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The First Formic War #3
Earth Awakens
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Science Fiction (2014)The story of The First Formic War continues in Earth Awakens.
Nearly 100 years before the events of Orson Scott Card's bestselling novel Ender's Game, humans were just beginning to step off Earth and out into the Solar System. A thin web of ships in both asteroid belts; a few stations; a corporate settlement on Luna. No one had seen any sign of other space-faring races; everyone expected that First Contact, if it came, would happen in the future, in the empty reaches between the stars. Then a young navigator on a distant mining ship saw something moving too fast, heading directly for our sun.
When the alien ship screamed through the solar system, it disrupted communications between the far-flung human mining ships and supply stations, and between them and Earth. So Earth and Luna were unaware that they had been invaded until the ship pulled into Earth orbit, and began landing terra-forming crews in China. Politics and pride slowed the response on Earth, and on Luna, corporate power struggles seemed more urgent than distant deaths. But there are a few men and women who see that if Earth doesn't wake up and pull together, the planet could be lost.
Nearly 100 years before the events of Orson Scott Card's bestselling novel Ender's Game, humans were just beginning to step off Earth and out into the Solar System. A thin web of ships in both asteroid belts; a few stations; a corporate settlement on Luna. No one had seen any sign of other space-faring races; everyone expected that First Contact, if it came, would happen in the future, in the empty reaches between the stars. Then a young navigator on a distant mining ship saw something moving too fast, heading directly for our sun.
When the alien ship screamed through the solar system, it disrupted communications between the far-flung human mining ships and supply stations, and between them and Earth. So Earth and Luna were unaware that they had been invaded until the ship pulled into Earth orbit, and began landing terra-forming crews in China. Politics and pride slowed the response on Earth, and on Luna, corporate power struggles seemed more urgent than distant deaths. But there are a few men and women who see that if Earth doesn't wake up and pull together, the planet could be lost.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2014
412 people are currently reading
10536 people want to read
About the author
Orson Scott Card
891 books20.7k followersOrson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 794 reviews
June 10, 2014
Many have criticized the First Formic war for crummy physics, shallow political/cultural analysis, and prose that feels like the novelization of a comic book. Those criticisms will not be deferred by the arrival of this book. Even if, like me, you enjoyed the first installments of this trilogy, I suspect you'll find Awakens to be somewhat of a disappointment.
My first criticism is that it appears that rather than put together an original, or create A unique spin on well-trodden sci-fi tropes, Orson Scott Card (or is that just Mr Johnston) opt instead to fill the pages of Awakens with numerous cliche's. (SPOILERS AHEAD) fighter ships flying into ventilation shafts, scientists inventing counter-agents to the Formic's poison (with high school chemistry). The heroes bravely fighting each other over who will risk their lives to attack the mother-ship. I thought Unaware at least had some originality, and Afire made Earth's situation seem genuinely dire. Awakens felt like I was reading a novel stitched together from Star Wars, Independence Day, and StarCraft.
Perhaps worse than mere cliche's is the lack of real tension in the plot. All the characters simply work from whoa to go, Mazer is the consumate soldier, Victor understands stuff about spaceships, and Lem continues his journey from amoral brat to actually OK guy. Lem's character perhaps presented the most interesting development through the novels, however his personality changes in Awakens are so contrived, his father such a stereotype, that this part of book was sub-par too.
The next frustrating part of the this conclusionary novel is the neutering of the Formic forces. After annihilating countless spaceships and human lives, the main characters find out a few factoids about the ships and somehow this leads to them essentially being able to take over the 'mothership' without much more fuss than a few firefights. Considering the size of the Formic vessel and the weirdness of the technology I found it impossible to believe the level of detail Victor was able to give to the strike team when taking over the ship and how little attempt was given to make this part of the book exciting. In fact looking back to recall the novel I found myself feeling slightly betrayed. Shouldn't a trilogy equaling 1000+ pages draw together several plots into an intricate finale that only works because of each characters unique contribution. I couldn't see the point of Rena's story other than to depict racist ideas about Somali Pirates (in space) and while Victor and Jem's relationship had one interesting bump, the majority of the time these former enemies simply just did whatever was needed advance the story. Despite having nothing to do with Jem or Victor, Mazor and Wit were dragged into the final plan simply by Jem sending an email and having endless cash.
My Ultimate problem with this trilogy lies with the author note in book 1. I was promised insight into how the human race gets to the point in Ender's Game where children can be used so ruthlessly as Ender and countless other children were. All the First Formic war gave me was a rather basic development of 'when aliens attack the world will unite their military' and a brief suggestion of the beginnings of the program Ender is part of.
Normally I try to end a negative review with some positive points of the novel, but must confess I'm struggling with Awakens, the humor was off and at times incredibly cheesy, all the characters had Daddy issues, which I could not tell if this was about the authors problems or just a desperate attempt to make the characters appear deep. Even the mere act of writing this review has made me deduct stars to the point where (if memory serves) Earth Awakens may have the ignoble honor of being my first one star review for the year.
My first criticism is that it appears that rather than put together an original, or create A unique spin on well-trodden sci-fi tropes, Orson Scott Card (or is that just Mr Johnston) opt instead to fill the pages of Awakens with numerous cliche's. (SPOILERS AHEAD) fighter ships flying into ventilation shafts, scientists inventing counter-agents to the Formic's poison (with high school chemistry). The heroes bravely fighting each other over who will risk their lives to attack the mother-ship. I thought Unaware at least had some originality, and Afire made Earth's situation seem genuinely dire. Awakens felt like I was reading a novel stitched together from Star Wars, Independence Day, and StarCraft.
Perhaps worse than mere cliche's is the lack of real tension in the plot. All the characters simply work from whoa to go, Mazer is the consumate soldier, Victor understands stuff about spaceships, and Lem continues his journey from amoral brat to actually OK guy. Lem's character perhaps presented the most interesting development through the novels, however his personality changes in Awakens are so contrived, his father such a stereotype, that this part of book was sub-par too.
