Children of the Mind (Ender Quartet, #4)
Summary:
With this conclusion to his famous "Ender's Saga" Card returns to the story of Ender Wiggin, hero of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Xenocide. Now his adopted world, Lusitania, is threatened by the same planet-destroying weapon that he himself used so many years before. Only Jane, the computer intelligence that has evolved with him over 3,000 years can save the three sentient races of Lusitania. (summary and book cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
In the fast-paced finale of the Ender’s saga, Scott Orson Card forces the reader to reconsider preconceived notions of what makes up an individual. As Jane has the chance to grow into herself, so also do the other characters that have been limited by the impending crisis on Lusitania. This book also gives us a better glimpse of what makes up Peter and Valentine as they are also challenged to work more as part of the teams to ensure the success of their mission.
As I alluded in previous reviews, “Speaker of the Dead” and “Xenocide” would be difficult to read stand-alone - they are only completely wrapped up to satisfaction in “Children of the Mind”. This is the book in the series that requires greater leaps of faith conceptually, but did provide a satisfying conclusion to me. While “Speaker of the Dead” and “Xenocide” were also more reflective, “Children of the Mind” speeds up to an engaging climax. I highly recommended it to finish your “Ender’s Game” quartet.
Warning: Violence
Rating: 4 stars!
Who Should Read It? Anyone who has read the second or third books in the Ender Quartet - I'm not sure you could bear not reading the finale!
Considering the whole series? See my reviews of other books in the series by following the links below:
Ender's Game (Ender Quartet #1) - Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead (Ender Quartet #2) - Orson Scott Card
Xenocide (Ender Quartet #3) - Orson Scott Card