Way to Pull a George Lucas, Mr. Card

Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

You know how franchises sometimes make another movie or a spin-off of something just because the original is wildly popular and want to keep the gravy train rolling? And the newly created entertainment is just a shadow of the original and you wish it wasn't created in the first place? If you're not quite certain what I'm talking about just refer to Episodes I, II, and III of Star Wars and the joke that was the fourth Indiana Jones movie. Or read Ender in Exile.

Now, I am a huge fan of Ender's Game. Seriously, I read that book at least once a year, and right now am rereading the Ender's Shadow series. And so when Ender in Exile came out, of course I had to get it. And while it was nice to extend my time with Ender, and getting to see him grow a little older (sort of), there were numerous issues with book that led me to not enjoying it as much as I hoped:

1. Valentine (Ender's sister) has become exceptionally whiny and overbearing.
2. Part of what made Ender so wonderful was his ability to love and understand before ultimately destroying something. In Exile, his characterization is a shell of that. It's fairly one dimensional.
3. The climax of the story is completely abrupt and random.
4. Exile is supposed to directly follow Ender's Game, in fact, there's even some overlap. However, if you hadn't read the Ender's Shadow series (I have) or the Speaker for the Dead series (I haven't, but plan to), which are both divergent continuations of Ender's Game, you will get massively confused. Kind of like reading that sentence. Card assumes his readers have detailed knowledge of those two series and refers to events that occur in them constantly. But his reference to the events are not clear and would be impossible to follow if his readers actually read Exile right after Game, without reading the original follow-up series.
5. Too much talk, very little action. I've become very aware of this trap since Twilight, and Card fell into it. And the brief moment of action, the climax, was so jarring from the rest of the novel because there had been no set up for that flow.

So do yourself a favor, don't watch Episodes I, II, and III of Star Wars, the fourth installment of Indiana Jones, and don't read Ender in Exile. Stick with the originals.

"You're a Third, turd. You have no rights."

Hi everyone, I'm Alissa and I lack both a catchy intro and an awesome blog to refer to. I once had a blog where you could have gotten to know my former angsty teenage self, but that was destroyed eons ago (the blog that is, sometimes I still get flashbacks of the teenage angst). So you'll just have to settle for this intro post.

I'm a big reader, and always have been. I purposely carry large purses so I can always stash a book. My general taste is that of the absolute truth or the absolute unbelievable. Which breaks down into memoirs and fantasy/sci fi. But when it comes down to it, I'll read just about anything.

Currently reading: I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. This book falls neither into the memoir or fantasy/sci fi genres and it's also something my bookclub picked out. I'm halfway through, so the review will have to wait.

Favorite book: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. It contains the line of dialogue that serves as the title of this post.

Last read: The Lazarus Project by Aleksander Hemon

Next to Read: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Have to Defend: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. Twilight and Eclipse were my favorites of the four books. Twilight because it introduced the world. Eclipse because Bella started to grow up and there was actually a thrill of action from start to finish. And while I recognized the immaturity of Jacob, I appreciated his insistence of Bella making her own (informed) decisions. Plus Jacob rode a motorcycle, which is a pretty good reason for me not to hate him. As for Edward, I was not crazy about his controlling nature, which was painted as "protective." I was much happier with the Edward once he let up on Bella. Oh and then once RPattz was cast in the role. That didn't hurt.