The next frustrating part of the this conclusionary novel is the neutering of the Formic forces. After annihilating countless spaceships and human lives, the main characters find out a few factoids about the ships and somehow this leads to them essentially being able to take over the 'mothership' without much more fuss than a few firefights. Considering the size of the Formic vessel and the weirdness of the technology I found it impossible to believe the level of detail Victor was able to give to the strike team when taking over the ship and how little attempt was given to make this part of the book exciting. In fact looking back to recall the novel I found myself feeling slightly betrayed. Shouldn't a trilogy equaling 1000+ pages draw together several plots into an intricate finale that only works because of each characters unique contribution. I couldn't see the point of Rena's story other than to depict racist ideas about Somali Pirates (in space) and while Victor and Jem's relationship had one interesting bump, the majority of the time these former enemies simply just did whatever was needed advance the story. Despite having nothing to do with Jem or Victor, Mazor and Wit were dragged into the final plan simply by Jem sending an email and having endless cash.
My Ultimate problem with this trilogy lies with the author note in book 1. I was promised insight into how the human race gets to the point in Ender's Game where children can be used so ruthlessly as Ender and countless other children were. All the First Formic war gave me was a rather basic development of 'when aliens attack the world will unite their military' and a brief suggestion of the beginnings of the program Ender is part of.
Normally I try to end a negative review with some positive points of the novel, but must confess I'm struggling with Awakens, the humor was off and at times incredibly cheesy, all the characters had Daddy issues, which I could not tell if this was about the authors problems or just a desperate attempt to make the characters appear deep. Even the mere act of writing this review has made me deduct stars to the point where (if memory serves) Earth Awakens may have the ignoble honor of being my first one star review for the year.
June 19, 2014
I was going to write this long review addressing some of the criticism, but the simple truth is that a) I'm way too lazy for that, and b) I am just in too much awe over this book to do anything but gush about it. Each of the characters really popped off the page. The pacing was quick.
I am just amazed at what Card and Johnston were able to do with this trilogy. They take a pre-established universe and works within it to create a world that doesn't contradict what was previously laid out. Ender's Game was written in the late 70s. Obviously technology hasn't progressed in the last 35 years exactly as was laid out in Ender's Game, so going back and writing a prequel novel that takes place in what is now our not too distant future must have been quite the challenge, just on the science front. Not to mention that, from page one, the reader already knows how it all ends.
So, instead of taking our world and writing an alien invasion story that will appeal to the general masses, Card and Johnston take an alternate version of Earth from the Enderverse, turn back the clock, and show us the secrets behind the scenes. Though, I've been amazed with this aspect of the series from the beginning. I should probably talk about something specific to this book.
Okay, um.
The characters. I think that if I had to choose my favorite part about the book it's just how much the characters popped off the page and made my like them, which didn't always happen in the previous books. Every single POV felt unique and I found myself just shaking my head, knowing that none of these people would have come together this way under normal circumstances. This isn't exactly a groundbreaking plot device, but Card and Johnston handle it expertly, making you really feel just how different each and every one of the "heroes" is from the others.
(I listened to the audio book about half the time, and a huge kudos to all of them for really bringing the rather large cast of characters to life.)
Anyway, I loved it. Just heard that there's another trilogy in the making depicting the Second Formic Wars. Can't wait for that now!
I am just amazed at what Card and Johnston were able to do with this trilogy. They take a pre-established universe and works within it to create a world that doesn't contradict what was previously laid out. Ender's Game was written in the late 70s. Obviously technology hasn't progressed in the last 35 years exactly as was laid out in Ender's Game, so going back and writing a prequel novel that takes place in what is now our not too distant future must have been quite the challenge, just on the science front. Not to mention that, from page one, the reader already knows how it all ends.
So, instead of taking our world and writing an alien invasion story that will appeal to the general masses, Card and Johnston take an alternate version of Earth from the Enderverse, turn back the clock, and show us the secrets behind the scenes. Though, I've been amazed with this aspect of the series from the beginning. I should probably talk about something specific to this book.
Okay, um.
The characters. I think that if I had to choose my favorite part about the book it's just how much the characters popped off the page and made my like them, which didn't always happen in the previous books. Every single POV felt unique and I found myself just shaking my head, knowing that none of these people would have come together this way under normal circumstances. This isn't exactly a groundbreaking plot device, but Card and Johnston handle it expertly, making you really feel just how different each and every one of the "heroes" is from the others.
(I listened to the audio book about half the time, and a huge kudos to all of them for really bringing the rather large cast of characters to life.)
Anyway, I loved it. Just heard that there's another trilogy in the making depicting the Second Formic Wars. Can't wait for that now!
April 1, 2014
MORE MAZER RACKHAM! MORE MAZER RACKHAM!
I would like more of a focus on Mazer Rackham ;)
I would like more of a focus on Mazer Rackham ;)
October 18, 2022
“Focus too closely on the goals you haven’t accomplished, and you’ll fail to notice the victories you achieve along the way.”
Wow. This book was brilliant. It's the last one in the Formic War series - and it didn't disappoint!
Set in the years before Ender's Game, Earth Awakens details the invasion of the alien Formics, and the battle to save Planet Earth. It's fast-paced, exciting, and a brilliant page turner. Honestly, I didn't want to put it down!
Five stars.
Wow. This book was brilliant. It's the last one in the Formic War series - and it didn't disappoint!
Set in the years before Ender's Game, Earth Awakens details the invasion of the alien Formics, and the battle to save Planet Earth. It's fast-paced, exciting, and a brilliant page turner. Honestly, I didn't want to put it down!
Five stars.
June 26, 2014
The third book in the prequel series to the original "Enders Game" series, the book is worth the read to fans of the Ender universe but once again it falls far short of the quality of the originals. Card seems to have given up any pretense at writing compelling and realistic dialog: each character has the identical sarcastic / juvenile sense of humor and manners of speaking which makes it impossible to develop any sort of attachment. Card also has given up on any pretense of 'hard' science fiction, playing fast and loose with the laws of physics and tilting this more towards space opera. This is not inherently a bad thing, but it is a departure from his original masterpieces.
I find myself continuing to read this series in spite of the fact that these books are fundamentally mediocre at best. If nothing else, the shallow and superficial nature of these books makes them quick and easy to read even though I am disappointed in their quality. I would still reluctantly recommend reading these to fans of the originals, but absolutely would not recommend this to those who have not yet read the originals - this would probably turn them off forever and they would never enjoy the brilliance of Enders Game, Speaker for the Dead, etc.
I find myself continuing to read this series in spite of the fact that these books are fundamentally mediocre at best. If nothing else, the shallow and superficial nature of these books makes them quick and easy to read even though I am disappointed in their quality. I would still reluctantly recommend reading these to fans of the originals, but absolutely would not recommend this to those who have not yet read the originals - this would probably turn them off forever and they would never enjoy the brilliance of Enders Game, Speaker for the Dead, etc.
