to be alive?
Does free will exist?
Where did the universe come from?
How can we pursue our own interests while remaining respectful of others'?
My only reservation about this book is that it really only makes sense having read the other two first, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. I tried reading it immediately after Ender's Game, and put it down in frustration after a few pages.
But if you have time to read a great sci-fi trilogy, with interesting characters, a suspenseful plot, and some surprisingly unique ideas, you will be richly rewarded.
Addendum: In light of Card's homophobic statements, I feel obligated to add a few words. It is incredibly disappointing to me that such an imaginative, creative writer as Card sees homosexuality as wrong. He is able to imagine species that reproduce in incredibly innovative and foreign ways, yet is not able to tolerate something as banal as one human loving another human who happens to be of the same sex. I admire Card's creativity, but I am saddened by his narrow-mindedness regarding his own species.
Humans have colonized the planet they call Lusitania, home to the "piggies," intelligent mammal-like animals with no technology. Then Ender Wiggin arrives, with the Hive Queen, the last remaining member of her high-tech species. Now three intelligent species must cohabit one world -- for if they leave it, they will take with them the ultimate biological weapon, the descolada virus.
Human contact with not one but two intelligent alien species sets the scene for a thorough and balanced discussion of some of the most important questions about being human:
What does it mean to be intelligent?
What does it mean to be alive?
Does free will exist?
Where did the universe come from?
How can we pursue our own interests while remaining respectful of others'?
My only reservation about this book is that it really only makes sense having read the other two first, Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. I tried reading it immediately after Ender's Game, and put it down in frustration after a few pages.
But if you have time to read a great sci-fi trilogy, with interesting characters, a suspenseful plot, and some surprisingly unique ideas, you will be richly rewarded.
Addendum: In light of Card's homophobic statements, I feel obligated to add a few words. It is incredibly disappointing to me that such an imaginative, creative writer as Card sees homosexuality as wrong. He is able to imagine species that reproduce in incredibly innovative and foreign ways, yet is not able to tolerate something as banal as one human loving another human who happens to be of the same sex. I admire Card's creativity, but I am saddened by his narrow-mindedness regarding his own species.
theoblongbox's review against another edition
3.0
I give this book the same number rating as Ender's Game and Speaker For The Dead, but it was certainly not as good as those books. It just wasn't so much worse that I could give it a rating of 2. I can see why people don't like this book as much as the other 2. There are a lot of flaws. The beginning of this book is really not for the average reader. It's something that only true sci-fi fans will enjoy. There is a lot of talk of philotes and the ansible and, for the most part, I just don't care. I am far more interested in the lives of the characters than I am in the physics of the Ender universe. Throughout the book, there seemed to be a lot of physics and philosophy and I just found a lot of it to be boring. Qing-jao is just not a very compelling character in my opinion. It was very annoying every time the story switched from the people on Lusitania to the people on Path, because I really didn't care about Qing-jao and her world at all. It takes a long time for this book to really get started. I was almost halfway done with it and I still felt like I was waiting for something to actually happen. The book also had its strong points. The overall story was compelling and I am always interested to see what will happen next for Ender. The part of the book with Peter and young Valentine really caught me by surprise. It was an interesting twist. The ending of the book was just sad. Even though this book was a bit disappointing, I am still looking forward to reading the next book in this series.