Science Fiction

Children of the Mind

Children of the Mind

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  • Create Date：2021-09-17 09:51:33
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Orson Scott Card
  • ISBN：1250773091
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Summary

Children of the Mind is the fourth book in New York Times bestslling author Orson Scott Card's classic science fiction The Ender Saga--newly repackaged。

The planet Lusitania is home to three sentient species: the Pequeninos; a large colony of humans; and the Hive Queen， brought there by Ender。 But once again the human race has grown fearful; the Starways Congress has gathered a fleet to destroy Lusitania。

Jane， the evolved computer intelligence， can save the three sentient races of Lusitania。 She has learned how to move ships outside the universe， and then instantly back to a different world， abolishing the light-speed limit。 But it takes all the processing power available to her， and the Starways Congress is shutting down the Net， world by world。

Soon Jane will not be able to move the ships。 Ender's children must save her if they are to save themselves。

THE ENDER UNIVERSE

The Ender Saga
Ender’s Game / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind / Ender in Exile

Ender’s Shadow series
Ender’s Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight

Children of the Fleet

The First Formic War （with Aaron Johnston）
Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens

The Second Formic War （with Aaron Johnston）
The Swarm / The Hive

Ender novellas
A War of Gifts / First Meetings

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Reviews

Meow558 ，

Tired of these books。

Adam Humphrey ，

I appreciated it。 Still not as good as Speaker of the Dead。

Demetria Justablessing ，

I enjoyed this divergence from the normal Ender saga into the Metaphysical aspects and theories of how the universe and it's inhabitants came to be。 It does give a different moral/ethical vibe that coincides with many of science's advancements。 I enjoyed this divergence from the normal Ender saga into the Metaphysical aspects and theories of how the universe and it's inhabitants came to be。 It does give a different moral/ethical vibe that coincides with many of science's advancements。 。。。more

Tree Bear ，

A great series！ Still have tears in my eyes from the beautiful ending to “Children of the Mind！” Highly recommend the four book series beginning with “Ender’s Game。”

Kevin ，

A much more well paced conclusion to the series。 Way less tedious than Xenocide， though there are still a few bouts of dialogue both internal and external that while meaningful are a bit long。At the end of it all， I finished the last sentence and wanted to go to the next book。This series would be a great adaptation for streaming。

Stephen Smith ，

The fourth and final， for now， book in the Ender series。 It picks up right where Xenocide finished。 Indeed the author has said that originally the two books were conceived as one。 This book wraps up the stories of Ender， piggies， hive queen， Jane and the descolada。 Well mostly， there is one big （and new） thread that is left dangling。 In the afterword （of the audiobook） the author touches on that and says that a future book that ties the Ender series and Shadow series together will also tie up th The fourth and final， for now， book in the Ender series。 It picks up right where Xenocide finished。 Indeed the author has said that originally the two books were conceived as one。 This book wraps up the stories of Ender， piggies， hive queen， Jane and the descolada。 Well mostly， there is one big （and new） thread that is left dangling。 In the afterword （of the audiobook） the author touches on that and says that a future book that ties the Ender series and Shadow series together will also tie up the dangling thread。 So I am excited about that。This was first time I have read this book。 I had read the prior three several times but always got series burn out before getting to this one。 I am glad I have read it。 I give it only 3 stars however。 The rating of 3 stars to me means it still is a good book but that there was something missing or some other issue。 For me the issue was that some of the emotional and philosophical scenes were a little long。 The purpose of the scenes were fine， just that a lot of words were used to describe them。 This can cause me to lose interest in the dialog or can lead to series fatigue。 Anyway， if you love the Ender series or the way that OSC writes then I would certainly recommend finishing it out as we all wait for the final novel。 。。。more

Juan Tejeda ，

Solo puedo decir que a pesar de haber sentido que algunas cosas hicieron falta， si duda el final me deja un buen sabor de boca。

Haylee Lawrence ，

Dnf， I lost interest in the series after the third book。

Daniyal ，

Children of the Mind is a satisfactory conclusion to Ender’s Game， though it is held down by predictable plot points and meaningless fluff。