June 24, 2014
I rarely review the books I read but this one was worth the time. Card does a great job giving the reader what they want. It described everything that happen in great detail. I really enjoyed Mazer and Bing it reminded me of Ender's experience with Mazer. Also there was a great plug for the second Formic War. I bet Bing's school will become Battle School!!
June 28, 2014
Fantastic conclusion to a fantastic series. So excited to hear there is a trilogy in the works for the Second Formic War. Not going to be able to wait for the year(s) in between each one though!
September 29, 2014
Couldn't wait until this one came out and sped right through it. Just ok and not up to the standards set by the first two books in the series. 2 Stars. It felt mechanical, not original and fresh. The story lines were not as tension packed and interesting as the leading books. Enjoyed it but not near as much as I hoped.
June 16, 2019
Earth Awakens
The First Formic War book 3
By Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnson
A review by Eric Allen
The previous book ended with Victor on his way into the Formic mothership, and Mops having destroyed one of the Formic landers in China. We pick back up almost immediately afterward, which Victor's infiltration. When it goes horribly awry, he returns to the moon with a new plan, which he recruits Mazer Rakham and Mops to help him with. They must sabotage the Formic Mothership from within before the Formics in China can do more, irreparable damage, and kill more millions of innocent people. But this invasion may turn out to be only the beginning of a much larger conflict.
The good? The ending is pretty exciting and action packed, and the book is relatively well written. This was a pretty good ending to the trilogy that ties up loose ends and gives a pretty good teaser for the Second Invasion. Old school Ender fans will know what that is. A lot of the way the world is set up in Ender's Game comes about at the end of this book. It shows the origins of the battle school (sort of) where the triumverate of Polermark, Strategos, and Hegemon came from, and so on.
The bad? About two thirds of this book doesn't really have much reason to exist. It's just filler that ultimately leads nowhere. I don't really care about the survivors of El Cavador. They played their part in the story, and they're not doing anything interesting enough, or relevant enough, to justify how much of the book is spent on them. I don't care about know-it-all Chinese orphans who contribute exactly nothing to the plot but yet take up half of the book for some reason. Especially Chinese orphans that are eight years old and talk like they're forty. Seriously, read like ANY of this kid's dialog and tell me if you've EVER met a kid his age that talks like this.
There just wasn't enough of the story left to justify a third volume. So the writers got out the padding and used it liberally. In my opinion, the relevant parts of this book could have easily been added to the end of the second volume for a much tighter and more enjoyable ending without so much pointless padding.
In conclusion, this is an adequate ending to the trilogy. It gets the job done, teases with the Second Invasion, and ties things in better with Ender's Game. However, it gets bogged down in superfluous subplots that don't really go anywhere and don't really serve much purpose except to pad the word count. The authors tried to stretch for a third volume, but in my opinion they stretched too little story too far and it ended up being a book that is largely made up of boring, irrelevant padding. If you enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, you'll probably enjoy this one, it wasn't a bad ending, it just had a lot of pointless filler that really didn't need to be there. As I always say, a good story can be told in a single page if that's as long as it needs to be. You take away from it by adding more.
Check out my other reviews.
The First Formic War book 3
By Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnson
A review by Eric Allen
The previous book ended with Victor on his way into the Formic mothership, and Mops having destroyed one of the Formic landers in China. We pick back up almost immediately afterward, which Victor's infiltration. When it goes horribly awry, he returns to the moon with a new plan, which he recruits Mazer Rakham and Mops to help him with. They must sabotage the Formic Mothership from within before the Formics in China can do more, irreparable damage, and kill more millions of innocent people. But this invasion may turn out to be only the beginning of a much larger conflict.
The good? The ending is pretty exciting and action packed, and the book is relatively well written. This was a pretty good ending to the trilogy that ties up loose ends and gives a pretty good teaser for the Second Invasion. Old school Ender fans will know what that is. A lot of the way the world is set up in Ender's Game comes about at the end of this book. It shows the origins of the battle school (sort of) where the triumverate of Polermark, Strategos, and Hegemon came from, and so on.
The bad? About two thirds of this book doesn't really have much reason to exist. It's just filler that ultimately leads nowhere. I don't really care about the survivors of El Cavador. They played their part in the story, and they're not doing anything interesting enough, or relevant enough, to justify how much of the book is spent on them. I don't care about know-it-all Chinese orphans who contribute exactly nothing to the plot but yet take up half of the book for some reason. Especially Chinese orphans that are eight years old and talk like they're forty. Seriously, read like ANY of this kid's dialog and tell me if you've EVER met a kid his age that talks like this.
There just wasn't enough of the story left to justify a third volume. So the writers got out the padding and used it liberally. In my opinion, the relevant parts of this book could have easily been added to the end of the second volume for a much tighter and more enjoyable ending without so much pointless padding.
In conclusion, this is an adequate ending to the trilogy. It gets the job done, teases with the Second Invasion, and ties things in better with Ender's Game. However, it gets bogged down in superfluous subplots that don't really go anywhere and don't really serve much purpose except to pad the word count. The authors tried to stretch for a third volume, but in my opinion they stretched too little story too far and it ended up being a book that is largely made up of boring, irrelevant padding. If you enjoyed the first two books in the trilogy, you'll probably enjoy this one, it wasn't a bad ending, it just had a lot of pointless filler that really didn't need to be there. As I always say, a good story can be told in a single page if that's as long as it needs to be. You take away from it by adding more.
Check out my other reviews.
June 26, 2015
This book is what I was afraid of when I saw Aaron Johnston's name on the cover for this series. I had tried to read a collaboration of Card and Johnston before and it was terrible. While I was happily surprised with the first novel in this trilogy, each book has gotten worse. Perhaps because Card's involvement has decreased along the way? I don't know. But it's highly unusual for me to put down a book halfway in, especially if it's part of a series, and I did just that with this one for several weeks and almost didn't return to it.
Why is it so bad? Let's see. The dialogue is laughable. Characters frequently address other characters by name repeatedly in a conversation. To remind us who is being spoken to, I guess, but nobody speaks that way in real life. The conversations also follow a formula over and over again with one person having an idea, another objecting, and the first person convincing the second why he is right. Tedious once you recognize it.
There is a battle section in the end which at least is more exciting than these repetitious conversations. But I found the battle not making total sense, with certain parts being dragged out and others skimmed over.
