Enderverse

The Enderverse is a vast and sprawling thing. The Hugo award winning Ender’s Game is a checklist item for any science fiction fan, the Enderverse is much broader. Just because you like EG, does not mean you will like all or any of the other entries, even its direct sequel, which also won the Hugo, Speaker for the Dead. The Enderverse novels aren’t even all about Ender, in fact, the majority of them are not. I personally loved a few of the books, very much enjoyed a number of the others, liked a couple, and was really unhappy with 2 entries.

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Ender’s Game

Let’s start with the big one. EG is an incredibly fast read because of its pacing and its relatively low word count. I think the average reader will finish the book in a week at most. The premise is interesting, and if not unique, at least uncommon. Earth isn’t actively fighting aliens, but is preparing for round 3, as the assumption is it will happen, one way or another (interesting parallels to many people’s thoughts on a potential WW3, especially as this book was written during the Cold War). The battle school is a fabulously crafted mini-world. I love that Ender isn’t perfect at everything, but he is a genius and he is practical. Those 2 things don’t often go together, and they are a deadly combo. To me, this provides for a reasonable premise for him to be the best and brightest. The idea that kids are the best resource of mentally agile/deft enough people to manage this crisis is a bit far-fetched, but the idea that we would train kids starting at quite a young age works for me.

I also think Ender’s particular brilliance at Battle School is the fact that he’s practical in an environment of adolescence where popularity and physical attributes dominate the political currency. Practicality and sheer will don’t feature highly in the others, and Ender makes perfect use of this.

The background story and the eventual twist were just the right amount of familiar and unexpected. I thought of the twist before it was divulged, but wasn’t sure, and then slowly but surely became sure in the pages before the reveal. This is satisfying in that it avoids the all too frequent mistake where the twist is more about shock value and feels like the author pulled it out of his/her ass. EG’s twist is both reasonable and discernable enough to feel like an “Aha!” moment, where you then say “of course!”. One of those twists like The 6th Sense or Fight Club where if you re-watch/reread it, you can see how it all adds up. EG is fast paced, a great story/character, and well written. It is deserving of its Hugo and all subsequent recognition.

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The rest of the initial quartet/quintet (Ender in Exile got added in later):

Speaker for the Dead is also an excellent book, though it feels very different to me than EG. The future/distant world is well realized, the alien lifeform distinct and original, yet reasonable to see existing. The plot and pacing are slower than EG, and take on a very different tone, but a worthy follow-up to EG. Ender in Exile which takes place in between EG and SFtD, is an enjoyable and worthwhile read, but does not live up to the other 2. Xenocide and Children of the Mind are not fun reads for me. I still appreciate the writing and enjoy the characters, but I had some real issues with the plot and story development. Namely, “Outside” and “aiúas” felt horribly contrived and quite a bit like some form of Deus Ex Machina. Its just did not feel like a natural progression of the story, but a concept that OSC liked (that I hated) and wanted to make the story fit. I still wanted to read and find out what happened in the rest of the story, but I think the only reason I gave these 3* is because I love the Ender character.

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The Shadow series is another beast altogether, and a really interesting concept. Ender’s Shadow takes place at the same time as EG, but from Bean’s perspective. I was hugely skeptical of whether or not this structure could work, as we already know the plot. But OSC does a great job of interweaving a secondary story that proves captivating in its own right. The rest of the Shadow series are similarly spectacular. I don’t think they have the same level of action and excitement and re-readability as EG, but they are very well done books and worth reading, more so than the rest of the Ender Quintet.

The First/Second Formic wars are interesting and generally quick reads, but they are the Enderverse’s equivalent to a dumb beach read. Quick and moderately enjoyable, but largely unremarkable. I found the first book to be solid, and then the remainder have so far trended down in quality. The stand-alone novellas or short stories are fine, but more for those Enderverse fans who just want more content. Children of the Fleet was meh. We will see if the sequels are worth it.

Overall- I think EG, SFtD, and the Shadow novels are truly worth anyone’s time. The rest depend on your penchant for completionism.