Location : Cleveland, OH
After finishing Ender's Game, a commenter informed me that the next book in the series, chronologically, was Ender in Exile. Thankfully, I did not read any of the other books in the series, and this one was read within a few months of finishing Ender's Game.
Andrew "Ender" Wiggins has led the Earth's forces to victory over the formics. Now, as his friends leave Battle School for Earth and the soldiers populate the former worlds of the formics, Ender finds himself in an interesting position - he can't go home to Earth. America wants him to lead their armies and other factions want to assassinate him. Further, if he did go back to Earth, what would he do? His experiences in Battle School aren't easily transferable to civilian life. Ender is given a position of Governor of one of the new colonies, and starts a life of travel to the many worlds that are now being inhabited by humans. However, this allows Ender to learn more about the species that he wiped out, which weighs heavily on his mind.
Reading this book shortly after finishing Ender's Game increased the enjoyment. It is a an excellent sequel, as it shows the ramifications of war from several viewpoints; Ender, who is trying to live with what he has done, the soldiers, who are trying to find a "normal" life as settlers, and Ender's superiors, who attempt to live in a time without intergalactic war. I think that Card has done an excellent job of describing the issues facing every warrior, but does not focus only on one character. Most of the major characters from Ender's Game are in this novel, or their lives after Battle School are described. While there are more entries in this series, Card does an excellent job by resolving some major issues from Ender's Game; Ender's relationship with his parents, Peter's rise to power, and Valentine's need to be with Ender. Card's Afterword is a very good explanation of his motivation for this book and also to tell faithful readers of coming changes in his other books. While it may be seen as "revisionist," Card does the reader a huge favor by creating a better flow within the Ender series as well as resolving some of the contradictions between the novels. Overall, a very satisfying novel.
Technorati tag: book review Ender in Exile Orson Scott Card
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