Off Topic Book Review: Ender in Exile

I just finished reading Orson Scott Cards's new book "Ender in Exile" which covers some of the territory between the end of "Ender's Game" and the beginning of "Speaker for the Dead" and also wraps up some story elements form the "Ender's Shadow" series.

I didn't care for the last two Ender books "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind". I thought that they were good, but I had come to expect greatness from Card and so 'good' tasted awfully bitter in my mouth when I read them. "Ender's Shadow" and the subsequent series improved my mood and seemed to find Card back in fighting form.

Fortunately "Ender in Exile" keeps the successes going. Like "Speaker for the Dead" it is a very different novel from "Ender's Game", but still reminds you just how smart Ender is and how capable he is. If there is a flaw in this book, the flaw is that the book feels like two novels and a short story stitched together. They are all great stories, but the work did not feel like a single work. This doesn't bother me because, as I said the stories are all great, but the effect does make the narrative a little bumpy as the author transitions from one story to the next.

I enjoyed the book enough that I bought it, which says something. I rarely buy fiction anymore. And having finished the book, I am still glad that I bought it. I will likely regift it- but even there I think the book will be enjoyed.