Slightly spoiler-y section:
If you are looking for a series that goes from the first Formic attack up until the way things are by the time Ender comes along, this series will disappoint. The end of this THIRD book still is not the end of the war, and I'm afraid there will be another trilogy of the second invasion. If there is, and Johnston's name is anywhere attached to it, I am staying far, far away.
Why is it so bad? Let's see. The dialogue is laughable. Characters frequently address other characters by name repeatedly in a conversation. To remind us who is being spoken to, I guess, but nobody speaks that way in real life. The conversations also follow a formula over and over again with one person having an idea, another objecting, and the first person convincing the second why he is right. Tedious once you recognize it.
There is a battle section in the end which at least is more exciting than these repetitious conversations. But I found the battle not making total sense, with certain parts being dragged out and others skimmed over.
Slightly spoiler-y section:
If you are looking for a series that goes from the first Formic attack up until the way things are by the time Ender comes along, this series will disappoint. The end of this THIRD book still is not the end of the war, and I'm afraid there will be another trilogy of the second invasion. If there is, and Johnston's name is anywhere attached to it, I am staying far, far away.
June 23, 2014
I like Card and his books. This book focuses on closing out the story lines and ending the trilogy. This is accomplished with efficiency and is well done. I was satisfied not only with how the story lines ended, but they felt organic and credible given the way the characters would have behaved. This story focused a bit more on the story and less on the science and physics the first 2/3rds of the book. However, in the last 1/3 of the book machine guns in free fall are just a bad, stupid idea. The physics just do not work as described - It is junk science and physics. No effort seems to have been spent over the entire trilogy on making a plausible use of common-sense physics. Satisfying conclusion to trilogy 4 stars. Junk physics that is just wildly inexcusable -1 star = 3 stars. If you just HAVE to read everything by Card (like me) - read it. If you are on the fence about this trilogy - skip it; if you want to read it anyways (story is okay) - note the ridiculous physics throughout.
October 19, 2016
Even more in love with Lem
October 29, 2024
Earth Awakens is a very satisfactory conclusion to the First Formic Wars trilogy, which began with Earth Unaware and continued with Earth Afire. The trilogy is set about a hundred years before the Ender sequence of events in what has come to be known overall as Card's Ender's Universe. It shows what happens as the Earth is first attacked by the Formics, and presents a pleasantly diverse and interesting cross-section of humanity and how they're affected by the attacks and how they struggle to defend themselves. There's something of a surprise ending to this one (but not really, since the original Ender story appeared in Analog's August 1977 issue and then was expanded to novel length for publication in 1985 and it and its' sequels won a truckload of awards, so we knew going in that they would be back!), and the surviving cast of characters will regroup to face the second invasion in a second collaborative trilogy. (Which we're still waiting to see completed, as The Queens hasn't yet seen print.) Anyway, there's a young Chinese boy who organizes a relief effort after having been semi-adopted by MOPS (elite soldiers), a young billionaire heir who leads the fight on the Moon despite being terribly manipulated by his father, a group of women who're miners' widows who must adapt to new and challenging circumstances, and on and on. There's adventure and romance for everyone, with an apocalyptic backdrop, and the story sweeps you up and carries you along, so you don't stop to worry whether each detail seems logical enough. It's compelling stuff, and I enjoyed listening to the unabridged multi-cast presentation from Macmillan Audio.
September 18, 2014
I understand that this book has gotten horrible reviews. I usually try to give the author the benefit of the doubt, but Orson Scott Card wrote a horrible book this time. Listen, I loved Ender's Game, and even loved Earth Afire, but this book was a fail.
Where do I start? Card left a lot of loose ends untied. I'm going to start rambling (I'll try to keep it short):
#1. When Victor was leaving the ship for the first time, he adjusted and launched himself toward the return ship. Card says it took one hour to drift there. He wrote it so generally. "Oh, yeah. Victor launched himself and drifted for an hour toward the ship, and he landed right on target." How legitimate is that? It's almost impossible to aim yourself for an hour's worth of drifting. This is just a small sample of Card's unwillingness to tie together loose ends through the entire book.
#2. I loved the way Card portrayed child genius in Ender's Game, but it came off in this book as cheesy and superficial. All the MOP's remarks sounded so stereotypical.
#3. The way Card wrote all the conversations were stereotypical to the core. You could tell he was trying to refresh in everyone's mind the storyline, but he did it in conversations. He really needed to make a few explanatory paragraphs instead of shoving all his explanatory material into conversations.
#4. The lack of suspense killed me. Anyone who didn't know Despoina was a plant from the beginning is very ignorant.
#5. The offhanded way Card killed off some characters really annoyed me. He seemed to kill off characters just because he could.
#6. You know that time Wit went to the helm to turn off the gamma plasma? I thought it was stupid the way they casually and slowly worked through it . . . with Imala getting closer to death every second!
#7. Victor Delgado understood how to operate Formic ships way too easily. It's just very unrealistic.
P.S. I am looking forward to a break from this horribly written sci-fi. I think I'll read World Without End or The Brothers Karamazov. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'm feeling more relaxed already.
Where do I start? Card left a lot of loose ends untied. I'm going to start rambling (I'll try to keep it short):
#1. When Victor was leaving the ship for the first time, he adjusted and launched himself toward the return ship. Card says it took one hour to drift there. He wrote it so generally. "Oh, yeah. Victor launched himself and drifted for an hour toward the ship, and he landed right on target." How legitimate is that? It's almost impossible to aim yourself for an hour's worth of drifting. This is just a small sample of Card's unwillingness to tie together loose ends through the entire book.
#2. I loved the way Card portrayed child genius in Ender's Game, but it came off in this book as cheesy and superficial. All the MOP's remarks sounded so stereotypical.
#3. The way Card wrote all the conversations were stereotypical to the core. You could tell he was trying to refresh in everyone's mind the storyline, but he did it in conversations. He really needed to make a few explanatory paragraphs instead of shoving all his explanatory material into conversations.
#4. The lack of suspense killed me. Anyone who didn't know Despoina was a plant from the beginning is very ignorant.
#5. The offhanded way Card killed off some characters really annoyed me. He seemed to kill off characters just because he could.
#6. You know that time Wit went to the helm to turn off the gamma plasma? I thought it was stupid the way they casually and slowly worked through it . . . with Imala getting closer to death every second!
#7. Victor Delgado understood how to operate Formic ships way too easily. It's just very unrealistic.
