Ender's Game
(Ender quartet, Book 1 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor/Starscape
Fiction, YA? Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: In the future, mankind has been united - more or less - under a global government. It has been united even more by the arrival of the buggers,
insectlike aliens who have twice nearly defeated Earth's primitive space defense forces. Now, the third invasion is imminent, and the Interstellar Fleet is looking for
a new commander like the legendary Mazer Rackham, who rallied a handful of battered ships to victory during the Second Invasion. With six-year-old Ender Wiggins, they
believe the search is over.
Ender is an anomaly, and has been since birth. A child genius, he is also a rare, government-sanctioned third child in his family, sanctioned because both his brother
Peter and sister Valentine were so close to what the Fleet wanted. His childhood was never normal, and it ends the day Colonel Graff tells him he's been selected for training.
Now, he's on his way to Battle School, the orbiting training center where boys (and a few girls) from the world over are being trained for the wars of the future, wars with no
gravity, no boundaries, and no rules.
REVIEW: I don't read many sci-fi novels that don't wander into the realm of science fantasy, but I thought I'd make an exception after this book was recommended to me. I'm very glad I did. Though the science is sound (for the universe, at least) and reasonably-well explained, the main focus here is Ender, and how the making of humanity's savior leads to the near-total destruction of a human. The games he plays aren't limited to the battle sims, and are just as interesting to read about as his null-gravity war games. An excellent tale, and the start of a series that many consider a sci-fi classic. If the second book is any indication, the Young Adult tag (for the Starscape edition, marketed to teens and preteens) doesn't apply to any but the first in the series.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
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Speaker for the Dead
(Ender quartet, Book 2 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor
Fiction, Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: It has been three thousand years since the end of the Bugger Wars and the beginning of humanity's era of interstellar colonization. In that time, the name
of Ender Wiggins has become an epithet, the boy himself branded the Xenocide for his decisive and devastating conclusion to the Wars that wiped out all the buggers. And it is
only now, three thousand years later, that humans have encountered another sentient alien life form.
The "piggies", as they're colloquially called by the colonists of Lusitania, are primitive hunter-gatherers, not a space-traveling species or threat to the human race, but
nobody wants to make the same mistakes that led to the extinction of the buggers. Unfortunately, the piggies have started to kill the xenologers sent to study them in an
extremely gruesome manner. It will take a very special person - a Speaker for the Dead, in the tradition of the anonymous author of the book that made people realize the truth
behind the buggers after their slaughter - to unravel the mystery of the killings and the piggies themselves. A person who, through the time dilation effects of interstellar
travel, is still alive after three thousand years, though no one but his sister knows his true identity. The original Speaker for the Dead himself: Ender Wiggins, the Xenocide.
REVIEW: This one definitely won't be earning the Young Adult marker. Card weaves a fantastically complex story set on a larger scale than Ender's Game, yet with a stronger look into the humanity (and alienness) of the characters. Though humans have spread to the stars, partially on the back of relic bugger technology, they bring their old habits, superstitions, and prejudices with them. An excellent and memorable tale.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
Starswarm (Jerry Pournelle, YA Fiction - A boy on a colony world explores a secret among the native flora and fauna)
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Xenocide
(Ender quartet, Book 3 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor
Fiction, Sci-Fi
****
DESCRIPTION: The Starways Congress has sent a fleet of destroyers to the breakaway world of Lusitania. Here, humans live in uneasy coexistence with the only other known sentient life form: the pequeninos, or "piggies," who have evolved to depend on a dangerously destructive virus known as the descolada. Also, unknown to most, the last queen of the bugger race has been revived by Andrew "Ender" Wiggin on Lusitania, and she is slowly rebuilding her species. Congress fears the descolada, which infects all life forms and, unless controlled, destroys them utterly... but without it, the piggies would die and Lusitania's ecosystem would collapse. The piggies want to follow humanity into the stars, and the hive queen has made no secret of her own desire to send offspring to other worlds, but with them they would always carry the devastating descolada, as do all humans now living on the world. It was to save the piggies that Lusitania cut itself off from the rest of the Hundred Worlds. It is to destroy the piggies that the Hundred Worlds has sent its fleet. The ships carry with them a Molecular Disruptor device, powerful enough to destroy the very matter of the planet of Lusitania. Also being threatened is Jane, the unique sentient entity that has formed along the vast ansible networks of the Hundred Worlds' computers. All of these events are part of a great puzzle that may best even Ender's talents to solve.