Christina ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A great and worthy ending to an amazing series。 It’s a bittersweet feeling to have finished this book with the funeral of Ender who was essentially the driving point of the entire story。 Card has such a way of detailing the plot and his characters that makes you absorb their “memories” as if they’re your own。 The special grief Valentine felt during Plikt’s speaking perfectly captured what all readers must’ve experienced when they finished this series because of how long we’ve been chronicling th A great and worthy ending to an amazing series。 It’s a bittersweet feeling to have finished this book with the funeral of Ender who was essentially the driving point of the entire story。 Card has such a way of detailing the plot and his characters that makes you absorb their “memories” as if they’re your own。 The special grief Valentine felt during Plikt’s speaking perfectly captured what all readers must’ve experienced when they finished this series because of how long we’ve been chronicling through Ender’s life。 Though it’s not a terribly devastating ending either。 We see both Jane and Peter taking steps to push forward in life， essentially continuing his legacy and spirit。 All the while Valentine， the only remaining witness of Ender at his purest earliest form; stands there and sends them off。 The entire scene is backdropped by a Mothertree， Card’s way of tying all elements of Ender （new， old， and spiritual） together for one last time。My only regret is having taken so long to finish the book and the series itself。 It’s definitely one that I’ll pick up again and enjoy it just as much as the first time。 。。。more

Woody futrell ，

As normal the author draws the stories lines to gather。 Ender characters changes heavily。 Little sexual discussions。 But not heavy。 Very interesting ending。

Summer ，

2。5My least favorite of the series， but I'm glad I finished it。 2。5My least favorite of the series， but I'm glad I finished it。 。。。more

Socrate ，

Şi Wang-Mu a păşit înăuntru。 Tânărul pe nume Peter a luat-o de mână şi a condus-o în nava spaţială。 Bocaportul s-a închis în urma lor。 tWang-Mu s-a aşezat pe unul dintre scaunele rotative din încăperea nu tocmai spaţioasă。 A privit în jur aşteptându-se să vadă ceva nou şi neobişnuit。 În afara pereţilor metalici， aducea cu orice birou de pe lumea numită Calea。 O cameră curată， dar deloc impresionantă。 Mobilată economic şi util。 Văzuse destule holograme ale unor nave în zbor: nave de luptă zvelte Şi Wang-Mu a păşit înăuntru。 Tânărul pe nume Peter a luat-o de mână şi a condus-o în nava spaţială。 Bocaportul s-a închis în urma lor。 tWang-Mu s-a aşezat pe unul dintre scaunele rotative din încăperea nu tocmai spaţioasă。 A privit în jur aşteptându-se să vadă ceva nou şi neobişnuit。 În afara pereţilor metalici， aducea cu orice birou de pe lumea numită Calea。 O cameră curată， dar deloc impresionantă。 Mobilată economic şi util。 Văzuse destule holograme ale unor nave în zbor: nave de luptă zvelte şi aerodinamice， navete care intrau şi ieşeau din atmosferă; structurile uriaşe， rotunjite ale navelor stelare， care accelerau， atât cât permitea materia， până aproape de viteza luminii。 Pe de o parte， forţa de penetrare a unui ac; pe de alta， puterea uriaşă a unui baros。 Însă acea cameră nu lăsa impresia de forţă。 Rămânea o încăpere oarecare。 tUnde era pilotul？ Trebuia să existe， deoarece nu putea crede că tânărul care stătea de cealaltă parte a camerei， murmurând ceva către computer， comanda o navă stelară capabilă să călătorească mai repede decât lumina。 tŞi totuşi， sigur asta făcea， pentru că nu se mai vedeau alte uşi care să dea spre alte încăperi。 Văzută din exterior， nava i se păruse de mici dimensiuni， iar acea cameră ocupa tot spaţiul liber din interior。 Într-un colţ se aflau bateriile care înmagazinau energia transmisă de colectoarele solare de pe partea superioară a navei。 Într-un dulap， ce părea izolat ca un frigider， se aflau probabil alimente şi băutură。 Asta era tot în materie de provizii。 Unde dispăruse romantismul zborurilor spaţiale， dacă toate dotările se reduceau la atât？ O simplă încăpere。 。。。more