P.S. I am looking forward to a break from this horribly written sci-fi. I think I'll read World Without End or The Brothers Karamazov. Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'm feeling more relaxed already.
June 6, 2015
I realized something about Card's writing fairly early on in this book - everyone's a genius. Everyone's a Mary Sue, able to do exactly what needs to be done, and conflict is almost invariable resolved through reasonable conversation. It's weird for that to occur in the middle of a war. But then the war isn't really the focus of this book - instead it is finishing the stories of the characters from the previous novels, who are of course indispensable in concluding the conflict, but don't really seem to have much depth. They do what needs to be done because it needs to be done.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, and the story is interesting and some of the situations here very unique. But there's very little sense that there's this huge war slaughtering millions of people; they're on the periphery, but they're definitely not the focus.
The book does a good job of tying everything up (very neatly), setting the stage for many of the world changes that are in place by the time Ender's Game begins. The plot and characters are fairly interesting, even if they don't seem particularly challenged or out of their depth often. It's good, but it isn't as inspiring as some of Card's earlier books were. Serviceable, but not much more.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, and the story is interesting and some of the situations here very unique. But there's very little sense that there's this huge war slaughtering millions of people; they're on the periphery, but they're definitely not the focus.
The book does a good job of tying everything up (very neatly), setting the stage for many of the world changes that are in place by the time Ender's Game begins. The plot and characters are fairly interesting, even if they don't seem particularly challenged or out of their depth often. It's good, but it isn't as inspiring as some of Card's earlier books were. Serviceable, but not much more.
July 7, 2016
Such a satisfying book! I had major worries when I learned that Card was writing prequels to Ender's Game, and am so glad he (and his co-author) wrote these. An absolute "MUST READ!" for any fans of the Enderverse.
Buy it and read it! ...but only after reading the first two...
Buy it and read it! ...but only after reading the first two...
September 20, 2018
Final a la precuela de Ender pero que me ha dejado con sabor agridulce (me esperaba más).
March 31, 2015
This will be my review for the entire trilogy:
Plenty of other reviewers have covered in minute detail the points I am going to make, but let me have my turn:
Positives:
Interesting Characters. Good start to the back story. (Sort of. This was not the back story you were looking for. Minor spoiler alert... this is just the beginning of the back story.) Okay... that was it.
Negatives:
Junk science. This was startling in part because Scott Card made such a fuss over this at Writer's Boot Camp a handful of years ago--you know, getting your facts straight so you don't pop the reader out of the story by making stupid errors. (First example in the first book was a mistake that was essentially over the definition of velocity. I took college physics--and then some, but this was high school stuff--a stupid error that kept making my mind question every bit of remaining science in the rest of the books instead of enjoying the story. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. If you are going to put that much science in a novel, you need a science editor--or at least a smart high school kid who can cover the basics with writers too busy to bother. Sheesh.)
Too much science & military stuff that made the story drag. Over and over and over. (We interrupt this story to bring you yet another 10 page scene about science we know nothing about -- see above, or to explain new technology we invented for this story so you can ooooh and aaaaah over how clever we are, and/or military exercises that will -- with one exception -- never come up again later in the book.
Plot Structure from Hell. Too many POVs that don't factor into anything critical. Secondary story lines that have nothing to do with anything else... ever. This is my main complaint. The first three chapters of the first book are about three separate people in three completely separate situations, creating three story lines that almost never do more than bump up against each other briefly for the next 900 pages. (Story line three doesn't do any bumping up at all against the first two story lines until the trilogy is past the halfway point.) It wasn't until the last 100 pages that all three of the main characters (none of whom was Mazer Rackham, who barely made a showing in the first book, though finally got some occasional page time by the middle of book two) finally came together at the same time. The books were plotted as though three separate stories about people involved in the Formic Wars were written, cut apart, and glued together in roughly chronological order. This meant that things just got going with one character's story line and then we were jarringly moved over to another story line, and then another, not getting back to that cliff-hanger with the first story line for possibly another 47 pages. Each of the main characters, of course, also have secondary characters as part of their stories, who in turn become POV characters with their own scenes, if not full chapters--eventually creating three to four levels of story lines. If you cut all of that out, the entire trilogy would barely fill a two hour movie. I felt jerked around and manipulated as a reader. This was not a page turner because when I turned the page at the end of a chapter, I was in a completely separate story most of the time.
(Try to imagine telling the story of the Napoleonic wars from the POVs of Horatio Hornblower, Sharpe, and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion with some scenes and even story lines from half a dozen of their secondary characters thrown in for good measure, and with Admiral Nelson finally making more than a brief mention in book 2 but cutting the story off randomly after a major battle but long before the end of the war. That's what this trilogy is for the Formic Wars. We never get to Waterloo. We barely get to know Nelson. The whole thing makes us care about too many amazing characters and then drops them with only a hint of their futures, but truthfully, we still have barely touched the story of the man who is supposedly the hero of the story.)
To sum up: Great ideas, great characters, interesting story. Junk science, poor pacing, poor plotting, too many POV characters and scenes having nothing to do at all with the main plot line that stalled the story in too many places. If this manuscript was in the slush pile rather than being handed to an editor with Card's name headlining it, it never would have seen the light of day. I hope the future book(s) that will obviously have to be written, will wrap up some of dangling plot threads and finally tell Mazer Rackham's story.
Plenty of other reviewers have covered in minute detail the points I am going to make, but let me have my turn:
Positives:
Interesting Characters. Good start to the back story. (Sort of. This was not the back story you were looking for. Minor spoiler alert... this is just the beginning of the back story.) Okay... that was it.
Negatives:
Junk science. This was startling in part because Scott Card made such a fuss over this at Writer's Boot Camp a handful of years ago--you know, getting your facts straight so you don't pop the reader out of the story by making stupid errors. (First example in the first book was a mistake that was essentially over the definition of velocity. I took college physics--and then some, but this was high school stuff--a stupid error that kept making my mind question every bit of remaining science in the rest of the books instead of enjoying the story. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. If you are going to put that much science in a novel, you need a science editor--or at least a smart high school kid who can cover the basics with writers too busy to bother. Sheesh.)
Too much science & military stuff that made the story drag. Over and over and over. (We interrupt this story to bring you yet another 10 page scene about science we know nothing about -- see above, or to explain new technology we invented for this story so you can ooooh and aaaaah over how clever we are, and/or military exercises that will -- with one exception -- never come up again later in the book.
