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Ender in Exile (Ender)

Orson Scott Card

Ender in Exile (Ender) Orson Scott Card Amazon Price: $15.57
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

After twenty-three years, Orson Scott Card returns to his acclaimed best-selling series with the first true, direct sequel to the classic Ender's Game.

In Ender’s Game, the world’s most gifted children were taken from their families and sent to an elite training school. At Battle School, they learned combat, strategy, and secret intelligence to fight a dangerous war on behalf of those left on Earth. But they also learned some important and less definable lessons about life.

After the life-changing events of those years, these children—now teenagers—must leave the school and readapt to life in the outside world.

Having not seen their families or interacted with other people for years—where do they go now? What can they do?

Ender fought for humanity, but he is now reviled as a ruthless assassin. No longer allowed to live on Earth, he enters into exile. With his sister Valentine, he chooses to leave the only home he’s ever known to begin a relativistic—and revelatory—journey beyond the stars. 

What happened during the years between Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead? What did Ender go through from the ages of 12 through 35? The story of those years has never been told. Taking place 3000 years before Ender finally receives his chance at redemption in Speaker for the Dead, this is the long-lost story of Ender.

For twenty-three years, millions of readers have wondered and now they will receive the answers. Ender in Exile is Orson Scott Card’s moving return to all the action and the adventure, the profound exploration of war and society, and the characters one never forgot.

On one of these ships, there is a baby that just may share the same special gifts as Ender’s old friend Bean

Ender's Game (Ender Quartet)

Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game (Ender Quartet) Orson Scott Card Amazon Price: $24.07
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Total reviews: 2532 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Dune, 40th Anniversary Edition (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)

Frank Herbert

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1036 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"The Sleeper Has Awakened!" ~ Science Fiction Or Prophetic Utterance? 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

With over 1,000 reviews posted on Amazon.com and an overall rating of -4 ½ Stars- I guess there's not a lot left to be said about the late Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi book `Dune'. It has been at least 30 years since I sat down with this book and to this day it still remains one of the most original, enthralling, visionary and mystical novels I've ever had the pleasure to read.

This was truly a novel way ahead of its time. Back then I was primarily fascinated with the elements of mysticism that permeated the story; Paul's visions, the ancient prophecies, the Bene Gesserit, the spice and of course the great sandworms. However now in the light of the world as it exists in the 21st century I clearly see the author's keen foresight at work. His environmental concerns pertaining to ecosystems and the scarcity of water, as well as the foreboding of an impending, universal Jihad bring his story to life in ways unimaginable forty years ago. Maybe he was really Frank Herbert the prophet, not Frank Herbert the author?

Editorial Review:

The all-time science fiction masterpiece...now in a special hardcover edition.

"Unique...I know nothing comparable to it except Lord of the Rings."--Arthur C. Clarke

Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family--and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction. Frank Herbert's death in 1986 was a tragic loss, yet the astounding legacy of his visionary fiction will live forever.

Children of the Mind (Ender, Book 4) (Ender Quartet)

Orson Scott Card

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 204 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Not So Fitting End... 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Before reading this, I already knew what to expect having already ingested the previous three books in this series - Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide, so I'm not sure what exactly about this book was a disappointment. Card finally gives us a kind of end to Ender's 3000 year life and many plot points that arguably should have already taken place in Xenocide. Unlike the ending to the Harry Potter series, we are not left feeling a sense of sadness and loss at losing a character we have already followed for a thousand pages. Instead, we get another failed attempt at a philosophical science fiction novel. The dialogue is almost endless, one of my major criticisms of the last two books, but here, the religious and spiritual debates reach a crescendo, for me, it was almost too much and almost forced me to stop reading the book. But alas, having loved Ender's story, maybe only in the beginning to be honest with you, I had to see how everything played out.

I cannot decide whether Card's note at the end of the book, where he tries explain what it is he was and is trying to do and where he discusses the work of Oe and Endo (both authors I adore), was a good idea or a bad one. For those having read the previous two volumes and presumably this one since you see the note at the end, you already figured that he had an intense interest both in Asian culture and writing and in creating some kind of moral pedagogy in his work. Unfortunately, his finished project does not stand up as well to other writers who have successfully done it--Endo, Oe, C.S. Lewis to name a few--because the philosophy and religion and other spiritual aspects of the novel are so in-your-face and all-consuming that the plot and the storylines disappear.

Anyways, at least I can say that I'm done with this book series...

Interesting Quotes:

"Life is a suicide mission."

"Do the dead tips of fingernails feel bad when you pare them away?"

"It's all fictions anyway. We do what we do and then we make up reasons for it afterward, but they're never the true reasons, the truth is always just out of reach."

Editorial Review:

The planet Lusitania is home to three sentient species: the Pequeninos; a large colony of humans; and the Hive Queen, brought there by Ender. But once against the human race has grown fearful; the Starways Congress has gathered a fleet to destroy Lusitania.

Jane, the evolved computer intelligence, can save the three sentient races of Lusitania. She has learned how to move ships outside the universe, and then instantly back to a different world, abolishing the light-speed limit. But it takes all the processing power available to her, and the Starways Congress is shutting down the Net, world by world.

Soon Jane will not be able to move the ships. Ender's children must save her if they are to save themselves.

