Children of the Mind

Orson Scott Card

Nov 2009 · The Ender Saga Book 4 · Sold by Macmillan

About this ebook

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 against 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.

Children of the Mind is the fourth book in Orson Scott Card's The Ender Saga.

THE ENDER UNIVERSE

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

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

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

this book in of its self is a decent read, nothing to re-read any time soon, but as a series conclusion, it's a disappointment. it's clear that osc had an agenda on how he wanted this book to go, and no matter what conflicts happen or any "unexpected" event takes place it goes right back on track of what I'm predicting is going to happen. the plots in this story with Peter and wang-mu, Jane, Miro, and new val, are interesting but not as interesting as the character that osc spent 3 books developing, that of Ender. and the fact that ender dies in a pretty pathetic way doesn't do this character justice. I know osc wanted to make a Philosophical lesson out of this, by saying if someone dies does all he ever was die with him but does his influence or the way he was as a person still remain. so in a sense he didn't really kill him. but that doesn't mean much, in the long run when they get Peter a character that you really have no sympathy for takes enders place as enders perfect self. 3/5

After such a whirlwind of character and species introductions in the previous three books, this book is much more of diving into the lives and thoughts of Ender and those around him as well as the fate of the species he has so intertwined himself with. However, I don't think the lack of new civilizations and new societies was a bad thing; in fact, for those who had read the previous books it was a fantastic conclusion that still had me reading multiple chapters for hours on end when I meant to read only one even if just to find out what happens to the characters I've enjoyed so much.

Read this right after Xenocide, good choice as it is really part two of Xenocide. I enjoyed this book, read it very quickly to figure out what would happen next. Found myself truly enjoying the ideas and considering them further, it was truly fun to do so. Character development was good, but I think most of the good development happened during Xenocide. Some of the romance/love stories didn't feel very powerful, though, but that wasn't the focus anyway. Romance sort of just happened.

About the author

Orson Scott Card is best known for his science fiction novel Ender's Game and it's many sequels that expand the Ender Universe into the far future and the near past. Those books are organized into The Ender Saga, the five books that chronicle the life of Ender Wiggin; the Shadow Series, that follows on the novel Ender's Shadow and are set on Earth; and the Formic Wars series, written with co-author Aaron Johnston, that tells of the terrible first contact between humans and the alien "Buggers".

Card has been a working writer since the 1970s. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977--the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of Analog.

The novel-length version of Ender's Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin.

Card was born in Washington state, and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he runs occasional writers' workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University.

He is the author many sf and fantasy novels, including the American frontier fantasy series "The Tales of Alvin Maker" (beginning with Seventh Son), There are also stand-alone science fiction and fantasy novels like Pastwatch and Hart's Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Card's recent work includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old.

Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, He and Kristine are the parents of five children and several grandchildren.