Razvan Ursuleanu ，

Presupun că fiecare cititor al trilogiei lui Ender se aștepta ca în al patrulea volum Orson Scott Card să își încheie epopeea și să-și omoare personajul principal， dar sunt sigur că nu aceasta era dorința generală。 E adevărat， autorul îi încheie viața lui Ender într-un cadru festiv， cu speech-uri， ritualuri， rememorări și mii de planete unde bătrânul cu suflet de copil este jelit， dar această despărțire fastuoasă nu alungă gustul amar cu care rămâne cititorul。Dacă aș expune o părere strict pragm Presupun că fiecare cititor al trilogiei lui Ender se aștepta ca în al patrulea volum Orson Scott Card să își încheie epopeea și să-și omoare personajul principal， dar sunt sigur că nu aceasta era dorința generală。 E adevărat， autorul îi încheie viața lui Ender într-un cadru festiv， cu speech-uri， ritualuri， rememorări și mii de planete unde bătrânul cu suflet de copil este jelit， dar această despărțire fastuoasă nu alungă gustul amar cu care rămâne cititorul。Dacă aș expune o părere strict pragmatică， fără a ține cont de valoarea literară a cărții， „Copiii minții” ar fi doar un roman concluziv， un update final al unei povești care se întinde pe o durată de trei milenii。Și nu neg că este tentant să privesc lucrurile doar din această perspectivă， dar asta ar însemna doar o palmă morală dată unui autor care， ca un egoist ce e， s-a gândit să pună definitiv dosarul Ender la arhivă， terminând astfel existența unui personaj îndrăgit de milioane de oameni， printre care mă număr și eu。Nu ar fi însă corect să procedez așa， pentru că romanul e foarte bun， o lucrare de excepție aparținând unui artist al formei literare。 Pe care Orson Scott Card n-ar fi fost rău să nu o prezinte cititorilor și să o păstreze doar pentru el…Dar， dacă tot a scos la vânzare cartea și eu am acceptat să o cumpăr și să o citesc – că doar nu m-a obligat nimeni – atunci răspunsul meu galant și just este acela de a felicita autorul pentru reușita literară。Nota acordată romanului : 8，3http://www。bucurestifm。ro/2021/07/29/。。。 。。。more

Roger Dybdal ，

I started to read this book after having finished the prior one。 At first I was baffled at it being a bit boring。 But when I first read about the piggies and the descolada planet， I found that boring to。Needless to say， the first 40-50% of this book took a while for me to get through。 Once things were established and started rolling tough， the last 50-60% of the book got swallowed in a few days。Loved the ending， tough I still wonder what happened after。 Still worth the read even if it's a bit mo I started to read this book after having finished the prior one。 At first I was baffled at it being a bit boring。 But when I first read about the piggies and the descolada planet， I found that boring to。Needless to say， the first 40-50% of this book took a while for me to get through。 Once things were established and started rolling tough， the last 50-60% of the book got swallowed in a few days。Loved the ending， tough I still wonder what happened after。 Still worth the read even if it's a bit more far fetched at times with philosophical theories。 。。。more

Allen Yang ，

super interesting， albiet a little bit culturally insensitive。 i really enjoyed the parts where they broke down the political system and explained how opinions relied on an isolated group of outside observers。 made me curious about the real life political machinations of blog writers etc

Daniel ，

I had heard from multiple people that this book is terrible。 Maybe it's because of low expectations but I found myself liking it。 But I had the same experience as with Xenocide - I liked it but left it feeling more frustration than anything else。 The plot is interesting as are some of the ideas， so that made the shortcomings more pronounced。In fact， some of the shortcomings of Xenocide are even worse in Children of the Mind。 For example， Ender is barely a character in Xenocide。 He's even worse i I had heard from multiple people that this book is terrible。 Maybe it's because of low expectations but I found myself liking it。 But I had the same experience as with Xenocide - I liked it but left it feeling more frustration than anything else。 The plot is interesting as are some of the ideas， so that made the shortcomings more pronounced。In fact， some of the shortcomings of Xenocide are even worse in Children of the Mind。 For example， Ender is barely a character in Xenocide。 He's even worse in Children of the Mind， where his character arc is: stop caring about the world， go into a virtual coma， die。 What a shabby ending to such a great character。 I complained that the Ender's series is terrible when dealing with love - it's finally dealt with and discussed constantly in Children of the Mind， and it's utterly preposterous and nonsensical。 Love， when it happens， occurs instantaneously and as if it's necessary to drive the plot， not as a natural development。 It really makes me question if Card understands any sort of love at all。Finally， I complained Xenocide not resolving anything。 I've seen other reviewers say Children of the Mind resolves too neatly。 I felt exactly the opposite - it's resolved sloppily （for example again， Ender's end） and incompletely。 It's a terrible wrap-up for a series。So why did I like it？ A propulsive plot and somewhat interesting ideas were enough to make it entertaining。 。。。more

