Just finished Ender's Shadow and I just have to express my appreciation for how well the suicide charge was written. It's brilliant how the story was framed for Bean to be the only child aware of the sacrifices of the soldiers on the ships.

It made me tear up to consider the final thoughts, of all the soldiers, while having Bean send off a the Abasolum prayer to them.

"O my son Absalom," Bean said softly, knowing for the first time the kind of anguish that could tear such words from a man's mouth. "My son, my son Absalom. Would God I could die for thee, O Absalom, my son. My sons!"

Nothing else to add, I just thought it was special.

I'm about halfway through Children of the Mind, and out of all the books I've read in this series I've found this one probably the most boring. Ender's Game is one of my favorite books, and Speaker for the Dead was interesting and had me hooked after the first fifty pages (the buildup up to >!Pipo's death !<was a dull read). It feels like the series peaked at Speaker, though, 'cause Xenocide has a lot going on and apart from the end of the book and >!Quim's death !<nothing really happened. There was no sense of progression.

I know everything after Ender's Game is more philosophical, but isn't all that engaging to me. I'm just venting I guess, but I was hoping for something a little more intriguing.

I read all the books by publication order, now I’m in the middle shadows in flight I’m not sure if I should get into the formic wars series or just move on to the last shadow and let this enderverse go Ender in shadow was kind of boring and I feel like I’m losing interest overtime Should I give the formic wars series a try? Is it worth it?

Hey everyone, I just bought an digital version of shadows in flight in my native language, and I want to understand if I have the standard version or the abridged one From some reason I don’t have the info of how many pages I got in my copy on kindle Could someone who has a physical copy of the book tell me how many chapters are there? I have 10 chapters in my copy Thanks!

My 12 year old is attempting to read Enders Game but is really struggling with how small the words are in the book. Anyone know where I can get a large print edition for him?

So my wife recently read Ender's Game and enjoyed it. Speaker for the Dead was on hold so she decided to read Ender's Shadow next.

After a couple days she told me that she finished it. I was surprised that she finished it so fast, and she told me that the audio book was only like 5 hours long.

Turns out she listened to the abridged version. Does anyone here know any key differences or missing details from the abridged version? Much appreciated

For context I've finished the main and shadow series, I'm trying to get my head around the reading order for Formic Wars and Fleet School and other stories. But I've forgotten some details from earlier books.

IIRC humans got a lot of their space tech from the first formic invasion - artificial gravity fields, highly efficient engines that help you get to near relativistic speeds etc. This is discussed by Mazer and/or Graff in the scenes near the end of Ender's Game (Or possibly Ender's Shadow) where they talk about the fleets en route to the Formic worlds but I don't recall if they got the Ansible tech from the Formics or just discussed it in the same conversation.

But part of the mystery of the formic wars was their discovery that Formic ships had no radio transmitters or communication technology, they didn't need it because the hive mind could communicate telepathically. So logically the formic ships wouldn't need any technological form of ansible because their brains can do it already.

Did the humans make the Ansible themselves then? Or is it an indirect process, perhaps some principle of high energy physics associated with the ships' engines lead to the research that invented the ansible? Or did they work it out from autopsies of the Formic brains somehow?

When I first read enders game, I loved it. I mean love. It introduced me to the living intellectual world and a level emotional depth i had never encountered before. From the VERY FIRST words Bean uttered in the book, I decided that I he was my favorite. Then I read Ender's Shadow.

As represented in Ender's Game, Bean is whip-smart and knows it. He is overconfident, unafraid. That is exactly what makes him so lovable to ender. This tiny little kid, talking like nothing scares him. He is fiercely protective of ender and loyal, as shown when he leads to charge to protect him from Bonzo. He is the type to stand on tables and make speeches. He is the type to make himself known when he walks into a room, despite his size. Ender's shadow doesn't reflect this at all, and you know it.

