A Sci-Fi Canterbury Tales of sorts, this first book in an incredible series bears little resemblance to the next three books. Regardless, it’s a good start, and I highly recommend the series overall.
This is a really solid companion to the masterful work that is Ender’s Game. I love the story told from another perspective inside of one of my favorite books of all time. It adds depth to the original, and stands on its own as well. It turns out there’s a whole sub-series that follows Bean’s story line. Adding to my queue.
I vaguely recall this being only slightly better than Speaker for the Dead. That I haven’t re-read it in over a decade should say enough.
I kept hoping this book would get better. It never did.
I consider Ender’s Game to be the single greatest leadership book ever written. Yet it’s sci-fi. And about children. WTF?
Once upon a time I aspired to be a leader like Ender. After experimenting with different leadership styles, I realized that style works best in a hierarchical structure and even then is a bit dated as far as management theory goes. Regardless, I love the book and still think the both the character of Ender and the whole novel are top-notch. It’s on my must-read list.