Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide.

Darph · 11-08-2007, 04:58 PM

It seems that every time I go on vacation I go on a reading spree for a few weeks there-after.

I read Ender's game and Speaker for the Dead on my way to and back from Hawai'i. I've never read them before, but they really are great books.

The first book is the story of a young kid who lives in a socialist united world, who is trained on video games to fight space wars for the Human front. The end of the book is Ender's reflection on the ethics of encountering another species, which is where Speaker for the Dead picks up.

The book series is really deep and get's into some strange possibilities on encountering other species and paints a great picture for the future of humanity, including planets completely run by one religion, etc.

I haven't started on Xenocide yet, as it looks very long and there's a few shorter books I'd like to put away first. I'll probably rip through a few more books before Xenocide, stuff I've always wanted to read but never did. I've started on Starship Troopers and have a couple more in the queue (Fear and Loathing, The Gulag Archipelago). I am looking for some interesting stuff to check out, perhaps outside of the fantasy/sci-fi realm. I've always been the type who read instruction manuals as opposed to fiction, so I'm catching up on a lot of American Classics.

Njorls · 11-08-2007, 05:13 PM

Children of the Mind is the last one in the series. They seemed to get worse every book.

And there's the Shadow series, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets and Shadow of the Giant, which follow Bean.

It's all good stuff though Ender's Game is widely regarded as the best of the bunch.

Khorum · 11-08-2007, 06:35 PM

Yeah I like the "Bean" branch of the series better than the Ender/Valentine branch myself. The Speaker side of the series just starts to meander then fall apart while Bean's story gets cooler.

Anyways, they're making an Ender's Game movie. And yeah, it'll prolly suck.

Suineg · 11-08-2007, 06:57 PM

The shadow ones are worth reading before Xenocide + for sure.

Teger · 11-08-2007, 07:14 PM

Stop after Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide/Children are fucking awful. The Bean branch is pretty good, but I got bored with it after Book 3.

Arbuste · 11-08-2007, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Njorls

They seemed to get worse every book.

Unfortunately, yes. That said, that's not saying too much. The first book is very good and Orson S. Card is a great novelist, even when he's not at 100%. I read and liked all the books.

Bazael · 11-08-2007, 08:52 PM

Just to reaffirm what others have said, Xenocide and Children of the Mind really start to get "out there".

The Shadow series is pretty damn good for the first few novels as well, and the 4th is good only because it puts some decent closure on the bean storyline, while still allowing an opening for a sequal to recombine the Ender and Bean series possibly.

Also, if you like enders game, and starship troopers, I can not recommend "Armor" by John Steakly enough. I found it amazing.

Teger · 11-08-2007, 09:13 PM

Check out Cards older works too. I loved "Wyrms" and "A Planet Called Treason".

Zinke · 11-08-2007, 09:14 PM

I liked Children of the the Mind 2nd to Ender's game. It got 'out there' philosophically in 2 and 3, but brought back a lot more of the science fiction element by 4.

That said, the shadow series is very cool and I agree you could just go read those after Ender's game and not miss too much.

Darph · 11-09-2007, 12:16 PM

Starship Troopers has been a lot heavier reading than I anticipated.

FulorianC · 11-10-2007, 11:20 AM

Welcome to Heinlein! It's all philosophy disguised as a story.

Khorum · 11-10-2007, 10:43 PM

Funny, most Heinlein I've read was porn disguised as sci-fi!

Aamina · 11-10-2007, 11:32 PM

Ender's Game was gripping, the rest of the series was a letdown. The "intrigue" that is attempted in all of the Bean-side books is just way too much "well if he does that...we'll do this" with so many factors, and other options, largely unaccounted for. Bean may be the biggest genius since Einstein, and OS Card IS a great writer, but OS Card shouldn't have gone into the minutiae because he wasn't prepared to sound as smart as Bean would have been situationally.

FulorianC · 11-10-2007, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khorum

Funny, most Heinlein I've read was porn disguised as sci-fi!

Uh, you don't read much, do you? If you think Heinlein is porn... the only notable thing about sexuality in Heinlein's works is his general willingness to explore unorthodox sexual situations - there is little if any graphic description of the act of sex itself. Less sex than your average pulp book you'll grab off the shelf from the bestsellers list at Barnes and Noble, just more "shocking" to prudish individuals due to the oddity of the situations.

