Book Report 9: Children of the Mind
This book has been the conclusion of the 4 book series that began from Enders Game.
This one was interesting in that Ender himself was not really the key character. While he of course played an important role, he wasn't the most active character.
The science fiction here really took a crazy turn. The team was able to go "Outside" what is conceived reality, to be able to move beyond lightspeed. They were able to do this so that they would be able to move around the various colonies and human worlds so that they could help save lives.
What I enjoyed about this book was that it actually had a heavy influence from Japanese customs. In this book, they visited a world that was influenced from Japan and Japanese history, and since i have always loved and been attracted to Japanese culture, it was a pleasure to read and relate.
This book began to describe more human to human relationships, such as having the characters develop more maturely, and some of them (without spoiling who) to fall in love. This helped strengthen their bonds, and their abilities to work on the tasks at hand. It also helped them see what is important to them, and helped drive them to ensure they could help the survival of those they care and love.
Xenocide, the book before this, i had to force myself to finish. Children of the Mind however, i enjoyed and was able to finish quickly.
I recommend the book, but not on it's own. It would be too confusing to read on it's own. That, in a way, is a fault of the book, but also a positive aspect. Ender's Game and Speaker of the Dead were books you could read on there own, but Xenocide and Children of the Mind require the previous books to be read.
If you can commit to the series, and enjoy science fiction, character development, you would enjoy the series.
Orson Scott Card is great at developing characters, making you made at some characters, then making you feel sorry for them, then making you relate to them. He is a master at presenting different type of personalities and wrapping them all into a great story.