Ender in Exile

I read the Ender quartet straight though and then immediately picked up this book. I see all the 5 star reviews, but actually find this book to be slow, even boring, with a much less creative story line. Card seems to have written this book to appeal to a middle-school audience. It lacks the sophistication of Ender's Game and Xenocide. A pleasant enough read, but nothing that really challenges the reader.

Great book. I read the "mainline" Ender books, ("Ender's Game, Speaker of the Dead, Genocide, Children of the Mind, and Xenocide) and loved them all. I read Ender's Shadow and didn't like that line as much, so didn't follow that thread. Ender in Exile combines the two storylines, but is much more similar in style to the mainline. There were a few people and plot points that were confusing (almost certainly because they were from the "Shadow" story arc), but the story did a great job bridging the gap between Ender's Game's final chapter and the Epiloge, as well as between the Epiloge and Speaker.As a side note, as a recently-returned veteran, there was a lot in this story that spoke to me personally. If you are looking for a gift for a recently-discharged veteran who likes to read (and most of us do, Combat Zones are filled with boredom), this is a great way to tell them "Welcome Home" and make them realize that they aren't broken for feeling a combination of shame, pride, confusion, and chronic boredom now that they are civilians. I am not sure if OSC is a veteran, but he certainly encapsulated a feeling that is only a few years younger than war itself.

While the scars of war persist, and Ender's effort to overcome them are doomed to failure, the events of the attempt are engaging, thoughtful, and interesting. Mysteries are revealed, spiritual depths explored.My only caveat is that The character of Ender's sister isn't better developed. She seems too out of her depth and confused about Ender to be the sagacious historian we are led to believe.This book is perfect for older teens. I thoroughly enjoyed it in my seventies.

What was Ender up to after the Formic Wars and before he emerges as Speaker for the Dead? This book fills in a few details. The account of his life on Shakespeare is particularly rich, some of the other pieces a bit sketchy. The idea of skimming at light speed from planet to planet both allows Ender not to age and still have various adventures. Card is an excellent writer, and he has a knack for crafting rich and subtle characters. I give this book only four stars because I believe Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead are superior stories, more coherent tales. But this is a fine book, and readers of the series will want to read it in its order.

This book is a sweet revisit to old friends of Ender's Game. It's not very good as a story by itself--what little plot there is doesn't have much depth or even length. It's mostly emails and philosophical discussions by the main characters of the story. And the entire theme of the book is coping with life after your great work is done. There are some profound thoughts in there, but again, it's not really a story. Consider it a book length epilogue.

I was so happy to find this additional installment to the Ender's Game series of books. It was a really great read. Since I have seen the movie, I was happy to be able to have a visual image of most of the characters featured in this book. I thought it was easier to follow and comprehend the plot line than the "Speaker for the Dead" series. I sure wish there were more books like this that are "inter-chapter" that relate to the original novel and movie. It would be so awesome if there were this kind of book that expanded on Ender's experiences at Tactical Ground School that featured in the very beginning of the movie!

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....," I was an avid science fiction reader. A 30-year Army career followed by 13 years as a high school history teacher put a hiatus on such reading pleasure. While teaching Military History, my students would often do book reports on "Ender's Game," and their reports piqued my interest in reading the book. When I learned that a film by the same name was soon to be released, I decided it was time to read the book. I did so and became hooked on the Ender series. However, because I like matters in chronological order, I decided to read "Ender in Exile" next. "Ender in Exile" is the last book in The Ender Quintet that Orson Card wrote, but it follows "Ender's Game" chronologically. I have not yet read the other three books in the series; so, I cannot comment on whether or not I made the correct decision. However, based on reading other reviews, "Ender in Exile" appears to fill in holes and tie up loose ends.As a retired Army colonel, I appreciated the scenarios and leadership challenges that Orson Card presented. Readers of all ages and genre will enjoy "Ender in Exile."

I had heard criticisms of the franchise being milked. But I have to say that this bridging story between Ender's Game & Speaker for the Dead filled the gap in an engaging way that was consistent with the series, and depicted well Ender's evolution from the teenager of the former, to the adult of Speaker. The content never felt like a "filler", and was psychologically satisfying right up to its ambivalent ending (though that would have been more of a cliffhanger if one had not known Ender would go on to more stories after that...

I loved the Ender books and looked forward to reading this with great anticipation, but this was incredibly disappointing. Characters that were previously interesting and strong seemed all of a sudden weak and forgettable.And I'm sorry but the pictures of the characters after every few chapters were just horrible and ill thought out! When you've read so many Ender books over the years, and given the excellent characterization you build up an image of the characters in your mind, and then to see them illustrated poorly like cartoon characters ruins that image in one fell swoop. Seeing Bean as some cartoon giant just erased the strong somewhat dark image that had been depicted over a number of great books.While this book might fill in a few gaps I wish I hadn't read it because previously I remember the Ender series as powerful, exciting, sometimes moving - but reading this has nullified that and somewhat spoiled the feel of the whole series.Sorry to be negative but I don't think OSC did justice to his magnificent series with this book, quite the opposite in fact.

Just finished reading this book. How does this man come up with such incredible stories? Just about to start the next book. It's lucky I have a Kindle as I can get the next book in seconds. Keep them coming pleaxe.

Very good indeed.

All the Ender books after "Ender's Game" and "Speaker For The Dead" are disappointing in comparison. They're reasonably entertaining and are of interest to the completist. This one starts slowly, with lots of use of e-mail as narrative, but the second half picks up pace and improves.

I enjoyed this so much thst I bought the series. A real page turner, although I thought the "buggers" could have had a better name!