Plot Structure from Hell. Too many POVs that don't factor into anything critical. Secondary story lines that have nothing to do with anything else... ever. This is my main complaint. The first three chapters of the first book are about three separate people in three completely separate situations, creating three story lines that almost never do more than bump up against each other briefly for the next 900 pages. (Story line three doesn't do any bumping up at all against the first two story lines until the trilogy is past the halfway point.) It wasn't until the last 100 pages that all three of the main characters (none of whom was Mazer Rackham, who barely made a showing in the first book, though finally got some occasional page time by the middle of book two) finally came together at the same time. The books were plotted as though three separate stories about people involved in the Formic Wars were written, cut apart, and glued together in roughly chronological order. This meant that things just got going with one character's story line and then we were jarringly moved over to another story line, and then another, not getting back to that cliff-hanger with the first story line for possibly another 47 pages. Each of the main characters, of course, also have secondary characters as part of their stories, who in turn become POV characters with their own scenes, if not full chapters--eventually creating three to four levels of story lines. If you cut all of that out, the entire trilogy would barely fill a two hour movie. I felt jerked around and manipulated as a reader. This was not a page turner because when I turned the page at the end of a chapter, I was in a completely separate story most of the time.
(Try to imagine telling the story of the Napoleonic wars from the POVs of Horatio Hornblower, Sharpe, and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion with some scenes and even story lines from half a dozen of their secondary characters thrown in for good measure, and with Admiral Nelson finally making more than a brief mention in book 2 but cutting the story off randomly after a major battle but long before the end of the war. That's what this trilogy is for the Formic Wars. We never get to Waterloo. We barely get to know Nelson. The whole thing makes us care about too many amazing characters and then drops them with only a hint of their futures, but truthfully, we still have barely touched the story of the man who is supposedly the hero of the story.)
To sum up: Great ideas, great characters, interesting story. Junk science, poor pacing, poor plotting, too many POV characters and scenes having nothing to do at all with the main plot line that stalled the story in too many places. If this manuscript was in the slush pile rather than being handed to an editor with Card's name headlining it, it never would have seen the light of day. I hope the future book(s) that will obviously have to be written, will wrap up some of dangling plot threads and finally tell Mazer Rackham's story.
November 13, 2022
I just enjoyed this one as the second. Looking at all three it is good entertainment - fun, well written and with characters that makes you want more
November 23, 2017
This is the third in the First Formic War trilogy. It's really the third installment in a very long three part novel. It's fast moving, exiting, a fun entertaining read; not great literature, but it is well written. I read the first book, Earth Unaware, quite some time ago and a lot of the details had faded. I read the second, Earth Afire, immediately before reading Earth Awakens - that's the right way to do it.
This trilogy is a prequel to Ender's Game. Mazur Rackham, an important character in Ender's Game, is introduced in the first of these three books and plays a major role in the second two. There are a number of story tracks running simultaneously. His is one. As the story progresses, all the story tracks converge. Rackham is one of the primary heroes responsible for the defeat of the formics.
In Ender's Game, Rackham is a hero for having single handedly destroyed the formics many years earlier. But the way he did it then, isn't the way it happened in this trilogy, the first formic war. I had vaguely remembered from Ender's Game, that there had been two prior formic wars. And so there was. The end of Earth Awakens sets the stage for the next formic invasion. The IF (International Fleet) and the Hegemony have been established. (In Ender's Game, Ender is drafted by the IF, and later in the Ender series, in Speaker for the Dead, Ender's sociopathic older brother, Peter, becomes the Hegemon.) So, I knew that there must be more prequel to come, and sure enough Card and Johnston have written the first in a trilogy based on the second formic war - The Swarm. As far as I can tell, it will be published later this year. I'll wait till all three are available before I start it, but I do expect to read it. I guess I'm hooked.
Adendum:
I forgot that I had read this and I read it again. I kept wondering why it seemed so familiar . Did they repeat chapters from the previous book so we'd know what was going on in case we hadn't read book 2? No. I read it a year and a half ago. It had faded in my memory enough that I just didn't know that I had read it before. Anyhow, I enjoyed it. It's a good SF adventure.
This trilogy is a prequel to Ender's Game. Mazur Rackham, an important character in Ender's Game, is introduced in the first of these three books and plays a major role in the second two. There are a number of story tracks running simultaneously. His is one. As the story progresses, all the story tracks converge. Rackham is one of the primary heroes responsible for the defeat of the formics.
In Ender's Game, Rackham is a hero for having single handedly destroyed the formics many years earlier. But the way he did it then, isn't the way it happened in this trilogy, the first formic war. I had vaguely remembered from Ender's Game, that there had been two prior formic wars. And so there was. The end of Earth Awakens sets the stage for the next formic invasion. The IF (International Fleet) and the Hegemony have been established. (In Ender's Game, Ender is drafted by the IF, and later in the Ender series, in Speaker for the Dead, Ender's sociopathic older brother, Peter, becomes the Hegemon.) So, I knew that there must be more prequel to come, and sure enough Card and Johnston have written the first in a trilogy based on the second formic war - The Swarm. As far as I can tell, it will be published later this year. I'll wait till all three are available before I start it, but I do expect to read it. I guess I'm hooked.
Adendum:
I forgot that I had read this and I read it again. I kept wondering why it seemed so familiar . Did they repeat chapters from the previous book so we'd know what was going on in case we hadn't read book 2? No. I read it a year and a half ago. It had faded in my memory enough that I just didn't know that I had read it before. Anyhow, I enjoyed it. It's a good SF adventure.
December 17, 2014
Another excellent book from Orson Scott Card .
The audiobook was expertly read by his usual cast of audio readers--Stefan Rudnicki, Emily Rankin,
Roxanne Hernandez, Arthur Morey, etc.
This picks up where the second book in the First Formic War Series, "Earth Afire" left off.
It's got the same cast of characters too, along with a few additions.
Victor Delgado and Imala Bootstamp have enlisted Lem Jukes' help to do a scouting mission to a Formic ship in Earth's atmosphere.
Mazer Rackham, Whit O'Toole, and Whit's merry band of MOPS (Mobile Operations Police) are still stuck in the war zone in Southern China, along with Chinese boy genius Bing Wen.
Victor's mom, Rena, is still on Arjuna's salvage ship along with most of the surviving women from El Cavador.
Lem is still being herded to interviews and photo ops by his dad's secretary, Simona.