REVIEW: I knocked this one down a point for spending a little too much time on talk and philosophy and not quite enough on actually doing anything. To be sure, Card's prose is well written, but after a while I was getting antsy for something to happen to advance the plot. Still, this is a very interesting series of books.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
Starswarm (Jerry Pournelle, YA Fiction - A boy on a colony world explores a secret among the native flora and fauna)
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Children of the Mind
(Ender quartet, Book 4 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor
Fiction, Sci-Fi
***+
DESCRIPTION: Jane, the self-aware electronic life form, has developed a way to bypass lightspeed barriers by transporting vessels instantaneously from one location to the next, an ability she will lose when the Starways Congress cuts all ansible connections and reboots their systems from scratch, with protocols designed to prevent the "subversive virus" from infiltrating the computers again. As the three species of Lusitania - human, piggy, and bugger - race to exploit Jane's ability and transport as many colonists to other worlds as possible in the time they have, Ender finds his own life fading away. During his first trip Outside, where Jane takes vessels between locations, his subconscious created two "mindchildren": a young, idealized replica of his sister Valentine, and an equally "idealized" version of his long-dead brother Peter, who once rose to rule all of Earth despite a streak of brutality. Ender's life-force cannot sustain three bodies for long, but while they exist they are being put to good use. Young Val and Miro, one of Ender's adopted children, are scouting colony planets. The mindchild Peter, having completed his first mission to the Taoist world of Path, is out to stop the fleet sent by Starways Congress from destroying Lusitania by any means necessary - just the sort of task the original Peter Wiggins excelled at. The final countdown is on...
REVIEW: Again, like Xenocide, I felt that this one drifted too far into the underlying sociological, political, and psychological struggles. It made for interesting reading, but more than once I felt like reminding the characters that, while they were arguing points of politics and playing mind-games with one another, there was a fleet on its way to Lusitania that intended to blow the planet and anyone left on it out of the stars, and perhaps that should be worth a little more of their attention at the moment. On the whole, I think the Ender quartet ran about half a book too long, though the prose was usually good enough that I didn't care.
You might also enjoy:
The Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
Starswarm (Jerry Pournelle, YA Fiction - A boy on a colony world explores a secret among the native flora and fauna)
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Ender's Shadow
(Book 1 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor/Starscape
Fiction, Sci-Fi
*****
DESCRIPTION: Bean is a puny kid from the streets of Rotterdam, a calculating genius in a four-year-old body. Here, he has learned to survive, but until Sister Carlotta recognizes his potential and gets him into the Interstellar Fleet's legendary Battle School, he never found a true reason to live. In Battle School, among other prodigies being groomed for future command of Earth's forces, Bean proves himself to be a genius among geniuses, but there is one person here he considers his superior. One person better suited to lead Earth against the looming Third Invasion of the alien Buggers. One person who combines genius like his own with the people skills and power of personality that he lacks. That boy is Ender Wiggins, and Bean is determined to help him succeed. The fate of Earth may very well depend on it.
REVIEW: This is a parallel novel to Card's Ender's Game, but is far more than a simple retelling of Ender's story. Bean has his story, and he tells it brilliantly here. This book is also published by Starscape as a Young Adult title, and intelligent young adults should be fine with it.
You might also enjoy:
Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy prodigy and criminal mastermind deduces the existence of the underground Fairy nation)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
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Shadow of the Hegemon
(Book 2 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor
Fiction, Sci-Fi
****
DESCRIPTION: The interstellar Bugger War is over, as is the brief planetside League War that followed. At last, the young commanders from the orbiting Battle School have
been sent home, including the members of Ender's team (except for Ender himself: considered too valuable a tool, he was shipped off to humanity's first interplanetary colonies.)
Soon, those elite strategists start disappearing, kidnapped by various governments seeking to turn the loss of an alien enemy into an opportunity for long-suppressed national
dreams of power and glory. At last, only Bean, the least physically impressive (but most intelligent) member of Ender's group, is left, and he comes to suspect an old enemy as
being behind the abductions.
Achilles was a cripple on the streets of Rotterdam, a psychopath who was briefly admitted to Battle School - before Bean got him to confess his many crimes, confessions that got
him expelled. Now healed, he's intent on uniting the world under his rule. With Earth's top strategists in his grasp, it seems he will win, but Bean isn't about to give up.
In desperation, he turns to the one person who may have enough influence to help him: Peter Wiggin, Ender's slightly sadistic older brother, who is determined to take up the
office of world Hegemon for himself.
REVIEW: Bean's story continues to grow in a different direction than Ender's. Both have their own tragic pasts to overcome, but both handle this handicap in different ways. This is a great story, with intelligent people acting intelligently on a consistent basis. International struggles are nicely balanced with personal struggles, in such a way that I never felt that the story was too large to understand. I am looking forward to the next two books, promised by the author in the afterword.
