70. Children of the Mind. Orson Scott Card. 1996. 370 pages. [Source: Library] [adult science fiction, series book, 3 stars]
First sentence: Si Wang-mu stepped forward. The young man named Peter took her hand and led her into the starship. The door closed behind them.
Plot/premise: Children of the Mind is the fourth (I believe) in the Ender's Game series. At least fourth IN PUBLICATION ORDER. I don't know if Ender in Exile displaces it or not. But that book may be more of an afterthought since it was written a little over a decade later. So three books in the series are inter-dependent: Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. Andrew Wiggin (aka Ender) has arrived as Speaker for the Dead on planet (Lusitania, I believe) where he falls in love with a woman who has grown children. He has carried the Hive Queen with him all these years and decides THIS IS THE SPOT to bring that race back. It's also populated with another alien race affectionately called the piggies. But the big, bad powers that be want to destroy Lusitania (because that's why). And it is up to Ender's step-children, his digital-friend, Jane, among others to save the planet and prevent another xenocide. It takes THREE BOOKS. Granted, most of book one is just Andrew being Speaker for the Dead and everyone realizing that there's invisible forces at work on the planet that could pose a risk to others if it left the planet.
My thoughts: I have always appreciated Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. Speaker for the Dead in particular is philosophical and complex. It isn't quite one of those books about what it means to be human, but, it is definitely great at showing that people are complex and you can never really truly know a person until you've walked in their shoes so to speak. I do not care as much for Xenocide and Children of the Mind. There are a LOT of characters. There is a LOT of repetitive conversations. The plot can be sluggish. I think it's sluggish because the characters spend TWO BOOKS essentially brainstorming for a solution. The same conversation on what might work, what might not work, what should they do next, what does this mean, trial and error, etc. It just feels like a long book.
I listened to the series this time on AUDIO BOOK. The chapters are LONG. The chapters in Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide are extremely long. Children of the Mind the chapters weren't quite as long. But there's also multiple voice narrators. Not one narrator per voice--but just random narrators taking turns with the story. It doesn't add to the experience--in my opinion.
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