But without giving away any spoilers, let's just say that the war accelerates in this book.
This book also forecasts the next Formic War, which is the subject of "Ender's Game".
The characters are vivid and the story is compelling. There is plenty of action.
I don't want to say much more, because I don't want to spoil the story.
Just read it.
The audiobook was expertly read by his usual cast of audio readers--Stefan Rudnicki, Emily Rankin,
Roxanne Hernandez, Arthur Morey, etc.
This picks up where the second book in the First Formic War Series, "Earth Afire" left off.
It's got the same cast of characters too, along with a few additions.
Victor Delgado and Imala Bootstamp have enlisted Lem Jukes' help to do a scouting mission to a Formic ship in Earth's atmosphere.
Mazer Rackham, Whit O'Toole, and Whit's merry band of MOPS (Mobile Operations Police) are still stuck in the war zone in Southern China, along with Chinese boy genius Bing Wen.
Victor's mom, Rena, is still on Arjuna's salvage ship along with most of the surviving women from El Cavador.
Lem is still being herded to interviews and photo ops by his dad's secretary, Simona.
But without giving away any spoilers, let's just say that the war accelerates in this book.
This book also forecasts the next Formic War, which is the subject of "Ender's Game".
The characters are vivid and the story is compelling. There is plenty of action.
I don't want to say much more, because I don't want to spoil the story.
Just read it.
June 24, 2014
Great trilogy from great authors. I love all of Card's Ender/Shadow books...though I'm not a fan of his other works. This series is just as compelling as the rest. If you haven't read the Ender series or the Shadow series, and you like scifi, you need to read all of these books! Start with this trilogy first, then Ender's Game...wonderful read...
Read
December 8, 2015this one was good all good characters. enjoyed listening to the trilogy
January 29, 2025
Here’s your Goodreads review:
It had been a long time since I read The Expansive Horizons of Space (the first book in this series). In fact, I had to look back and realized it had been since 2014.
So, going into I had some catching up to do.
One thing that struck me was how the second book featured futuristic technology that, at the time, seemed far off but now feels much more plausible thanks to generative AI and intelligent agents. The idea of calling on an AI system to generate reports and interact in real time felt like a sci-fi concept when I first encountered it, but now it’s practically here. Of course, space travel isn’t at that level yet, but it was interesting to see how some of the book’s ideas have aged.
I also appreciated how the story handled the dynamics between different nations and factions. So often, end-of-the-world or large-scale disaster stories depict humanity immediately coming together to solve the crisis. This book, however, took a more nuanced approach—at first, there was a lot of distrust and disorganization, which felt more realistic. Eventually, cooperation did happen to some extent, but not in the perfect, idealized way that many stories portray. It made me think about how similar dynamics might play out in real life if a similar scenario unfolded.
The biggest downside for me was how some of the conflicts and obstacles were resolved. There were several moments where seemingly complex problems were brushed aside with a quick, almost hand-wavy solution—like a character simply having unlimited money to fix things or a challenge being dismissed with a single line of dialogue. It took away some of the stakes and made certain parts feel a bit too convenient.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the book. It had some great ideas, and the world-building was strong. While I wish some of the conflicts had been handled with more depth, it was still an engaging read.
It had been a long time since I read The Expansive Horizons of Space (the first book in this series). In fact, I had to look back and realized it had been since 2014.
So, going into I had some catching up to do.
One thing that struck me was how the second book featured futuristic technology that, at the time, seemed far off but now feels much more plausible thanks to generative AI and intelligent agents. The idea of calling on an AI system to generate reports and interact in real time felt like a sci-fi concept when I first encountered it, but now it’s practically here. Of course, space travel isn’t at that level yet, but it was interesting to see how some of the book’s ideas have aged.
I also appreciated how the story handled the dynamics between different nations and factions. So often, end-of-the-world or large-scale disaster stories depict humanity immediately coming together to solve the crisis. This book, however, took a more nuanced approach—at first, there was a lot of distrust and disorganization, which felt more realistic. Eventually, cooperation did happen to some extent, but not in the perfect, idealized way that many stories portray. It made me think about how similar dynamics might play out in real life if a similar scenario unfolded.
The biggest downside for me was how some of the conflicts and obstacles were resolved. There were several moments where seemingly complex problems were brushed aside with a quick, almost hand-wavy solution—like a character simply having unlimited money to fix things or a challenge being dismissed with a single line of dialogue. It took away some of the stakes and made certain parts feel a bit too convenient.
Overall, though, I enjoyed the book. It had some great ideas, and the world-building was strong. While I wish some of the conflicts had been handled with more depth, it was still an engaging read.
July 26, 2020
A satisfying ending to a good trilogy. How much of this was Orson Scott Card and how much was co-written by Aaron Johnston I can only speculate, but it did live up to my own expectations. I found the character development was satisfying, even in the case of Lem and his father Uko, who had their motivations for acting and their motivation for decisions fleshed out and given some justification, when it would have been all-too-easy for another author to simply cast them in the role of "evil corporate nemesis' to the protagonists.
The tale of course ends on a cliffhanger, this being only the FIRST Formic war -- I'm looking forward to reading the next series.
Tangential note: It was a very interesting experience reading this in the context of COVID and noting various parallels here and there: world faces a global catastrophe while nations -- expected to join together against the threat -- simply continue to mire (and thus sabotage by immersing) themselves in bureaucracy, competition, propaganda and deception.
The fact that the Formic landers made their initial touchdown in CHINA of all places, and then to have a character dismissing the alien invation as merely a problem confined TO China and nothing the rest of the world has to worry about, with no intuition of the severity of the crisis, was absolutely surreal, calling to mind similar attitudes toward COVID some 4-5 months ago.
Even when you read about the birth of the Hegemon and the International Fleet, you realize that some of the actors' motivations for the founding are not entirely pure but duplicitious and self-serving. In short, a book that captures the full spectrum of human behavior.
The tale of course ends on a cliffhanger, this being only the FIRST Formic war -- I'm looking forward to reading the next series.
Tangential note: It was a very interesting experience reading this in the context of COVID and noting various parallels here and there: world faces a global catastrophe while nations -- expected to join together against the threat -- simply continue to mire (and thus sabotage by immersing) themselves in bureaucracy, competition, propaganda and deception.
