Sequels worth reading?

[Elia]

I have read the two original sequels, Xenocide and Speaker for the Dead and both are EXCELLENT. I have not read any of the newer ones though, and not all those are sequels - some are prequels and some contain some of the same events told from other charater's perspectives, so I can't comment as to whether they are any good.

[Stephanie]

From what I have heard, the sequels are very different from the first book, which is likely where the mixed reviews you have heard come in. I have only read the first so far so I can't give you a personal opinion, but my husband enjoyed all the books. He did say that the first book was quite different from the rest.

[Victoria]

The sequels are certainly not required, and they are not as powerful as Ender's Game IMHO - but that's a pretty high bar. I greatly enjoyed both sequels. I liked Speaker for the Dead better than Xenocide, but then I do have a particular interest in fictional (as well as real) religious practices. Xenocide was a bit more disturbing, if I remember rightly. But I would recommend both.

I haven't yet read any of the more recent Ender's Shadow books, but I probably will someday.

[Diane]

I loved Speaker for the dead and Xenocide as well as Enders Shadow. Although you do not have to read the sequels I wanted to because I was so wrapped up in the whole thing.

[Grace]

You should read Ender in Exile. It's a direct sequel to Ender's Game, so it takes place right after that book. It was pretty good

[Audrey]

there are three actual sequals. speaker for the dead, xenocide and children of the mind.
i really enjoyed them all but they are very different from Ender's game. when Orsen scott card wrote ender's game he only did it because he knew he had to if Speaker for the dead were to make any sense. originally he didnt plan on writting Ender's game. but i am glad he did of course.
Ender's shadow and it's sequal(s) are more like ender's game. they're good too.

[Bluegravity]

I believe the sequels or additions are definitely important, though once it hits Children of the Mind it's a bit long-winded and 'ugh'. Honestly, though, reading the paralax of Ender's Game is very important because it gives Bean's perspective. What this does is flushes out the little questions that hummed around the edges of Ender's Game that you never even realized until reading it. I read Xenocide, Speaker of the Dead, Ender's Shadow and Children of the Mind. I think you should read them all, but Children of the Mind is steeped in religion and a slow read, but has some double entendres and a few interesting perspectives and parts. Especially the end, but it takes a person of iron will to read it through without getting really frustrated.

[Alicja]

After I've read Ender's Game,I've read three books from Ender's Saga series and four from Ender's Shadow series.
The first one is about Ender's future, the second about Earth, that he saved and how Peter become the Hegemon. I think the good book to read after Ender's Game is Ender's Shadow. It is about the same events, but from Bean's perspective, which is surprisingly intresting.

[Diane]

Speaker for the Dead is my favorite of all of them.

[Mitch]

I've read every single Ender book except the prequel coming out this year I think?, and they're different. There's no guarantee you'll like any of them based on Ender's Game, you could like them more or less.

Ender's Game stands alone, then Speaker for the Dead through Children of the Mind as a set explore more adult themes with the characters grown up, Ender's Shadow is a retelling of Ender's Game but feels alot more modern, then the next three Shadow books are a lot of geopolitics and nominally about Peter and Bean. Ender in Exile/War of Gifts/Shadows in Flight are more like novellas that go into what happened after the end of the respective novel.

Full disclosure, I'm one of the dissenters who thought Ender's Game was average and feel it's kind of dated 80s scifi, but absolutely loved Ender's Shadow because it explores alot of the same themes but feels much more modern.

[moore]

I agree with the comments above. I loved Ender's Game, but I only enjoyed the rest of the Ender series, and then I read the Shadow series. If I was going to read them again, I would look forward to rereading the Shadow series more than the Ender series.

[Lila]

I definitely recommend Speaker for the Dead, not as a sequel necessarily, as it has a different tone, but as an excellent book in its own right. I have read it so many times and it's always good.

Other than that, it really depends on your taste. I loved the whole series, but I like political intrigue and philosophy. That might make them sound bad - but Card is one of the best authors at strong characterization I've read, so even if you're not really into world politics, the stories are character driven and quite good.

[Kylie]

I think that the sequels are worth reading. I have read Ender's Game I don't know how many times, Speaker for the Dead like 5 times, and Xenocide and so on once each.

To me, that says something. The sequels are decent, Speaker is good, but none of them are really on par with Ender's Game. That books stood alone and is just stellar!