Cas ，

What an absolute bore

Itay Weiss ，

A bit "All other the place" and stretched out。 A bit "All other the place" and stretched out。 。。。more

Pedro Gallardo ，

Novela que cierra la trilogía o el cuarteto de "La saga de Ender"， personalmente es la que más me ha gustado después de "El juego de Ender"。 Ahora toca ir a por la saga de "La sombra de Ender"。 Muy adictivos estos libros， tratan sobre temas que aunque sean de ficción me interesan mucho。 Novela que cierra la trilogía o el cuarteto de "La saga de Ender"， personalmente es la que más me ha gustado después de "El juego de Ender"。 Ahora toca ir a por la saga de "La sombra de Ender"。 Muy adictivos estos libros， tratan sobre temas que aunque sean de ficción me interesan mucho。 。。。more

Gavin Fitzgerald ，

5/10

Amadeus ，

The battlefield fought on in this book lies in the mind and there is even less action than the previous book。 It is as politically and philosophically dense as one might expect from the Ender Quartet， and I'm not certain if I enjoy that aspect of it very much。 Perhaps many concepts flew over my head and I look forward to rereading it again in the future The battlefield fought on in this book lies in the mind and there is even less action than the previous book。 It is as politically and philosophically dense as one might expect from the Ender Quartet， and I'm not certain if I enjoy that aspect of it very much。 Perhaps many concepts flew over my head and I look forward to rereading it again in the future 。。。more

