Children of the Mind

Rating:
Summary: Card picks up brilliantly where Xenocide left off.
Review: After reading Xenocide , I was eager to read Children of the Mind. Children of the Mind was a lot better than I thought it would be after reading Xenocide and having been disappointed with Card straying from his roots that made Ender's Game and Speaker of the Dead such good books in the series. What makes Children of the Mind great is not only does it make up for Card pouring his heart's philosophies out in Xenocide, but Children of the Mind does what the last book in a series should do; which is close it out in a proper fashion. The plot, the story, and the amount of philosophy are all just right in Children of the Mind. Readers who are coming off Xenocide will be pleasantly surprised to find the Children of the Mind is nothing like its philosophical other half in Xenocide. In particular, the strengths of Children of the Mind include believable characters such as Grace Drinker, Malu, and Wang-Mu. I've enjoyed the Ender Quarter immensely as I've searched the summer for cures to boredom. With the Ender's Quarter I not only found a way to pass the time but found out some things about the world around me and how Card teaches the reader as well as writing a particularly good storyline.

Rating:
Summary: A good ending...not great, but good
Review: Card is one of my favorite authors. The only reason he's not my declared favorite is just because I haven't read everything by him yet. The Ender series stands as my favorite serious sci-fi series; I hold that Card serves up the perfect formula of adventure, levity, technical science, technically skilled writing, and just plain fun. The second half of the Ender series is noticeably more self-indulgent than the first. It seems stuck in that twilight zone where it might have been better if it were shorter, but everything seems to be vital to the storyline!

While not as gripping as the previous installments, I found the continued development of Ender and his doppelgangers satisfying, but I would have liked more about Novinha (though I can always refer back to Speaker) and some of the others. Card's ideas are still fresh and engaging; I thought the ending was well-done (after all, how DO you end such a stellar series? The pressure was immense and he came through), and furthermore, Card had the intelligence to know when to quit - to know when the story is over and not try to drag it out forever just to make more money. My hat's off to him - this was a great series, the ending is exemplary; not too long, not too short. And now it's on to Ender's Shadow.

Rating:
Summary: Great conclusion to Ender's tale!
Review: First there was "Ender's Game", then "Speaker of the Dead", both Hugo winners, and now this great book that unravels and reweaves Ender's life and surrounding events and situations. This book is fantastic and I eagerly added it to other great books ranging from the Old School of science-fiction like "Foundation trilogy", "Childhood's End", "Stranger in a Strange Land" to cyberpunk like "Neuromancer", "Cryptonomicon", and "Darkeye: Cyber Hunter". Get it!

Rating:
Summary: More an "epilogue" than a fourth book in this classic series
Review: Having read and loved the first three books in the Ender series, there was no way I was going to miss this entry. Like so many others, though, I am of split mind about the finale (and how appropriate, given the schizophrenic existence of its lead characters Ender-Peter and Val-Jane). While "Children of the Mind" does contain Card's trademark wit and while the last 100 pages kick into high gear, the final installment, on its own, is as unsatisfying as it is pleasing.

One of the major problems is Card's ill-considered decision to publish "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind" as two books rather than one cohesive unit; the fourth entry seems more an epilogue to the series--a 350-page denouement--than the climax it should have been. Card admits he originally planned the two books as one work, and this admission resonates like an apology. Well over a third of "Children of the Mind" summarizes what happened in previous volumes, and another third is riddled with endless conversations on political and metaphysical topics, many of which the characters already debated at length in "Xenocide." Only in the last 100 pages does Card finally abandon the themes that were presented more thoroughly (and competently) in the earlier books and turn his attention to resolving the many loose ends. In sum, Card would have been much wiser to have written a unified 600-page book rather than 900 needlessly repetitive pages.

The second problem is that Card's philosophical ruminations often steer awfully close to quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo. The entire section set on Pacifica, a planet governed by Samoans, feels particularly incongruous. (Peter and Wang-mu wonder aloud--twice--what they are doing on this particular world, a question that is never really fully addressed.) True--some of the philosophical questions are fascinating, but there's very little that wasn't already said better and more succinctly in "Xenocide," and the dialogue is often excruciatingly shallow. Take this conversation between Valentine and Novinha, which reads in part:

"You didn't really need him anymore." "He never needed me." "He needed you desperately," said Valentine. "He needed you so much he gave up Jane for you." "No," said Novinha, "He needed my need for him. He needed to feel like he was providing for me, protecting me." "But you don't need his providence or his protection anymore."

I wish I could tell you this bit of dizzying dialogue is an exception, but there are similar angst-ridden conversations between Miro and Val, Peter and Wang-mu--in short, between any two characters who feel the need to explain to each other their raison d'etre. In the earlier books, Card allowed metaphysical questions to arise as much from the actions of the characters and the development of the plot as from the dialogue; in "Children of the Mind," everyone seems to be in post-Freudian interplanetary counseling.

Yet the book is not a wholesale disaster; and I particularly enjoyed the page-turning final resolution, even though it relies on a melodramatic sleight of hand. If the last third of "Children of the Mind" were merged with a pared-down version of "Xenocide," the whole would probably have been equal to the excellence of the first two books in the Ender series.

