Registered: Sep 2000
Location: The Bottom of the Toyem Pole
Posts: 9453

I have this on audio and listened to it over the last week. I knew the premise of the story and even have read a two page parody of it that I was expecting would have spoiled it for me, but whether it was because it was read aloud or just well written, I thoroughly enjoyed it and allowed myself to stay at the intended reader's level. A rather enjoyable story indeed, and I'm loading up Ender's Shadow for the plane ride. Ender's Game was a 9+hour read and Ender's Shadow lines up at 6+, and I hope that doesn't mean that I'm missing some files. Memnoch the Devil was a great story until I discovered that 1/2 of a chapter was missing from the audio files I had.

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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 5071

I loved that book, as well as all of the Ender's Shadow followups. I thought Speaker for the Dead (the sequel) was beautiful, but many disagree with me.
Who reads your audio version?

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Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Hilbert Space
Posts: 35561

I read 'Ender's Game' and 'Speaker for the Dead'. Pretty good, although I wish I hadn't bothered to read Scott Card's introduction; what a self-important prick.

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Registered: Dec 2002
Location:
Posts: 15981

Ender's Game was much better as a short story.

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7504

I though Ender's Game deserved all of the praise associated with it, and Speaker for the Dead was a self-important bit of compassion-wallowing. Although oddly, I am one of the few people who liked Xenocide.

The Shadow series also got weaker as it went. As did Alvin Maker. Card has a real tendency to develop a marvelous concept and then beat it into the ground.

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Registered: Feb 2003
Location: Oceanside, CA
Posts: 5071

I liked Xenocide too. Children of the Mind was, in my opinion, the weakest of that series.
I tend to agree with CHiPsJr that Mr. Card tends to get weaker in a series...in fact, most of the stuff that he has put out lately seems, to me, less substantive and more preachy than his earlier work. Songmaster and Hart's Hope were both extraordinary. I haven't read the latest of the Alvin Maker series (The Crystal City), has anyone else? Is it any good?

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Registered: Sep 2000
Location: The Bottom of the Toyem Pole
Posts: 9453

Ender's Shadow was good, but the initial crossover point where Bean tells Ender that he wants to be 'toon leader just didn't feel in character to me. Obviously had to be there because that is how it worked in Ender's Game, but it didn't fit Bean's personality. The way he got rid of Achilles seemed contrived to set up the whole "Ender is a good leader but can fight alone while Bean is a loner but can form coalitions to solve problems" dichotomy between the two. I never got the sense that Bean ever could have been the savior that Ender was, even though Card tried to set that up towards the end of Ender's Shadow. Bean is a cool motherfucker though, and pity about that early death as a giant thing he has coming.

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