deborahmarkus7

We give up. I thought this book would be an expanded version of the last chapter of Ender's game -- a chapter that reads like a novel with the air sucked out. That chapter *ought* to have a novel version. Instead, I've got a clunky, didactic book that starts with a morally shaky premise: the idea that if a planet you want to colonize turns out to have intelligent life, you should limit your colonization to certain areas. Really? Turn that one around a minute. What if aliens thought Earth looked terrific, noticed us, and decided to "just" colonize obviously uninhabited areas like, say, the outback of Australia? Also, saying that a species isn't an "animal" because it's intelligent and self-aware? I know Card is a severely right-wing Christian conservative, but seriously.

We'd read part of the first chapter yesterday. My son wanted to read at least one chapter together before we gave up on it, and I agreed. Tonight, I assumed we'd finish that chapter and see what he thought. Instead, he groaned as I reached for the book. So forget it. Our bedtime read is supposed to be a pleasure, not a slog.

This is now in my "to read" file, but the date for that is probably the twelfth of never.

---Just started reading this with my son. And the award for the most long-winded, pretentious introduction ever written goes to...