Ender in Exile

Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was deeply disappointed in this book. The cover of this book proudly proclaims that it is "the all-new direct sequel to Ender's Game", which it is not. A more accurate description would be that this is a retcon of Ender's Game to make it fit into the Ender's Shadow story.

What I found astounding is that almost 30 year's since the publication of Ender's Game that Orson Scott Card could lose touch with the characters in his inaugural tale. Ender, Valentine, Graff... all of them were not the same characters from the original story. Whoever Card was when he wrote Ender's Game, he is not the same author now.

I found it amusing and disturbing that in the afterward tacked on at the end of the book, Card takes the time to dismiss the contradictions in his earlier tale. His answer to the problem is that his previous epilogue was wrong and he shouldn't be tied to the decisions made by that author back in the 80's. His plan will be to release a revised version of the first novel to solve this quibble. I find that upsetting considering it's painfully obvious that Card's earlier self is the better writer.

There are other things wrong in this book. Funnily enough in the afterward Card notes that he didn't reread his previous works before writing this one... and it shows. He relied on his fans to help him. I'm sure they did their best and with zealous enthusiasm. I don't fault their efforts, but I think for this book in particular it would've been better to have the author spend a little more time rereading the old material.

Let me sum up my troubles and let them go. The early Ender books were written by a young man with life ahead of him and a questioning spirit. The Ender's Shadow series, which I consider Ender in Exile to be a part, is written by a matured man with a spirit that no longer questions but preaches. Card has filled his most recent books not with ideas of how things might be, but with beliefs of how things are. And to quote an excellent film called Dogma, "You can change an idea, changing a belief is trickier."

So I am saddened by how things have turned out in the Enderverse. But there's money to be made, so can the author be blamed for cashing in? If there is blame to be thrown it's that I spent my money, thoughts, and time on a book that didn't make my life better.

Time to go read a book by Terry Pratchett to make up for it. Going Postal, anyone?

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One Year with Less Cat

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Originally uploaded by FlipSide3

Still miss ya buddy.

Preschool Pictures 2011

Preschool Pictures 2011
Originally uploaded by FlipSide3

So here are my children. They'll be 3 and 5 in a couple months. Where does the time go?

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I didn't read any spoilers on this one and thought it would deal more with the discworld cosmology. Instead it turned out to be a story of political intrigue in the distant lands of uberwald. It progressed the story of commander Vimes who is now the duke of anhk morpork. Other highlights are some details in Angua's family and the lives of the dwarves. Another wonderful installment in the disc world of Terry Pratchett.



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Great White Paw

GreatWhitePaw
Originally uploaded by FlipSide3

Thought I'd point out that I did an update on the GreatWhitePaw. That would be our family blog. Changed up the header graphic a bit.

For those that don't know, www.greatwhitepaw.com is the home of the main blog for all the family stuff. Granted it doesn't get posted to all that often. Facebook is the place of choice for most posts. It's a nice place to find all the wishlists for our family members though.

If you're wondering, the name comes from our cat's white paw. Once we became a couple my wife and I needed a place that was uniquely us. Our cat Satine had a habit at the time of batting things from under closed doors. So one of us would be walking down the hall, and then exclaim "Look! It's the Great White Paw!" if we saw that flash of white fur from under the door.

Anyway, now you know.

Connor the Cat

Connor
Originally uploaded by FlipSide3

My wife saved Connor from the shelter the October before I started seeing her. So he had been along for the ride since the beginning. We still joke about the first night he was in my home and knocked a jar off the top of the fridge in the middle of the night.

"That was glass!" was my reaction upon suddenly waking. I have a gift for stating the obvious.

Of the two cats that became a part of my life, Satine being the other one, Connor was both the main source of love and pain. He was constantly wanting love and attention. While Satine will accept a head scratch, Connor would wallow in your lap. Sometimes it would be hard to sleep with him purring by my side at night.

This was good and bad as he could be very annoying at times. Though you always knew he valued you, at least as the provider of food and attention. Too bad we were feeding him the wrong food.

Turns out that dry food isn't the best for cats (especially him it turns out). You think you're being nice by keeping his bowl full, but really you're just enabling him to eat himself to death. In the end much of the bad behavior, for which there was a lot, could be attributed to his diet slowly killing him. At least Satine will benefit from the knowledge gained by his demise. She's getting her food out of a can now.

So on November 10, 2010 we lost our orange lump of a cat. For all the trouble, he was a good kitty and I will miss him.

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked this one because for once I was really worried about what was going to happen to the characters.  Shouldn't have worried so much as it all worked out in the end, like all good stories do.  Still that's what make them good... when the concern starts to well up in your mind.


If I was ever in dire straits I definitely want Granny Weatherwax on my side (or at least not on the other side).  Now I can add Mightily Oats to the list of fun Discworld folks I'd enlist if I was in a pinch.  That and the Nac Mac Feegle.


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