[Chase]

Like Michaela said, the sequels to Ender's Game are a lot more philosophical and thought provoking. They aren't nearly as action packed, but they're great if you want something that will really make you think.

[Anthony]

Actually, I thought the two sequels (Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide) were superior to Ender's Game, which I thought was fairly mediocre, to be honest. Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide, on the other hand, actually had characters that you could really care about, very deep philosophical and religious themes, and were just great stories.

So yes, my answer would be yes, read the sequels. But, for me, I stopped after Xenocide, as I couldn't get through the next book which was Children of the Mind, as it "jumped the shark" at that point for me.

[Chase]

What didn't you like about Children of the Mind? It was just like the other two. It does get a little more personal, but the thought provoking ideas and the profound views are amazing. By the way, please explain what it means to "jump the shark"

[Anthony]

Chase wrote: "What didn't you like about Children of the Mind? It was just like the other two. It does get a little more personal, but the thought provoking ideas and the profound views are amazing. By the way, ..."

What I really liked about Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide were the characters and the neat ideas that Card was exploring, especially the anthropological aspects, rather than the traditional "scifi tech" angles. So for me, the religious and cultural depths that the novels swam in were more rewarding than the evolution of the "Ghost in the machine" device of the AI character Jane, which bored me. Also, i really liked the cultural elevation of OCD for the character of Han Qing-jao. I thought that was very clever.

But by the time Xenocide wrapped up, and we are now experiencing the true power of Jane (which I won't go into detail about, but her displays of power on certain individuals seemed to me a bit of a cheat)..I actually felt disconnected from the story, because instead of focusing on the cultural and anthropological stuff...he went and switched to what I felt was pure tech and Jane's almost "godhood", which, again, i felt was the most boring aspect of the entire series.

And so that's what I meant by "Jump the shark"...which is a term used to describe TV series that take the show in an abrupt and completely different and audience-pandering direction losing what made it unique in the first place. The original phrase-making example of this is on the show Happy Days, when ratings were at an all time low, they did a "hawaiian show" where Fonzie literally "jumped the shark" on water skis.

That's not to say that the book is bad--I honestly don't know, since I didn't finish it. :) I'm just saying that for me, the direction the story was going did not hold the same interest for me as before, and so I didn't feel compelled to try and continue it. That's all.

[Kylie]

Anthony wrote: "Chase wrote: "What didn't you like about Children of the Mind? It was just like the other two. It does get a little more personal, but the thought provoking ideas and the profound views are amazing..."

**Mild Spoilers**
I felt about the same way as you when I finished Xenocide. The worship of the "devout" girl at the end really annoyed me. Bringing back Val and Peter was rather foolish too I thought. I didn't much care for either character anyway. They both served their purposes well in Ender's Game, but as ideas more than characters (super good & super bad... forced to trade roles, their effect on Ender, etc). Anyway, I was rather unimpressed with Xenocide. I liked the book until the last quarter of it or so... then I just got more and more irked.

Children of the Mind had some of the same types of issues as I recall. I didn't think it was worth rereading, so I haven't read that on in years.

[Chase]

Bringing back Val and Peter was an amazing idea! SERIOUS SPOILERS HERE! DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!

Bringing back Val gave Jane a body so she didn't die in the end when here systems were shut down, and Jane's pretty important. Bringing back Peter was also important, because it gave Peter a chance to redeem himself. He also took on Ender's Aiua, which kept ender alive(sort of). Children of the Mind was amazing, and I'm glad he made it a full length book.

[Kylie]

**Spoilers**

Chase, I think that Children of the Mind would have been better had Card NOT brought Peter and Val back at the end of Xenocide and focused the story elsewhere.

I didn't need Peter to redeem himself. Card didn't need to have Jane's systems shut down either (i.e. no need for Val). None of that was particularly interesting to me.

I guess what I'm saying is, these stories came from Card's mind. He could have gone a different way with them. It is his series to do with what he wants, but I wasn't a fan of the direction he took. To each his own though... there were so many different aspects to enjoy in both Ender's Game and Speaker that cutting any part of it or focusing on something in particular would have irritated SOME of the fans.