Khorum · 11-11-2007, 11:29 AM

Books are for nurdz

11-08-2007, 04:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
Darph Lays the Pipe Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Corp Por Posts: 1,126 +33 Internets	Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide. It seems that every time I go on vacation I go on a reading spree for a few weeks there-after. I read Ender's game and Speaker for the Dead on my way to and back from Hawai'i. I've never read them before, but they really are great books. The first book is the story of a young kid who lives in a socialist united world, who is trained on video games to fight space wars for the Human front. The end of the book is Ender's reflection on the ethics of encountering another species, which is where Speaker for the Dead picks up. The book series is really deep and get's into some strange possibilities on encountering other species and paints a great picture for the future of humanity, including planets completely run by one religion, etc. I haven't started on Xenocide yet, as it looks very long and there's a few shorter books I'd like to put away first. I'll probably rip through a few more books before Xenocide, stuff I've always wanted to read but never did. I've started on Starship Troopers and have a couple more in the queue (Fear and Loathing, The Gulag Archipelago). I am looking for some interesting stuff to check out, perhaps outside of the fantasy/sci-fi realm. I've always been the type who read instruction manuals as opposed to fiction, so I'm catching up on a lot of American Classics. __________________ Darph - Fires of Heaven. "Train simulators are a game." - Fansy the Famous Bard Last edited by Darph; 11-08-2007 at 05:03 PM..

11-08-2007, 06:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
Suineg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,646 -98 Internets	The shadow ones are worth reading before Xenocide + for sure. __________________

11-09-2007, 12:16 PM	#10 (permalink)
Darph Lays the Pipe Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Corp Por Posts: 1,126 +33 Internets	Starship Troopers has been a lot heavier reading than I anticipated. __________________ Darph - Fires of Heaven. "Train simulators are a game." - Fansy the Famous Bard

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11-08-2007, 05:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
Njorls Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 152 +0 Internets	Children of the Mind is the last one in the series. They seemed to get worse every book. And there's the Shadow series, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets and Shadow of the Giant, which follow Bean. It's all good stuff though Ender's Game is widely regarded as the best of the bunch.

11-08-2007, 06:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
Khorum Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,594 -36 Internets	Yeah I like the "Bean" branch of the series better than the Ender/Valentine branch myself. The Speaker side of the series just starts to meander then fall apart while Bean's story gets cooler. Anyways, they're making an Ender's Game movie. And yeah, it'll prolly suck.

11-08-2007, 07:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
Teger Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 577 -2 Internets	Stop after Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide/Children are fucking awful. The Bean branch is pretty good, but I got bored with it after Book 3.

11-08-2007, 08:52 PM	#7 (permalink)
Bazael Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Minnesota Posts: 467 -12 Internets	Just to reaffirm what others have said, Xenocide and Children of the Mind really start to get "out there". The Shadow series is pretty damn good for the first few novels as well, and the 4th is good only because it puts some decent closure on the bean storyline, while still allowing an opening for a sequal to recombine the Ender and Bean series possibly. Also, if you like enders game, and starship troopers, I can not recommend "Armor" by John Steakly enough. I found it amazing.

11-08-2007, 09:13 PM	#8 (permalink)
Teger Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 577 -2 Internets	Check out Cards older works too. I loved "Wyrms" and "A Planet Called Treason".

11-08-2007, 09:14 PM	#9 (permalink)
Zinke Really iTunes? Free downloads while supplies last? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: pirate kansas Posts: 2,560 +0 Internets	I liked Children of the the Mind 2nd to Ender's game. It got 'out there' philosophically in 2 and 3, but brought back a lot more of the science fiction element by 4. That said, the shadow series is very cool and I agree you could just go read those after Ender's game and not miss too much.

11-10-2007, 11:20 AM	#11 (permalink)
FulorianC Real Life Apologist Join Date: May 2003 Location: Denton, Texas Posts: 2,037	Welcome to Heinlein! It's all philosophy disguised as a story.

11-10-2007, 10:43 PM	#12 (permalink)
Khorum Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,594 -36 Internets	Funny, most Heinlein I've read was porn disguised as sci-fi!

11-11-2007, 11:29 AM	#15 (permalink)
Khorum Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,594 -36 Internets	Books are for nurdz