Rating:
Summary: no sLeEp for me
Review: i read it. in one night. and i read slowish. i have never read a more passionate (albeit rushed) book in my life. the deep dialouge, the character completion, just the mental images and scenes. the use of many cultures throughout the series....just beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: People Just Don't Understand this book.....
Review: I think, personally, people are being a little biased against this book.

The books Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind are basically seperate from Ender's Game. It's a different story, more or less, with Ender as the main character.

The major difference between these two "series" is that Ender's game is more brash and fast paced. The next three are more scientific, moral, and focus more on what the right thing is to do.

But more about this specific book:

While many readers are mad that Ender does die a while before the book ends, the title, "Children of the Mind" implies his "children" will fufill his quest; also , read the back of the book; he is not meant to be the main focus in this book.

The reason I don't think people really understand this book (Although they are entitled to their own opinions) is that you have to be really paying attention to it to understand it. At the beginning of Xenocide, they started talking about "philoites" and souls, and what keeps bodies and people who know eachother "twined together" so to speak. It may seem weird at first, but once you read through the series, this book works.

Just to be clear, the book is NOT as straightforward as Ender's Game or Speaker for the Dead, but if you are willing to devote your undivided attention to Xenocide and Speaker for the Dead they are great reads.

Quite frankly, I don't think some people are smart enoguh to really understand Xenocide and Children of the Mind, but I can see how some people don't like the book. I respect their opinions. Although I hope you read this book regardless of whether you heard good reviews or bad reviews, because it is the conclusion to the series.

All in all, the book finished all the questions we had from the previous books and made some new ones come up that do not tie in to the story directly. Is another book coming? I hope so.

If you read the series up to Children of the Mind, don't stop there. It is a great read and a good conclusion. You'd be missing out if you didn't. It might turn out that you will hate it. But it's not a extremely long book anyway. I would dive right in.

Rating:
Summary: Matches those that come before it, not Enders Game
Review: If we were looking for a trip back to brilliance by Orson Scott Card when we picked up this last book, we were sorely dissappointed. Enders Game is truly the only excellent piece of literature to come out of this series. Card seemed to be struggling for a plot. His examination of Japanese culture and of obsessive compulsive disorder is interesting, but he seems unable to really tie it in with the rest of the book and to me it seems like a gimic. I however have read everything that Card has written and might be a harsher critic of his writings than those who have just been reading his Ender series. It is certainly a fun and easy read, it just doesn't match up with Enders Game, Songmaster, or The Worthing Saga (my three favorite books by Card).

Rating:
Summary: Children of the Mind a Poor Closeout to a terrific Saga
Review: In classic Card style, Card breaks off completely from the story that he has been telling for the past 3 books to unburden his soul and really spell out in blatant terms his opinions on life, the universe, and everything else. This book completes the Ender Saga in a rather roundabout way, really not dealing with Ender in any way/shape/form. Instead it goes on to tell the story of Ender's evil brother Peter who was born out of Ender's fear and his pairing with a servant girl who beleives in serving her god. This book is so philisophical I think Card is overshooting his audience a bit. For those who enjoyed the series as a story, they will not find any joy in this book at all, as it really is a weak storyline. For those that were taking the depper route they too will feel cheated as Card underestimates their intelligence and blatantly explains the story he is trying to share with everyone in a rather direct manner.

If you have read the first 3 books then you will want to read this one to enjoy the end of the story, but if you have not read an Ender's book before, this is not the place to start.

Rating:
Summary: much different than the previous 3 in the series
Review: This book is necessary because it gives you the conclusion to Ender's life, you definitely want to know what happens in his last days. But don't expect the read to be very similar to the other 3 books in the series. There's more inactivity. There's some asian history and philosophy. Being a student of science and never having had a deep interest in the liberal arts, I was only kept attentive to those philosophical discussions because I'm asian; others might find those parts boring.
Overall it's still a great book, like all others in the Ender's Game series. You're left feeling disappointed that it's the end and there is no more to read about Ender, because reading the series was an experience.

Rating:
Summary: This series just gets [worse and worse]
Review: This is the fourth book in the Ender series by Orson Scott card. The series starts out with the fast-paced, action packed Ender's Game, then moves on to the relationship oriented Speaker for the Dead. The next book in the series is the preachy Xenocide and finally ends with the long winded, highly incredulous Children of the Mind. As a friend of mine said, Card milked it for all it's worth. In fact, the author created another series devoted to a character in a parallel timeline to Ender's Game.

What did I not like about this book? The dialogue for the most part was horrible. At any point in the story a character is bound to be giving a monologue on something. Some characters speak and bicker like kids one moment and turn around and sound like psychologists with measured words the next. This is really a story about Jane. Ender's role as a provider, healer and source of strength ended with Speaker for the Dead. It's too bad the author decided to leave the second and third books incomplete. You really need to read this book to have closure on Ender's life. But to read this book is to devote time and energy to a particulary limp and lame story.

Don't you miss the days of the award-winning Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead?

LEAP rating (each out of 5):
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L (Language) - 2 (did Orson Scott Card really write this drivel?)
E (Erotica) - 0 (n/a)
A (Action) - 0.5 (the launch of the MD device was probably as exciting as it got)

P (Plot) - 3 (let's save jane, see jane save herself, see jane save the rest of humanity, ugh...)