[Victoria]

Ender was a boy. He created a following and inspired loyalty everywhere he went. How could I not want to follow him on his next chapter of his life! I read Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind. They are definatley different from Enders Game. Not as page turning but deeply moving messages in each.
After those I still hadn't had my fill and turned Enders Shadow to quench my Enders Fever.
Endeds Shadow was the story of Ender and the battleschool but from Bean's perspective. I liked Beans background and encounters with Achilles. But I feltvlike Beans roles in this book detracted from Ender. One could argue that it humanized Ender. But Enders Game did a fine job with keeping Ender real.
However I plowed on and breezed through Shadow of the Hegemon! I loved this book!!! Achillies is so fascinating to me because his psycilogical innerworkings. An extroidinary chaacter! I read part f Shadow Puppets in a sample and love the budding romance between Bean and Petra! I have to read more!!!!
Anyways I'm a big fan of all things Ender and Bean too!

[Heather-Lea]

My husband read all of them and said that a few were harder to get through, but loved them all. I've read 6 of the 8 and enjoyed them- I've put the rest of them on my to read list.

[Alan]

I just read the original, and am looing forward to at least a few of the sequels.

[Долгион]

I've read all of them but the last one, 'ender in exile', which I'm currently reading. The sequels you refer to, the "shadow" books are not in the same style as the continuation of Ender's story in Children of the Mind or Xenocide, they're less esoteric and scientific, but rather more 'cinematic'. There's a lot of political intrigue, depicting how the other kids from battle school influence and are used for the political conflicts on earth after the formics were defeated. The focus is on Bean mostly.

I find these books to be really easy to read (compared to the second and third books), and the kids are interesting enough characters to make for an interesting plot. It's more dynamic and there's more action, but they're maybe less intellectually stimulating. Once you shift your expectations accordingly, they're great reads and definitely worth picking up! I read them through in one go, but I'm a total Ender fanboy, so maybe I'm a bit biased :P

Oh and the book "Ender's Shadow" isn't really a part of those books, it's the events of 'Ender's Game' through the perspective of Bean, and is, after the original, my favorite book of the whole saga. Bean is awesome!

[L.M.]

My husband's favorite has always been "Speaker for the Dead" even over "Ender's Game", but the first book will always hold the place of honor in my heart. Despite that, I ADORED the sequels and even read "Bean's Saga"--which parallel's Ender's story and then engages with Peter in the later books. FASCINATING!

[Pranay]

Ender's Game is the best book in the series. If you want more of the same, Ender's Shadow is a very interesting read. I liked Speaker for the Dead for its philosophy, but Xenocide was a bore.

Card drags Xenocide far too much and I really don't like reading preachy, religious crap disguised as fiction. He could have merged it with Children of the Mind to one 300-page novel.

Someone called Ender's Game "traditional sci-fi". I do not agree. I would rather say Xenocide is not science fiction, more like a Bible for aliens.

[Laurie]

I loved Ender's Shadow.
The rest of the series gets really far from the original premise.

[Themetalmallet]

I still need to read the "Exile" books but I've read both the original Ender and Shadow four book series. On the Ender side I actually liked Children Of The Mind more than Xenocide. I think it had to do with the re-emergence of Peter and Val more than anything. I still hold Speaker and Ender's Game at a much higher value than those two though.

Ender's Shadow I hold right at the same level as Speaker and Ender's Game. The Shadow sequels I liked more than Xenocide and Children (they're certainly much easier to read).

I definitely want to read the exile books though. If I recall correctly the newest one actually follows up on Bean after the end of Shadow Of The Giant.

[Wayne]

I have to agree with separate points from Pranay and Evan C., Ender's Game was certainly the better book and there are flaws with the later books. It is like Card changed is mindset or let more of his personality (not a very admirable one) into parts of the books. Normally the author's personal life doesn't matter except where he continues to make it a preachy or obvious point of his books. And yes he really did destroy the entire feeling for Ender with the contradictions espoused in Shadow.

[Micah]

Every single book I have read in the enderverse was well worth it. I have finally finished the ender series, and just finished Enders Shadow - a great read - and need to move on to finish the shadow series.

Beware, if you read ender's game, you really shouldn't expect just more of the same in the sequels. They get much more strange and philosophical.

Card has stated that Speaker for the Dead is really the book he meant to write, but felt he had to write Ender's Game to provide backstory; although Ender's Game became infinitely more popular.