First Meetings : In the Enderverse

Rating:
Summary: Desperately seeking Alvin, Nafai and Jason
Review: "First Meetings" is a slightly interesting diversion that is not really worth your time. If you read Ender's Game and the follow-up novels, you don't need to read this. Aside from the first story in the collection, they don't add anything new. The messages that were subtley introduced in the original books are hammered into your skull even further. And if that wasn't enough, there is a "teaching aid" section at the end that offers questions about the stories for further discussion (For example, "You are designing a website for Battle School. What three major points should be introduced?" Give me a break.)

I am at a loss to understand why a man of Orson Scott Card's talent insists on rehashing the same characters and themes. The original "Ender's Game" was a terrific stand alone novel, but it WAS written twenty years ago. OSC has matured as a writer, and has since conveived characters and universes that are infinitely more engaging. I would love to hear more tales of Capitol, Harmony or even Treason. Why insist on ressurecting the Enderverse, when he has said everything that needed to be said? My only explaination is that the Ender books are "popular," and therefore will ensure a nice paycheck for Mr. Card. It's sad to think of one of my favorite and most-respected authors is selling out like this. I can only hope he will eventually set the Ender books to rest, and perhaps finish up the Alvin Maker series whose conclusion has been very long in coming.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but needs tightening up
Review: As a general principle, I agree with and applaud OSC's embellishment of the Enderverse. The characters he creates in the book "Ender's Game" (the novella of the same name has a great idea, but not terrific character development; it is, after, a novella and not a book) are worthy of examination. In "First Meetings" Card takes the concept to the next level, by creating mini-prequels of "The Polish Boy" for Ender's father, "Teacher's Pest" for Ender's mother and "Investment Counselor" for Ender's first encounter with Jane. The other novella is a reprint from Card's submission to Analog lo these many years ago, that started it all

Please take my criticisms in the spirit of an enthusiastic fan of OSC in general and the Enderverse in particular.

First, I thought that the book was too short. Card certainly has the capability (and, if you believe his autobiography, the compulsion) of writing more intricate, complicated and just plain longer materials. The first two novellas could have easily been a full-length novel.

Second, when you backfill like Card has with additional writings, you've got to make sure everything fits. I got the feeling in "Ender's Shadow" that Card was shoehorning Bean's actions in to fit in with "Ender's Game," but I couldn't pin down any specific contradiction between the two books. That's not the case with "Investment Counselor" and "Speaker For the Dead." I remember the first time I read "Speaker" that it seemed odd that Valentine would not know about Jane, since Valentine and Ender had for years shared an intimate relationship. How could Ender, and why would Ender, keep his relationship with Jane a secret? In chapter 18 of "Speaker," the following conversation via ansible takes places between Ender and Valentine:

Valentine: "There's apparently some kind of resistance movement that's helping us -- someone named Jane has jimmied the computers to cover our tracks."

"I know Jane."

"So you do have an organization there!"

Yet, Card has Valentine grumbling in "Investment Counselor" "I can't promise I won't get jealous though. Am I about to lose my brother to a piece of software?" to which Ender replies "Jane is nothing but a software program."

Rating:
Summary: Love OSC - Liked First Meetings
Review: As a huge fan of OSC, I wait eagerly for his next book to come out. However, this one was disappointing on a couple of levels. First, it is really short. I read it in two hours, tops. Secondly (but related to the first) the stories were too short to allow the characters to flex and move, as they do in his other works. I wanted more about John Paul as a child, meeting Theresa, and definately more about the introduction of Jane. (That part still has me confussed.) Card is a master storyteller, no doubt. And while this offering is good (enough), it is not his best work. I would love to see this book "recalled" and beefed up.

Nevertheless, I give it four stars because the characters remain true to themselves. The text creates a believable backstory to Ender and the puppet-like control the government has over him and his family.

Rating:
Summary: Left hungry for more
Review: Ender's Game is one of those books that I have a soft spot in my heart for - it's suspenseful, intelligent, and beautiful in its simplicity - but the rest of the Ender series has been pretty hit-or-miss for me. Although skeptical about which Card would show up for "First Meetings", I was nevertheless reeled in by the "Ender" name.

Fortunately I was not let down. In fact, I was left hungry for more. This feeling is probably both the plus and the minus of this book. Here's what I mean:

For the first time since Ender's Shadow, Card returns to what he does best: creating a suspenseful plot and engaging characters living in a world that is both fantastical and familiar. The short stories about Ender's father were interesting: in "The Polish Boy" John Wiggin follows in the footsteps of Ender and Bean as the wunderkind lead character (Card's specialty), and sets up "Teacher's Pest" nicely by setting the stage for the chance (or is it?) meeting of Ender's parents.

The original "Ender's Game" novella was remarkable for its similarity to what would become the full length "Ender's Game" novel. As a sidenote, if you haven't read the novel, wait to read "First Meetings" until after you've read it!

I personally enjoyed "The Investment Counselor" the most; it nicely fits in the wide gap between Child Genius Ender of "Ender's Game" and Empty Shell Ender of the following trilogy (ok, I'll be upfront: after Ender's Game I thought the following trilogy was a bit of a letdown).

