You can tell a thread is not successful when its author also contributes 66.7% of the posts and closer to 90% of the words to it. But nevertheless, I love the Ender series and will continue to bump this thread when I want to talk about it. Though I started this thread with the movie in mind, I think it could serve as the discussion of all things related.
So lately I've read Ender's Game, Ender's Game (short story, of which the book is a later expansion), Ender's Shadow, A War of Gifts, and several short story prequels such as Mazer in Prison, The Polish Boy, Teacher's Pest, Pretty Boy, and Cheater, and now I am reading Ender in Exile. Here I offer very brief reviews of each.
*No spoilers*
Ender's Game continues to fascinate me, and I really empathize with the youthful primary character. He is both brilliant and tragic as he is manipulated by others and his brilliance is channeled. I still love this book.
The short story preceded the book by several years, but it's largely the same story of a small segment of the larger story. There are a few differences and things that were later changed, some of which were discussions by the adults about the dilemmas they faced when manipulating a child to do good/horrible things. While there are similar discussions in the novel, they are different, so in that sense the short story fleshed out their dilemma a tiny bit. An interesting, though not necessary read.
Ender's Shadow came I think 13 years after Ender's Game. It largely covers the same time period as Ender's Game, and largely the same setting as well, but from the perspective of a different character (named Bean) in order to broaden the same story. You can tell the (Mormon) author's style has matured, and in many respects it is a better written book. However, the character that we only get some familiarity with in Ender's Game is taken in a different direction than originally implied. He is far more complex, which is good, but in many ways I find him degrading to Ender and his brilliance. The author undercuts his own work, and therefore I look at it as a retcon or like I look at the PT: enjoyable, though inferior and not in the same level of personal canon.
A War of Gifts also broadens the Ender's Game story. It takes place in a small window of the time of that book, a time which is largely glossed over originally. It deals with religious repression (as in oppressing religion and religions that oppress) and abuse. Ender's brilliance is not only analytic, but also empathetic. Short and simple, but I enjoyed it.
Mazer in Prison was very short, but it expanded the universe a tad and gave us more familiarity with the previously unreachable Mazer Rakham. Make sure you read Ender's Game first, as this, though a prequel, would spoil some of the little surprises. The same goes for all the short stories I've read thus far, really. Enjoyable, but nothing fantastic.
The Polish Boy gives us an inkling of how Ender and his siblings came to be so smart: it runs in the family, and we learn about Ender's Polish father when a child. Also good, but nothing fantastic.
Teacher's Pest...the Polish boy is now an adult and tries to court a very bright woman. I enjoyed the nature of their budding romance, their analysis of world politics, and their ambitions. It managed to cram a lot of character development into such a brief story, and this was my personal fave of all the shorts I've yet read.
Pretty Boy deals with the preschool days of Ender's nemesis, Bonito "Bonzo" Madrid. You hate him in Ender's Game, but unlike Anakin (who was never likable, even before he turned bad), I did actually find myself caring about what changed this boy into such a bad kid. My second favorite of the shorts.
Cheater deals with the rather obscure Han Tzu. Actually, I think the Shadow branch of the series expands upon him, but it's been a while. Thus far in my reading and rereading, he's not really developed extensively. This story shows what lengths Tzu's father went to prove his boy was brilliant, and how such efforts were unnecessary, as his boy was innately brilliant without any boosts.
Now I'm in Ender in Exile. This takes place between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, which was originally the direct sequel. Many years later, this interquel was written to deal with the difficulties of a hero/monster, and what sort of future he has to look to. Ender is once again the main character, and thus far it's been slow, but a good slow, if you know what I mean. I'm enjoying it so far as we gain familiarity with old characters and learn about new ones. There are other short stories that deal with this time frame (A Young Man with Prospects, and Ender in Flight), but this book absorbs those short stories and even uses almost identical wording. So far so good, but I'll give a final verdict when done.
If you want to read my debate about Ender vs. Bean, you can do so at The Philotic Web, but be warned, there are spoilers. Sorry my link doesn't take you to the start of my posts, but rather to the topic. I don't know of how to get to the actual post, but I started my debate on May 26, 2012 (page 2).