Drew Bakken ，

My feeling of completing the Ender series is something like relief due to what I felt was a sharp drop in writing quality after Speaker for the Dead。 I do appreciate the vast number of concepts and genres that the series crosses into， beginning with the military sci-fi of Ender’s Game and then crossing into contemplative humanist ideals within the biological sci-fi plot of Speaker for the Dead， however the final two entries’ shift into some kind of pseudo-spiritualist fantasy adventure didn’t co My feeling of completing the Ender series is something like relief due to what I felt was a sharp drop in writing quality after Speaker for the Dead。 I do appreciate the vast number of concepts and genres that the series crosses into， beginning with the military sci-fi of Ender’s Game and then crossing into contemplative humanist ideals within the biological sci-fi plot of Speaker for the Dead， however the final two entries’ shift into some kind of pseudo-spiritualist fantasy adventure didn’t connect with me at all and was a disappointing outcome to many initially intriguing ideas， especially around the lackluster fate of Jane and the lack of further content or focus around the hive queen。 Nonetheless， Ender’s Game and Speaker work comprehensively on their own and are essentially perfect stories that I will certainly return to。 With this story being more of a Xenocide Part II than anything of a standalone story， I had many of the same issues with the thematic and pseudo-spiritualist aspects that I won’t reiterate。 I did enjoy this story more and at the least it wasn’t infuriating， but on that front it was mainly due to this entire book being the climax set up by Xenocide， which itself was basically devoid of anything actually advancing the plot apart from Father Estevao’s martyrdom and the discovery of instantaneous travel （simultaneously curing the descolada virus）， and was otherwise just hundreds of pages of armchair spiritualist discussions。 Children of the Mind at least kept my attention but didn’t do much more than tie up a few long-running plot threads in unsurprising ways。 The story structure consisted of the two plotlines left over from Xenocide – preventing the Starways Congress Fleet from destroying Lusitania， and preventing the death of Jane – as well as a surprise third subplot investigating the homeplanet of the descolada virus。 The Jane subplot occupied the majority of the plot and was generally unsatisfying to me – I discussed in my Xenocide review what I felt were holes in the idea of killing Jane through shutting down the ansibles， and otherwise this subplot generally consisted of long-winded discussions between characters attempting to establish the flimsy rules of the aiuas and the Outside （there wasn’t much explanation as to why the pequenino trees would be able to contain Jane， I get that the trees have strong philotic connections， but so do the hive queens and surely others）。 The Lusitania Fleet subplot featured no progress or impact on the story or characters at all （apart from being the looming deadline of Lusitania’s destruction that the protagonists have worked against for the last several books） and was left almost completely disregarded until the final 50 pages， when the fleet comes out of lightspeed and there is finally some discussion of its leadership and crew， to the point that until this point in the story I almost began to wonder if the fleet even existed or would ever be portrayed in the story （beyond just representing impending destruction at the hands of Starways Congress）。 Furthermore， while this Star Wars-esque planetary destruction subplot has exciting potential， it was a bewildering decision to have Ender’s character so blissfully unconcerned with seeing its outcome that he not only disengages with the story itself， he actually signs himself over to a life of sexless service to his ex-wife within a monastery and eventually literally dies due to some bizarre side effect of giving up on his own life while his aiua decides to live on through one of his sibling simulacrums created in the Outside。 That sentence is one of the most batshit things I’ve ever typed and is as far as I’ll go attempting to explain the fantasy-spiritualist aspects of Card’s writing。The Star Wars planetary destruction subplot was further distracted from by the last-minute surprise subplot investigating the Descoladores， a Star Trek-like planetary orbital approach to communicate with an undiscovered alien race。 Bizarrely， not only did the Descolador subplot overlap into and completely interrupt the Lusitania Fleet showdown， it was also left totally unresolved。 No breakthroughs were made as to the nature of the virus-model of communications used by the drones around the planet， and the only outcome was Jane promising that she would be instant-travelling the protagonists to continue the investigations of the Descoladores in the future。 While the eerie approach to their planet and the beyond-cryptic messages of the drones were the most interesting scenes in the story to me， it was also completely unnecessary， as Jane could’ve instantly transported their ship into the atmosphere of the planet to directly observe any species or civilizations – a planetary approach is unnecessary for someone with the capability of warping from one planet’s surface to the other。 Also， Jane should be able to access their computer systems and learn about them remotely; even if they’re not connected to an ansible Jane can accomplish this too through instant travel。 The low-effort execution of this subplot accomplished little – if Card was so desperate to pump out one extra novel after Xenocide， he could’ve contained the Lusitania arc within that story， then in the sequel looked outward and fully fleshed out the enticing space-exploration and cosmic horror subplot of investigating this planet of ancient bio-engineers。 Also， one character’s remark that “maybe there are no intelligent species on this planet” seemed incredibly asinine considering their observations of drones capable of space travel – another example of the Card’s characters having these endlessly meandering discussions that circle back upon themselves to absurd degrees， coming off preposterous instead of contemplative。While there are so many bizarre characters at this point that it can be hard to pick out one of them in particular， I will note that Peter’s character really didn’t connect for me as he came off as a 100% different character than his brief appearance in Xenocide， where he was sinister and petty to the point of caricature and whose creation was described as being a product of Ender’s fear of his brother and his violent nature， not the true Peter himself （who was a profoundly interesting character – a megalomaniac who recognizes his own nature and weaponizes it to unite humanity and accomplish good）。 This version of Peter seems concerningly one-dimensional and incapable of saying anything apart from the most offensive and cutting remark he can in a given situation。 In Children of the Mind， where Peter appears after meeting Si Wang-Mu and bringing her on his journey， he is instantly more humane and has only hints of his crass and cynical nature， though this simmering underside to him next to Wang-Mu’s youth and innocence made for some bizarrely uncomfortable scenes， especially the off-putting attempts to romanticize or even sexualize Wang-Mu。 Much like with Ender， it’s a shame that for an author whose characterization was the strongest aspect in earlier novels， in fact stronger than any other author I know of， the character development becomes inconsistent and dissatisfying in these later stories。As seems to be a common issue with other readers， I didn’t connect with Card’s idea that humanity in 5000 A。C。E。 would define itself according to nationalistic Earth identities dating back to feudal times。 It becomes apparent by this final entry in the Ender chronology that each of the Hundred Worlds somehow consists of a homogenous population that emigrated from one specific region of Earth， and who have preserved rigidly unchanged feudalist， traditionalist， and even indigenous off-the-grid lifestyles originating from early eras of their respective Terran countries。 It’s incomprehensible to me that humans who made the choice to leave Earth， lived and travelled for vast periods of time in starships （always a longer period of time to the rest of the universe than themselves due to the relativistic effects of lightspeed travel）， and lived for generations on an alien world， would in any way define or confine themselves to lifestyles and discourses from an unfathomably distance time and place rather than the recent past。 Further， it appears that many cultures in this far-gone future are operating with far more primitive technology than the majority of humans in current times， having seemingly rejected the very technology that took them to these worlds。 The afterword of the book reveals that Card wrote this subplot after becoming very interested by the ways that long-standing nationalistic ideals and strict social hierarchies from ancient times influenced a country like Japan in the second World War， and how deeply one would’ve had to infiltrate their culture and social hierarchy in order to stop the momentum of their drive towards war。 While the concept has potential， it could’ve been more logically accomplished either through writing a story set on Earth， or else in a completely alien setting with alien civilizations whose cultures were established on similar ideals as feudal Japanese dynasties or the like。 This was an idea that was certainly used more for conceptual reasons than being a logistically realistic outcome of human colonization into space， and for a science fiction series that has already disintegrated into fantasy in almost every other aspect， it didn’t work well。 Finally， I’m still perplexed and even frustrated by the continued reverence of Han Qing-Jao’s character。 Firstly， while her entire life and death were described at the end of Xenocide and the biographical writings of her fate （“God Whispers of Han Qing-Jao”） then make up the chapter epigraphs of Children of the Mind， this doesn’t quite make sense when CotM picks up literal seconds after Wang-Mu joins Peter at the end of Xenocide， so Qing-Jao is still alive （as well as her father） and the book hasn’t been written yet。 Other series like Dune use future in-universe writings for effective foreshadowing， but I see no purpose here especially when her writings seem completely and utterly unconcerned with and unaffected by the outcome of this story， showing that Qing-Jao continued in a state of purposeful ignorance towards the technological/ideological breakthroughs and historical events of her time。 Why this ignorant， selfish， fanatical character and her infuriating self-enforced penance is still a focus within a science fiction story is beyond me。One could spend more time and effort trying to comprehend Card’s allegory or storytelling choices in these later stories， but ultimately I was dissatisfied and simply looking forward to moving on to other authors。 。。。more