The fact that the Formic landers made their initial touchdown in CHINA of all places, and then to have a character dismissing the alien invation as merely a problem confined TO China and nothing the rest of the world has to worry about, with no intuition of the severity of the crisis, was absolutely surreal, calling to mind similar attitudes toward COVID some 4-5 months ago.
Even when you read about the birth of the Hegemon and the International Fleet, you realize that some of the actors' motivations for the founding are not entirely pure but duplicitious and self-serving. In short, a book that captures the full spectrum of human behavior.
October 28, 2017
This is an adequate conclusion to the First Formic War series that provides more background for the famous and excellent Ender's Game. It continues on with the stories of all the heroes that are now familiar to anyone having read the first two books. I do like how a lot more of the action moved away from earth and back to space. I also like the continued character development of Lem Jukes.
That said, I do believe the transition from "we're all gonna die" to "lets go kick some alien butt" was far too abrupt and contrived. One day this contagion is wiping out anything and everything it comes into contact with, the next day, "oh look we have a cure". One day the alien ship is just that... completely alien. The next day, "just turn this wheel and then turn that wheel and we can wipe them all out". Seriously?
This series started out with some great promise and it still ended well, but I just had to shut my brain off for far too much to call it truly great. If you like smart science fiction, this isn't for you. If you enjoy a lot of action and drama... have at it. I rounded Earth Afire down to four stars. This one I am rounding up to four.
That said, I do believe the transition from "we're all gonna die" to "lets go kick some alien butt" was far too abrupt and contrived. One day this contagion is wiping out anything and everything it comes into contact with, the next day, "oh look we have a cure". One day the alien ship is just that... completely alien. The next day, "just turn this wheel and then turn that wheel and we can wipe them all out". Seriously?
This series started out with some great promise and it still ended well, but I just had to shut my brain off for far too much to call it truly great. If you like smart science fiction, this isn't for you. If you enjoy a lot of action and drama... have at it. I rounded Earth Afire down to four stars. This one I am rounding up to four.
August 7, 2020
5 días y algo más de 400 páginas, la conclusión de ... la primera guerra formica... spoiler, hay una segunda (no es spoiler porque todos los fanaticos de Orson Scott Card lo sabían).
Creo que me pasó lo mismo que en los otros volumenes, son demasiadas páginas para contar tan poco, y la cantidad de personajes creo que en vez de nutrir la historia, la realentiza. Eso podría entrar en total discusión, pero creo que la gran diferencia con la saga original... es el enfoque que tenemos, estos libros son totalmente sci fi, y tan solo un poco de ciencia ficción. Eso es algo que nunca me acabo de encantar... y creo que el responsable es Aaron Johnston. ¿Era necesario añadirlo?
Me enoja un poco que, teniendo a Mazer Rackham para explotarlo totalmente, se queda bastante corto, y aunque sus guiños emocionan bastante no creo que sean los suficientes. No me agrada tanto la idea de alargar más estas guerras formicas, pero sé también que en un momento u otro las terminaré por leer. Solo espero que sean mejores que esta.
Habrá reseña triple.
Creo que me pasó lo mismo que en los otros volumenes, son demasiadas páginas para contar tan poco, y la cantidad de personajes creo que en vez de nutrir la historia, la realentiza. Eso podría entrar en total discusión, pero creo que la gran diferencia con la saga original... es el enfoque que tenemos, estos libros son totalmente sci fi, y tan solo un poco de ciencia ficción. Eso es algo que nunca me acabo de encantar... y creo que el responsable es Aaron Johnston. ¿Era necesario añadirlo?
Me enoja un poco que, teniendo a Mazer Rackham para explotarlo totalmente, se queda bastante corto, y aunque sus guiños emocionan bastante no creo que sean los suficientes. No me agrada tanto la idea de alargar más estas guerras formicas, pero sé también que en un momento u otro las terminaré por leer. Solo espero que sean mejores que esta.
Habrá reseña triple.
January 13, 2021
I have quickly become a huge Card fan, so I do plan on continuing to read through the connected novels of Enders universe. This book “finishes out” the First Formic war with all of the characters that were followed in the first and second Earth book; Mazer Rackham, Bingwen, Lem, Victor, Imala, and others. I really enjoyed watching Lem’s character evolve and change, especially since it was realistic amounts of character development and not something too over the top. I need to look into Bingwen because he seems like maybe he’s someone important later on but I can’t remember. This book was a good conclusion to the trilogy, but it doesn’t bring you to the famous battle of Mazer vs the Formics that Ender studied - that is in a future novel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2024
I really enjoyed this one - once I got going I couldn't put it down (but that could have been procrastination in action of course).
I always love reading about Bingwen and Mazer and Victor. Lem is okay ... But man does he make some assumptions that always come back to get him. His dad does some things man that would have really benefitted from communicating with his son. At least for his son's sake. I didn't expect what Ukko was gunning for until right before it was announced though.
I'm excited to finally finish the next one (since I accidentally started it without realizing it was the second formic war).
I always love reading about Bingwen and Mazer and Victor. Lem is okay ... But man does he make some assumptions that always come back to get him. His dad does some things man that would have really benefitted from communicating with his son. At least for his son's sake. I didn't expect what Ukko was gunning for until right before it was announced though.
I'm excited to finally finish the next one (since I accidentally started it without realizing it was the second formic war).
February 11, 2019
Like most of Card's books (in the Ender series, anyway; I haven't read the others), once I got in, I couldn't put it down. The whole First Formic War series was exactly what I wanted, exactly the story I wanted told from the beginning. Mazer and Bingwen were decidedly my favorite characters throughout, but I think that's to be expected. I would like to meet Bingwen. I think he's a real person. And he'd be SO much fun to hang out with.
Dinged one star, for the simple fact that whenever Victor and Imala are talking to each other, they say each other's names so often that it kept pulling me out of the story and wondering why the authors would do that (ever notice that in reality, we very rarely actually say someone's name aloud?). It only happens when these two are talking though, so I'm not sure how that came about or didn't get caught by the editors. Definitely worth a read, especially if things like that don't bother you—and if you're as much a fan of the Ender series as I am!
Dinged one star, for the simple fact that whenever Victor and Imala are talking to each other, they say each other's names so often that it kept pulling me out of the story and wondering why the authors would do that (ever notice that in reality, we very rarely actually say someone's name aloud?). It only happens when these two are talking though, so I'm not sure how that came about or didn't get caught by the editors. Definitely worth a read, especially if things like that don't bother you—and if you're as much a fan of the Ender series as I am!
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