The way he was made, Bean was completely unlikeable and unrelatable. He was a tired copy of ender with less emotional depth. He had no flaws. His boring inner monolouges didn't reflect his action whatsoever.

On top of all this, the writing was a wreck. There was little to no dialouge. Half of it was him complaining about how no one would take him seriously because he is short. There is sooo much telling over showing. It felt like Orson didn't even want to write it, he just wanted to get it written. Re-read it and youll agree with me, guarantee.

Heres how it should have been written:

Bean is unafraid, but not just of other's action. Of their opinions. That would have aligned with his role as Ender's wacky idea man. He should have wanted to prove himself, and that should have been SHOWN, not just TOLD. He should have been bold to authority, even in his own mind. One of his arcs should have been learning how to properly hold his tounge. He should have constantly had retorts in his mind to others, even if he never said them. He should have been a little weird. His backstory should've been something that effected him deep down but he had no real feelings for. He should have been able to joke about his trauma. He should have a little mindlessly mean to those stupider than him, not becuase he meant to, but because he didn't realise he was being mean. He should have been firecly loyal to nikolai for the kindness nikolai gave him. He should have had vulnerable moments with nikiloai that actually brought them closer together realistically. His intellegence should have come to him more naturally. It felt forced. He should have relied more on his intuition. He should have stood up to people more, that would make sense because of how he was able to stand up FOR people in ender's game.

If it was written like that, it would have aligned with the first book. It would have been beutiful. Everyone would like bean, (as in the readers, not neccecarily the other characters in the book) even if they hated him a little too. He would have been gojo before gojo. I dont care if it makes me a nerd, and I dont care that i could never write anything remotely as good as it if i tried.

Enders Shadow belongs in the trash.

Please, somebody, prove me wrong.

I finally read The Last Shadow. I was very curious, but frankly, in my opinion, it's all over the place.

I found it nearly impossible to suspend my disbelief with the >!talking birds!< , and completely lost hold of it when I learned that >!the birds selectively bred *themselves* for intelligence!<. I mean, come on.

It also felt that Card wasn't even making the effort this time. The story was, again - in my opinion, very dull and the characters very shallow. Even Jane.

It had almost no redeeming quality, except maybe the scene with >!Thulium and her mother!< which was bittersweet.

I love that universe, and this is the first book that I didn't really cared for.

So I recently finished the Enders game audio play and I loved it and want to continue the series. I was thinking about checking out the shadow verse saga first as I am interested to see what is going to happen with the wars on earth ( plus also I quite liked bean ). But I am unsure if I should first finish the speaker triology before checking out Enders shadow

Children of the mind spoilers ahead

I find it very annoying that Orson had every single man with a jewel obsessed with and "in love with Jane", and then every man had a real-life woman who was seethingly jealous of Jane. I wish we got just one woman with a jewel herself. By the time Wong-Wu (sorry if that's misspelled, I'm an audio book listener) confessed her love for Peter, i was SO over it. Like I just heard this speech from Valentine and Mero, and for two books now with Novinha.

So ... Orson has an AI kink and thinks everyone woman alive is a jealous bitch. Got it.

(still liking cotm so far though not gonna lie)

I just finished what I think is the main series of audiobooks ending with The Last Shadow which connects the threads of Bean's kids and Ender's Adventures On Piggyworld.

I'm not saying it was a bad book it just ended a lot sooner than I expected. They cure the disease given to Thulium by the underground humans, help the Raven and Parrots and Orangumans move to a new planet and then it's just over. But... what about the guys underground who tried to kill you with a parasite thing? Are you just going to leave them there forever? Is that how the entire franchise ends? I know there are more prequels about the Formic Wars but I think this is the end chronologically.

The audiobook ends with a footnote by Orson Scott Card explaining why he'd rather leave the origins of the Descolada virus unresolved and it mostly makes sense. Essentially that sometimes life isn't perfect and therefore fiction should be imperfect too, not every mystery has a solution, not all questions get answered, sometimes things are left unresolved. It sounds a bit like a post-hoc justification to make peace with the fact he's already decided not to write any more sequels, it doesn't seem strong enough to be the full explanation for stopping the story there. It feels like there's unfinished business and this is a weird place to end.