Iris ，

*Warning: if you enjoyed Ender's saga from Book 2 onwards， stop reading this review because you're not going to agree with me in the slightest。*I don't really know where to start and not in a good way， unfortunately。 There are just too many things I didn't end up liking about the saga。。。 I think I should start with the things I did like， as that would be easier and faster。 Book 1 was very good in my opinion， which is why I continued to read after it。 I expected to find more on Battle school and *Warning: if you enjoyed Ender's saga from Book 2 onwards， stop reading this review because you're not going to agree with me in the slightest。*I don't really know where to start and not in a good way， unfortunately。 There are just too many things I didn't end up liking about the saga。。。 I think I should start with the things I did like， as that would be easier and faster。 Book 1 was very good in my opinion， which is why I continued to read after it。 I expected to find more on Battle school and Ender's life in space after the Formic wars and true， that is what I got although not entirely: I was satisfied until the second book。 I also really enjoyed the novellas， the one on Ender's parents was the best one for me because it gave you context on what the world used to be like， how it had an impact on Ender's life even before he was born。 This story is interesting， I'd go so far as to say it's worth your time。 Book 2 was okay， I thought: "Hm， the concept of this new alien species might be cool" but in the end， it stopped seeming cool because there were a lot of new concepts going on that weren't connected well （in my opinion） and strange plot twists that didn't impact me in the way the author probably intended。 They felt random and the plot simply stopped making sense to me， it was terribly confusing and I ended up skimming through the whole of it because it got to a point where I thought the story was plain boring。 This opinion can be extended to Books 3 and 4。 The narrative style is thick， nothing like the one in Book 1 which I personally found easy to read and quite enjoyable。 The story itself lacks variety， it's repetitive （this can be a good thing if you read one book per month and need to be reminded of the main events but if you read the saga in one go。。。 Well， it's not something I would recommend doing）。 The relationships between characters also felt forced， plus， they seemed to be following some kind of pattern with a very conservative tint to it: all the characters aspire to is to get married and have children， which I found odd and meaningless as if they were cattle in need to breed for a greater purpose。 The characters themselves， I found shallow and absurd， they lacked a well-defined personality。 Honestly？ There wasn't a single character I would root for because I didn't like any of them enough to engage with。 This isn't like me。 Overall， I was disappointed and I guess this the best way I could conclude my review or the ranting is going to be endless。 Personally， Ender's saga should've finished with Speaker of the dead， if I'm being generous: I still have my doubts on whether Book 2 was actually necessary。 I'll let you be the judge of that if you decide to give this series a go。 。。。more