At the same time, I couldn't help but wish Card had fleshed out these stories into full length novels, particularly "The Investment Counselor" which could've developed nicely into a nice story involving arguably the three most interesting characters in the Ender universe: young Ender, Valentine, and Jane. With the brevity of these stories, especially with the cartoonish graphics, when I finished the book I was both happy to have been able to re-enter Ender's world, but also a bit disappointed at finding it a bit watered-down. I did not read it expecting another "Ender's Game", but I hoped it would at least measure up to "Ender's Shadow". My advise to Mr. Card: do for these novellas what you did for the original "Ender's Game": make them into full-length novels!!!

Rating:
Summary: Fill in the holes of the Ender saga
Review: Ender's parents never got their due in the original Ender's Game novel, but Card began developing them as fascinating characters in Ender's Shadow and its sequels. If you've only read Ender's Game, you probably think of Ender's father as a simpleton, and his mother as... well, as nothing, really, because there's so little about her in the book.

But of course, there's a contradiction in that. How could two people of average intelligence produce three super geniuses (Ender, Valentine, and Peter)? Ender's Shadow began to resolve that problem by presenting them as being very smart, but hiding their intelligence so they did not overshadow their children.

This book goes back in their lives before they got married. In the father's case, it begins when he is a small boy. Besides developing two great characters, numerous holes in the original novels are nicely resolved - the religion of Ender's parents and how that plays into the fertility laws, how Ender's family got to America, and how the family was induced to produce kids like Ender.

Another character's genesis is also covered in the final story - the computer program Jane, who will be familiar to readers of the Ender's Game sequels. It's a short, satisfying read, and very much in Card's distinctive style.

Finally, there is the novella that started it all. I read this when it first appeared, and this award winning story motivated me to get the Ender's Game novel as soon as it appeared. If you like the Ender universe, you really ought to read this just to see how it all got started. Be warned - there are some inconsistencies with the novel. But they are minor, and it's interesting to see the evolution from the novella to the novel.

This is a short read. It is suitable for teens and adults - the same audience as Ender's Game, really. If you liked any of the Ender series, you really ought to get this.

Rating:
Summary: Children in College, Mr. Card?
Review: First, this is a nice collection. Anytime Card publishes, it's a delight. The stories work, and the original Ender's Game novella is a delight to see.

However. . .I get the distinct mental image of OSC about 3 or 4 years ago reviewing how many of his rug rats would be in college at the same exact time, figuring up how much college costs these days and going into full scale PANIC mode; hence this volume and another Alvin Maker and all those Ender volumes in such a short period of time.

Not that I blame him, and I bought all the books in hardback and enjoyed them more than I've enjoyed most of the books I read. But it's still very interesting to me that he's being so productive and publishing so many "safe" books (i.e. Ender's world books) in such a short time when his kids are at college age.

I pray that none of them want advanced degrees so that Mr. Card may go back to a more leisurely pace and do some original works in the future.

Rating:
Summary: four great stories from one great author
Review: For those of you who have not read any of Orson Scott Card's Ender series, then I must honestly say you are missing out. First Meetings is the perfect book for a simple introduction into Ender's world, so why not start there. This book, like his other Ender books, is just amazingly well written. For example, OSC presents a semi-futuristic world, yet we can all relate and just enjoy reading about the characters; that is not an easy task. It does help that this book is more than just a book. It is really a collection of his Ender short stories, including the one that started it all. For any Ender fan, this is an obvious book to add to the collection, but for the casual reader it presents stories about child geniuses, space wars, and even family. It is a very enjoyable book, and if you like this, and I think you will, then you should definitely read the series.

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for everyone
Review: I bought this book right when I heard about it. I had already read all the books in the Ender series, and saw the extra parts in this book, and decided to get it. It is a must-have for any fan of the Ender series. It is also a very good start for someone who just wants to get a taste for the Ender series. This book leads up to the point where Ender goes to Battle School in Ender's Game. It talks about John Paul Wiggin in Poland, as a child in a non-compliant family (read the book to find out what that means!) and how he got his entire family moved to America, and also how he meets his future wife, Theresa. This is a must read for everyone, and especially for fans of the Ender series. Now why are you still reading this? Go buy the book!

Rating:
Summary: Resist the temptation, Mr. Card.
Review: I loved Ender's Game. It was a legitimately great book that was fresh, exciting, and insightful. It is natural to want to hear more about the characters we read about and grow attached to. I have unwisely continued to buy books from the Ender series long after I realized that they were steadily becoming more craptacular. First Meetings is the latest attempt at money-grubbing from Mr. Card. This book is none of the things Ender's Game is. In fact, it's not even as good as Ender's Shadow, which is saying quite a bit. The books have gotten progressively worse as Mr. Card is beginning to show that he isn't a great writer, he's a mediocre writer who wrote one very, very good book.

It is also very expensive for how little material. If you are like me and can't resist Ender books no matter what your good sense tells you, do yourself a favor and at least wait until the paperback comes out.

That said, it's still better than any of the garbage Dune prequel books, but that's a different story.

Rating:
Summary: Good stories, but nothing new
Review: I normally don't read short stories, but I liked the Ender series so much, the I thought I would make an exception for this collection.

I enjoyed all the stories, but I didn't feel like I was reading anything all that new. Card did a good job in the original books of giving you an idea of the history of everything, so these stories just seemed to give me more detail about the specifics. I really enjoyed reading the original Ender's Game story again, it makes me want to re-read the book.

All four of the stories were good, so if you are a fan of the Ender series, I would recommend this book, but don't expect anything exceptional.