Has anyone read the last shadow? I was wondering if anyone else have read the main series completely, including the entirety of the shadow series and shadows in flight, I just want to know your thoughts. Also just as an extension question are the formic books finished? if not when is it expect to end. Thank you in advance!

Just some general thoughts on the last shadow: I think it's good, honestly I think children of the mind was worse on a story standpoint, but that might just be because unlike children of the mind I could not take the last shadow seriously, it honestly felt comedic? simple? it felt like it was such a deathless book that was so shallow in its writing that I couldent even get offended by its writing and nuance or its rebooting or discarding of previous ideas because it felt such lightly written that it half mattered. I dont know honestly it wasent a painful read, it is a slight disapointment considering its the last book of the main series and I wished they would have fleshed out the themes and dilemmas and conflicts more then they did, but I'm not mad at the story, it feels like orson scott card was running out of interest for the story anyways perhaps it's thematic that the story ends so, plainly? so meaninglessly? that feels too harsh of a word it feels like nothing to me but who knows what are your thoughts?

I’ve always wanted an Ender’s Game tattoo but the cover arts aren’t great and I don’t want the usual “The Enemy’s Gate is Down” or “Dragon Army”. Almost got the word “Third”, but went with something else in that spot.

Any ideas? Ideally it would be artwork not a quote or something

Edit: those Chinese book covers just posted may be the answer…

I got these since I'm trying to learn Chinese, and thought the covers looked really cool. Minus Speaker getting kinda beat up in shipping

More like insomnia thoughts but here we go:

(disclaimer: I've only read Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow and am currently working through Shadow of the Hegemon, so chances are some of these may not be completely true)

[spoiler for Shadow of the Hegemon, kind of]>!1. Nikolai would never see Bean again. Their relationship was the most wholesome thing I've seen in a good while, and it's heartbreaking that they'll never see each other again. !<

[spoiler for Ender's Game]>!2. Stilson was just a boy, too. A mean one at that, but still a young one. Honestly dk if this counts as a spoiler since his death happened so early on but I guess it counts? Idk. !<

[not really a major spoiler but just in case..] >!3. Kind of like the first point, Ender would never see Alai again, or anyone else from his Jeesh. I know he's had a long life aside from the Battle School but it's still kind of sad, knowing that Alai was one of his only real friends from the School. !<

I thought I had more but apparently not 💀 lmk if y'all can think of more.

Hi, I love the series & want to buy a copy to display on my shelf that is not the mass market paperback editions. I want them to be regular sized, either paperback or hardback, and all the same size. I can't find it anywhere :( Not in the market to buy one of the super expensive editions, either. Bonus points if it includes the Shadows series! Thanks in advance.

https://www.aaronwjohnston.com/category/blog/

"Enjoy the Latest Animated Short from Chick-fil-A"

I don't think he's working on the queens

I read game and shadow and really enjoyed them. I'm currently at Shadow of the Hegemon and it's going really well. I love how Peter's not the atrocity of a sibling as he was in the beginning of game, and honestly it's nice seeing the members of the jeesh again. I searched around and apparently >!Petra has some crazy baby fever in the next book (shadow puppets!<), but I also heard that we get to see more of Achilles' thoughts and although he's an absolute ass of a person I find his character very interesting. I think the reason why I liked game/shadow (and this first half of SotH that I've read so far) is the military strategy/geopolitical drama, and apparently OSC's strange mormon morals infects the rest of the shadow series (>!doesn't petra like have children with peter too?!<). lwk hyped myself up a little too much, lol, but idk, shouldn't make assumptions too quick. Also, apparently>!Bean and his children go in space in i think shadow of the giant which I'm not so sure if I'll like. I feel like once the timeline gets warped (bc time goes slower outside than on Earth) it's kind of hard to put things together/connect events. Idk, some people like that but I don't think it's for me.!<Do you guys think it's worth it for me to continue past SotH?