NickMohr ，

Some plot points end a little too neatly， feeling slightly rushed， but overall a solid enough finish to Ender’s story。

Chris ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 First re-read since initially reading when I was much younger。 4th installment is slightly better than Xenocide as far as the long philosophical monologues go， but it really is just unbearable。 I stuck with it for the plot， the world building and interesting application of philotics kept me coming back and I still find it fascinating。 But the pages and pages of inner dialogue is panful。 Quara and Novinha as characters are also both completely unredeemable and enraging in how selfish and ridiculo First re-read since initially reading when I was much younger。 4th installment is slightly better than Xenocide as far as the long philosophical monologues go， but it really is just unbearable。 I stuck with it for the plot， the world building and interesting application of philotics kept me coming back and I still find it fascinating。 But the pages and pages of inner dialogue is panful。 Quara and Novinha as characters are also both completely unredeemable and enraging in how selfish and ridiculous they are， again hard to have any sympathy or get through their character interactions。 。。。more

Himanshu ，

I like it。 If that means anything in the grand scheme of things。

Ron Lang-Alon ，

I liked this book even less than Xenocide。 Talk about Deus Ex Machina。 Literally God from the machine。 And endless mumbo jumbo and where the hell is Ender？ Is this series about him or not？ It's nicknamed Enderverse。 I liked this book even less than Xenocide。 Talk about Deus Ex Machina。 Literally God from the machine。 And endless mumbo jumbo and where the hell is Ender？ Is this series about him or not？ It's nicknamed Enderverse。 。。。more

