This is my new favorite book. I'm pretty sure I'm going to say that after every single Orson Scott Card book I read. Never fear, I won't run out of them quick--how many are there, like twenty? I didn't know how he was going to continue the story from Ender's Game, and now I'm not quite sure how he'll continue again (I have a clue, but...) but I'm sure he'll pull it off. I can't wait to meet up with old characters again, if he does.

Short story: my friend tells me of this series about a guy named Ender. About how he's a genius and does many amazing things. Okay, you've got my attention. So I went out and found Ender's Game. Loved it.

Obviously I had some hype going into this one, but the book fell short. Orson Scott Card, OSC, seems to have forgotten how to write until the last hundred pages or so. The head hopping between characters makes you wonder who said what, no place is laid out to give the reader a general feel of the land, the use of foreign language turns away rather than invites, the description of characters is non-existent, and the women in the book and the majority of the men are push overs.

The thing that really drove me nuts was the preachy-ness of the whole book. I understand that the church is a big part of the book and how religion shapes certain groups of people. But at parts where, say Ender was traveling or talking to Jane, his computer cohort, "facts" and references to religion were being thrown in and they had no point to the story.

Before you judge me, yes, I do believe in God, but sadly, talking about Him in this book takes away from the story and causes it to become a bore.

This reminds me of something Vonnegut said, "the words to a story must do one of two things: reveal the character or move the story along." (I'm paraphrasing, but my point remains the same.

OSC was trying to put his views too much into the book and it ruined the story.

Going back to my friend, I told him of this and he said that I was comparing it Ender's Game and that this one you had to think more. Yeah, I get that, but isn't a sequel supposed to keep a story going? With that logic, I'm supposed to look at this book as something separate than a continuation of Ender's Game?

Maybe I'm stupid, which I won't deny, but that still sounds ridiculous to my ears.

Ender in this book "feels" like a different character completely, and it's not a logical progression of character. I know there are more books for the Ender series out there, and I hope they can bridge a gap between the Ender of Ender's Game and Ender of Speaker for the Dead. They're just too far removed to be the same character right now for me.

The bottom line to my spill I guess would have to be, I didn't care for this book and would not recommend it to anyone unless they were reading the series and even then I would tell them to hurry through it.

I read it in two days. I just couldn’t put it down. And I thought Ender’s Game was so good a sequel(ish) could never hold up. I don’t know what to say, other than I enjoyed this, it made me think and I was enthralled. Scientists study a new sentient species, and the two try to understand one another without causing the destruction of one or both.

it is gripping from the start.

thoroughly enjoyed it

Although to me this second instalment of [b:The Ender Quartet Box Set|3363015|The Ender Quartet Box Set (The Ender Quintet, #1-4)|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415096435s/3363015.jpg|7178427] is the first step in a deterioration and commercialisation of what should to me have been a stand alone book (Ender's Game), this one is worth reading in its own right.
I would say that in this second instalment we leave the genre of YA fiction, though. Actually, I'm not sure Card was attempting to write YA fiction even with [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet, #1)|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408303130s/375802.jpg|2422333], but he certainly passes beyond the genre with this one, as it has no large teenage characters, and is very philosophical. Card is very interested in shades of meaning and truth, and the limited perspective of those forced to live within the limited time allocated to an ordinary lifespan.
I do feel that it is a fair criticism noted by other reviewers when they point out the limitations of Card's depiction of female characters. They are dependent, lacking in depth and too driven and limited by the roles that they play in relation to the more major characters.
The plot is fascinating, twisting and original with its intrusions into piggie biology and evolution, and the characters of the main piggies are reasonably fleshed out, but it is my feeling that Card is more interested in the debate over the issues of value of life and one life versus another and the circumstances under which annihilation of a species may be justified. This is fine, but this interest does overwhelm the plot at times, making the characters seem a bit like placeholders, and the book reads at times as not quite enough more than a vehicle or an exercise for Card's own interests.
In my view, this is a tendency which grows as the quartet continues.