Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card -- 370 pages


With this conclusion to his famous "Ender's Saga, " Card returns to the story of Ender Wiggin, hero of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. Now his adopted world, Lusitania, is threatened by the same planet-destroying weapon that he himself used so many years before. Only Jane, the computer intelligence that has evolved with him over 3,000 years can save the three sentient races of Lusitania.

Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card

Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card -- 128 pages

This is the graphic novel of the third book in the Ender Quartet, Speaker for the Dead. Ender Wiggin is going to Lusitania to speak the deaths of Pipo, Libo, and Marcao, but there is more going on that just the speaking. Strife has broken out between human colonists and the native Pequeninos. The one who once wiped out an entire species, might be able to bring back that species, as well as prevent another one from being destroyed.

It followed the story of the book pretty well, but the book is much too in-depth to show in a graphic novel. I did enjoy it though. The artwork is very well done.

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card -- 592 pages

In volume three of the Ender Quartet, stakes are raised even higher than before. The survival of humans, piggies, buggers, and even the descolada virus are all at risk, as well as Andrew's adopted family.
The descolada adapts at a terrific, almost intelligent rate, and overcoming it is becoming harder and harder. The one person who might have the knowledge to combat the virus, swears that it is intelligent and won't hear of it's being harmed.
The fleet of ships sent out to destroy Lusitania have suddenly disappeared, and as one girl named Gloriously Bright investigates, the life of Jane, and ultimately all the creatures of Lusitania are being threatened.
The buggers are ready to get themselves, and the piggies, off of Lusitania before the lost fleet comes to bomb them, but they cannot exist without the descolada virus, and taking it with them may kill the rest of humanity.

As usual, Card's sci-fi hypotheses are mind blowing if you slow down and take the time to understand them. The characters are well developed, and the story is complex. This is my first time reading this novel and was left breathless several times.

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card -- 382 pages

Ender is now 35 years old and on earth 3,000 years have passed since the xenocide of the buggers. But he hears about another alien species who has begun killing humans, and he knows that he must go to them, not only to help people understand this new ramen, but also for the young girl who called for a Speaker for the Dead, a girl who is faced with so much guilt that she denies herself any pleasure.

This book is part of the Ender Quartet. While it is very detailed and sometimes confusing, it is also intriguing and thought provoking. If you are going to read this book, then take your time reading each paragraph and be prepared to be wowed. Orson Scott Card has a brilliant mind that is fascinating to explore if you take the time to do so.

This book won the Hugo Award and Nebula Award.