I gave up on this book about halfway through. I seem to recall saying I'd give up on the Shadow books after the last one, but this was loaned to me, so I have that comfort at least.

This book is uncomfortably fixated on breeding. The opinions espoused on passing on genetics in this book rival the weird rantings from Xenocide when it comes to sheer needless ranting. Unfortunately, this book lacks the solid plot buried beneath the blather.

Card is still playing a game of Risk with world powers, and so little is done to properly develop these characters that at times only the names remind me that there's been a change in scene.

A big chunk of the plot is about Bean breeding. So essentially it's a discussion of teenagers having children. I can't help but find this disconcerting. Card has gone from a ranting Neocon throwing his opinions into a story where they didn't necessarily fit straight into creepy old man territory.

Seeing as I've already read the two award winning books he wrote roughly two decades ago, it feels like a fine time to call it quits on this particular author.