The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch)

Michael Connelly

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 111 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Ghosts from the past 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

In the first novel of the series ("The Black Echo"), reference was made to the shooting that got Harry Bosch disciplined within the department. Now it is four years later. The police department is being sued for alleged violations of the suspect's civil rights. As the trial progresses, you learn a little more about Harry's past, and a lot more about the four-year-old case.

This is a novel about serial killers. It is not overly graphic, but you do learn a lot along the way about the porn trade in Los Angeles, the seamier side of life, and the black heart hidden inside some people who appear externally normal. It is a well written novel with some surprises.

Editorial Review:

The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.

But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-- an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.

So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-- the darkness of his own heart.

With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battle-- and a desperate search for a sadistic killer.

The Ender's Shadow Series Box Set: Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant (Ender's Shadow)

Orson Scott Card

The Ender's Shadow Series Box Set: Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant (Ender's Shadow) Orson Scott Card Amazon Price: $21.09
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This boxed set contains Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and Shadow of the Giant.

 

Ender's Shadow

 

Welcome to Battle School.

Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on the streets, it's how to survive. And not with fists. He is way too small for that. But with brains.

Bean is a genius with a magician's ability to zero in on his enemy and exploit his weakness.

What better quality for a future general to lead the Earth in a final climactic battle against a hostile alien race, known as Buggers. At Battle School Bean meets and befriends another future commander - Ender Wiggin - perhaps his only true rival.

Only one problem: for Bean and Ender, the future is now.

 

Shadow of the Hegemon

 

The War is over, won by Ender Wiggin and his team of brilliant child-warriors. The enemy is destroyed, the human race is saved. Ender himself refuses to return to the planet, but his crew has gone home to their families, scattered across the globe. The Battle School is no more.

But with the external threat gone, the Earth has become a battlefield once more. The children of the Battle School are more than heroes; they are potential weapons that can bring power to the countries that control them. One by one, all of Ender's Dragon Army are kidnapped. Only Bean escapes; and he turns for help to Ender's brother Peter.

Peter Wiggin, Ender's older brother, has already been manipulating the politics of Earth from behind the scenes. With Bean's help, he will eventually rule the world.

 

Shadow Puppets

 

Earth and its society has been changed irrevocably in the aftermath of Ender Wiggin's victory over the Formics--the unity enforced upon the warring nations by an alien enemy has shattered. Nations are rising again, seeking territory and influence, and most of all, seeking to control the skills and loyalty of the children from the Battle School.

But one person has a better idea. Peter Wiggin, Ender's older, more ruthless, brother, sees that any hope for the future of Earth lies in restoring a sense of unity and purpose. And he has an irresistible call on the loyalty of Earth's young warriors. With Bean at his side, the two will reshape our future.

Here is the continuing story of Bean and Petra, and the rest of Ender's Dragon Army, as they take their places in the new government of Earth.

 

Shadow of the Giant

 

Bean, once the smallest student at the Battle School, and Ender Wiggin's right hand, has grown to be a power on Earth. He served the Hegemon as strategist and general in the terrible wars that followed Ender's defeat of the alien empire attacking Earth. Now he wishes for a safe place to build a family--something he has never known--but there is nowhere on Earth that does not harbor his enemies--old enemies from the days in Ender's Jeesh, new enemies from the wars on Earth. To find security, Bean and Petra must once again follow in Ender's footsteps. They must leave Earth behind, in the control of the Hegemon, and look to the stars.

Foundation and Empire (Foundation Novels)

Isaac Asimov

Foundation and Empire (Foundation Novels) Isaac Asimov Amazon Price: $11.20
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Total reviews: 85 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are one of the great masterworks of science fiction. Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of men and women to preserve humanity’s light against an inexorable tide of darkness and violence.

Led by its founding father, the great psychohistorian Hari Seldon, and taking advantage of its superior science and technology, the Foundation has survived the greed and barbarism of its neighboring warrior-planets. Yet now it must face the Empire—still the mightiest force in the Galaxy even in its death throes. When an ambitious general determined to restore the Empire’s glory turns the vast Imperial fleet toward the Foundation, the only hope for the small planet of scholars and scientists lies in the prophecies of Hari Seldon.

But not even Hari Seldon could have predicted the birth of the extraordinary creature called The Mule—a mutant intelligence with a power greater than a dozen battle fleets…a power that can turn the strongest-willed human into an obedient slave.


From the Paperback edition.

The Second Foundation

Isaac Asimov

The Second Foundation Isaac Asimov List Price: $48.00
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Thinking man's Foundation novel 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I found Second Foundation to be the best in the series thus far. Both halves of the novel have so many twists and turns you wouldn't expect, I would be impressed by anyone who can figure out the true story before it comes to light. This book is on par with mystery and double/triple-spy stories. I hope the remaining books in the series are as complex!

(Books in the series to read before this one: Prelude to Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire)

The climax to the series, and for most people, the place to stop reading 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

If you started with "Foundation", went on to "Foundation and Empire" and did not read the prequels, this is a high note to go out on. Your own internal loyalty will be tested between Foundation and Second Foundation - your old alliegance is to the Foundation, but is the Second Foundation a necessary evil? Iconic stuff of a level of art rarely reached in science fiction.

Editorial Review:

So far the Foundation was safe. But there was a hidden Second Foundation to protect the first. The Mule has yet to find it, but he was getting closer all the time. The men of the Foundation sought it, too, to escape from Mule's mind control. Only Arkady, a 14 year-old girl seemed to have the answer, or did she...?

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