edit: i don't mind mild spoilers, so like plot and what happens, but if it's pretty major like >!when ender finds out the battles were real!<maybe spoiler tag that, lol

so since the books never really describe the characters unless it’s relevant to what’s going on i’m curious, what physical appearance do you imagine the characters have (no specific characters in mind, can be anyone)

So I've seen many videos of dogs and even pigs using speech buttons, apes using sign language, birds speaking in meaningful ways and dolphins learning commands and telling jokes, and it really hits home the idea that humanity wouldnt know intelligent life if it spoke to us. I know that one could make the argument that they are just using pattern recognition and exploiting it but I have seen animals use it to express emotions and needs and in reality that's all humans do to communicate with each other.

The best way to prove that you understand a concept is to teach it and I think the biggest reason why we don't believe them to be Ramen is because they don't really teach each other these communication skills. There is not really any generational learning but is that a criteria for intelligent life?

I've read the main body of works a couple of time.

But, this time around, I wanted to read it in in-universe chronological order, instead of published-order.

My plan (which I'm almost half-way through):

• First Formic War:
  • Earth Unaware
  • Earth Afire
  • Earth Awakens
• Second Formic War:
  • The Swarm
  • The Hive
  • The Queens (not published yet)
• Interlude
  • The Polish Boy
  • Mazer in Prison
  • Teacher's Pest
• Ender's Storyline I:
  • Ender's Game BUT only until just after >! joining Rat Army !<
  • A War of Gifts
  • Ender's Stocking
  • Continue Ender's Game
• Bean's Storyline I:
  • Ender's Shadow >! (It's parallel to Ender's Game, but I didn't want to jump between them) !<
  • Shadow of the Hegemon
• Interlude:
  • Children of the Fleet
• Bean's Storyline II:
  • Shadow Puppets
  • Shadow of the Giant
• Ender's Storyline II:
  • Ender in Exile
• Bean's Storyline III:
  • Shadows in Flight
• Ender's Storyline III:
  • The Investment Counselor
  • Speaker for the Dead
  • Xenocide
  • Children of the Mind
• Bean's Storyline IV:
  • The Last Shadow

I know I'm missing a few, and I may be wrong at some points.

I'll probably update this post when needed

I listened to the audiobook recently, great book. Moved on with my life, and here I am today listening to some music on youtube when the narrator at the start of THIS video strikes me as being the same exact voice who narrated the Pequeninos in Xenocide.

I've been on a hunt to find out who the heck was the voice actor but I've had no luck. Any guesses? The details of this youtube video does not mention a narrator, and despite finding a list of the book voice actors I never found a cast

I’m about 100 pages into cotm and the characters keep mentioning Jane’s death that is to come. This is confusing me though, because I thought it was concluded in xenocide that she would only be crippled as her essence lived in Ender. Am I missing something or did Card just forget a major plot point of his previous book?

I'm working on a video review of the movie to upload to YouTube because I've been wanting to since the movie came out but I finally started actually working on it.

I want to hear everyone's thoughts on the movie and what you liked and what you didn't like.

I'm considering doing a review of the book next if I get a decent reaction from my movie review, but idk.

I can’t find which book this quote is in -

“You can’t lead somebody you don’t know - you can either bribe them or coerce them”

I might be slightly off, but it’s close to that.

It’s somewhere in the enderverse, but I can not remember where?

Help Please!

Based on my reading order, The Hive is literally the last book in the entire series for me, until The Queens is released anyway. I just finished chapter 13, and it was so bad and so unbelievable that I literally don’t know if I can finish the series now.

! No matter how bad you feel for those miners, there is no way you risk the survival of the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE in order to help them. It’s ridiculous. It makes zero sense. It’s literally idiotic.!<