Gunnar Thurman ，

I am finally done with Ender's Saga after 12 books and short stories。 I think that this was an acceptable conclusion; the entire Lusitania Trilogy is markedly better than anything else that came after it， aside perhaps from Ender's Shadow。 I have a feeling that going back to the more modern "Shadows in Flight" will probably leave me with a sour taste in my mouth if its anything like the other later entries， but this trilogy will definitely remain in my mind as being a strong story and highly tho I am finally done with Ender's Saga after 12 books and short stories。 I think that this was an acceptable conclusion; the entire Lusitania Trilogy is markedly better than anything else that came after it， aside perhaps from Ender's Shadow。 I have a feeling that going back to the more modern "Shadows in Flight" will probably leave me with a sour taste in my mouth if its anything like the other later entries， but this trilogy will definitely remain in my mind as being a strong story and highly thought-provoking。 To tie in what seems to be only an exceptional Sci-Fi war novel like Ender's Game into this sort of saga is incredible。Card is a talented author with far reaching philosophical and imaginative ideas that at times were very impactful while falling flat for me almost as often as not。 His forte is not in finishing stories。 While I was personally interested enough to see this saga to what is almost the chronological end， I can see how others might have been bored to death。 The same ideas are hashed out again and again and again in books 2-4， with the same threats and characters and tropes。 But looking back， I see that the Ender's Quartet is meant to be a story of human beings and characters that exist with all of our flaws and imperfections broadcast for all to see and I think that in a very perplexing way， Card succeeds there， but only in instilling the overall feeling in you， not in outright teaching a lesson （which is 100% okay with me）。 I think that this story is more interesting than the one in Xenocide， and feels more like the book I wanted to read after Speaker for the Dead。 It is mercifully about 250 pages shorter than Xenocide。 It was good to see more worlds and characters， and an inkling of this "Starways Congress" that was brought up 50 million times without any exposition whatsoever before now。 I'm okay with hard Sci-Fi that dumps you in the middle of a completely foreign universe and story， but it felt like Card wanted to tell an intimate story that relied heavily on these kinds of big， far reaching Sci-Fi elements。 More exposition far earlier in the story， definitely in Xenocide， would have been desirable to flesh these elements out and give them more weight。 Nothing in here reaches the height of the chapters in Xenocide about the world of Path for me， but I liked the inclusion of Pacifica and Divine Wind。 It really doesn't make much sense to me that in this universe all worlds have exclusively one race and culture on them， especially since they go to such lengths in Ender in Exile to mention that colonies will be diverse in nature。 Hopefully this isn't some kind of weird quasi-racism left over from 4 families Card met at church or something。 He does obviously go to the lengths to learn about the cultures of these people somewhat。 The ending was definitely a little more convenient for me than Xenocide; if the ending of that book seemed a little Deus ex Machina to you then be warned。 I also （for what must be the 7th time in these books） groan at Card's incessant desire to make sure that as many characters as possible are living happily ever after by the end， by which of course is to be married as young as possible and starting a family。 One such character was 14。 This is just not necessary。 It's weird。 At least make the characters older if this is your plan。None of the many times I read Ender's Game would I have even begun to imagine that this is where the story would end up， and for that I commend Card: the overall saga is highly original and unlikely to be duplicated。 This is probably more likely due to its convoluted method of。。。 almost everything， but there were definitely lots of ideas here that were fresh and exciting to me in 2021。 The concept of Speakers for the Dead， how humans would interact with alien species before and after a Xenocide; this event being the crux upon which humanity's ability to journey to other planets relies， and most importantly the impact of an individual like Ender Wiggin， the accidental murderer of an entire species， who， in a desire for atonement， created a new philosophy and religion solely based on empathy and regret for having committed such an act unknowingly。 Seeing how all of this rippled across all of humankind after 3，000 years when faced with the same situation he was as a child was an excellent conclusion。 It wasn't really set up all that well， but the scope is so massive that it is commendable and exciting nonetheless。Side Note: This is my favorite book cover of all time。 John Harris' art is beautiful beyond description， and this piece in particular makes me feel some kind of childhood wonder that I can't quite put my finger on。 。。。more

Gen ，

We finished， good people。 The evil is defeated。Every other book in this whole extended saga I've been able to write a full， cheeky review of。 This one was honestly less hideous than I was expecting。 The whole Fake Peter and Fake Valentine thing did not go as intensely down the road of weirdness as it seemed like it was going to。 But still， here we are。I would give this book maybe a 2。5 star rating。 I don't hate it。 In fact， I feel somewhat benevolent towards it。After all， it's just a book of peo We finished， good people。 The evil is defeated。Every other book in this whole extended saga I've been able to write a full， cheeky review of。 This one was honestly less hideous than I was expecting。 The whole Fake Peter and Fake Valentine thing did not go as intensely down the road of weirdness as it seemed like it was going to。 But still， here we are。I would give this book maybe a 2。5 star rating。 I don't hate it。 In fact， I feel somewhat benevolent towards it。After all， it's just a book of people arguing with each other for 300 pages， like every other book in this series。 The problem here is that I just don't like anyone involved。 Ender is barely present。 I don't care for the Fake Twins， or Miro， or Jane。 Novinha is still the worst。 Valentine is criminally underused， as always。 Wang-mu is the most alright person here。 Card's planets where he tries to essentialize Japanese and Samoan culture are weird， and so are the barely-there， less-than-graspable politics。 Some people get married， and it's fine and I don't care。 The best parts of this book are the occasional snappy， sarcastic exchanges between Wang-mu and Peter， or Ender and whoever he's talking to at the time。 The other best part is the three pages of confrontation between Peter and the Lusitania fleet。 Why couldn't we have done more of THAT kind of thing？ Instead we've just got hundreds of pages of people alternately whining， philosophizing， and sniping at each other。I'm tired， lads。 We got it done， so there's that。 Now let's never do this again。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Children of the Mind

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Children of the Mind&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Children of the Mind&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0