You might also enjoy:
Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy prodigy and criminal mastermind deduces the existence of the underground Fairy nation)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
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Shadow Puppets
(Book 3 of 4)
Orson Scott Card
Tor
Fiction, Sci-Fi
***
DESCRIPTION: Bean, the once-tiny genius, has grown into a giant: the altered genes responsible for his prodigious intellect and nearly-preternatural intuition also cause him to grow perpetually, dooming him to a premature death. Though he has fallen in love with fellow Battle School graduate Petra, he has vowed never to pass on his mutation to a new generation. It's not like he has time for a family, anyway. Peter Wiggins, in his latest move as Hegemon, has decided that Bean's arch-enemy Achilles needs to be under closer surveillance, and orchestrates the traitor's "rescue" from China. While Peter studies Achilles, however, Achilles isn't about to pass up this chance to manipulate his way back into the saddle of world events. By the time Bean's warnings sink in, it may be too late.
REVIEW: This book bogged down in the whole Bean's-baby mess. Essentially, the idea behind the whole subplot is that any human who fails to reproduce early and often - despite incredible risk to offspring of debilitating disease - is a waste of life. Petra the genius suddenly decides that her life will have no meaning if she doesn't bear Bean's children. Bean the genius decides he's being selfish withholding that fulfillment from her. I wonder if Card got paid extra for each time he used the phrase "making babies." It grew to take over way, way too much of the story for my tastes. I read these books because they are about intelligent people acting intelligently, not intelligent people playing fertility games. It might have been less annoying had I been convinced that Bean and Petra had some sort of emotional bond, but the book itself states that they mainly got married so they could legally seek out fertility options. All the time spent on Bean and Petra fretting over reproduction detracted from the other story... the minor little subplot about the entire world being on the brink of war. Call me crazy, but the latter plot seemed to deserve a little more page count than the former. I'm not sure I'll read the fourth and final installment of Bean's saga, but if I find it for half price I might, just for closure.
You might also enjoy:
Animorphs series (K. A. Applegate, YA Fiction - A dying alien grants human children shapeshifting abilities to defend Earth from invaders)
The Artemis Fowl series (Eoin Colfer, YA Fiction - A boy prodigy and criminal mastermind deduces the existence of the underground Fairy nation)
Space Station ICE-3 (Bruce Coville, YA Fiction - A boy living on an orbital station stumbles upon a dark plot)
The Shadow Children sequence (Margaret Peterson Haddix, YA Fiction - A totalitarian future government bans third children)
Trading in Danger (Elizabeth Moon, Fiction - The disgraced daughter of an interstellar shipping dynasty finds herself in the middle of a galactic conflict)
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How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
(Genre Writing Series)
Orson Scott Card
Writer's Digest Books
Nonfiction, Writing
*****
DESCRIPTION: What does it take to write a good sci-fi or fantasy story? Do you just throw random characters onto an alien world or into an enchanted forest and call it quits? Do you spend years designing the perfect starship and leave the rest to fall into place? Is it easier or harder to get published in this field? Orson Scott Card, a successful author, offers advice and pointers for the aspiring sci-fi/fantasy author.
REVIEW: This is an excellent book. Card's approach isn't as cold or academic as some writing instruction books I've seen. In addition to general hints on how to construct (and fix) a story, he discusses things the author should keep in mind, traps to avoid in writing and in the writer's lifestyle. I see myself as he describes many problems and pitfalls of the amateur and novice writer. Now, let's see if I have the discipline to follow his suggestions to find a way out...
You might also enjoy:
No Plot? No Problem! (Chris Baty, Writing - A no-excuses guide to writing a novel draft in 30 days or less)
The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them) (Jack M. Bickham, Writing - How writing goes wrong, and what to do about)
Sometimes the Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life (Terry Brooks, Writing - Anecdotes and advice on writing)
How to Avoid Making Art (or Anything Else You Enjoy) (Julia Cameron, Creativity - A guide to avoiding any artistic expression)
Writing Down the Bones (Natalie Goldberg, Writing - Thoughts on how, what, and why to write)
Who's... (oops!) Whose Grammar Book is This, Anyway? (C. Edward Good, Grammar - Because you can't write clearly if you don't know something about it)
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy (Crawford Kilian, Writing - How to write sci-fi/fantasy stories that sell)
Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott, Writing - Anecdotes about writing)
Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly (Gail Carson Levine, YA Writing - Great advice and inspiration for writers of all ages)
The Writer's Digest Sourcebook for Building Believable Characters (Marc McCutcheon, Writing - How to create memorable characters)
The Everything Grammar and Style Book (Susan Thurman, Grammar - Style and grammar and other things a writer ought to know)
The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference (Writer's Digest Books, Writing - An overview of what it takes to create an interesting, believable fantasy)
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