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Wow, no love (or hate) for the new book? I just noticed Earth Unaware is available for purchase and preview for my Kobo so I will be checking it out this weekend.
Posts: 6 | Registered: Jun 2012
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I haven't read it yet. I ordered a copy through a local fantasy store, and their shipment got delayed.
Posts: 6026 | Registered: Dec 2004
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So, what struck my eye first was "Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston" wrote it.
Thought I remembered that name, and oh yeah, same as "Invasive Procedures." Which I thought was lame as hell.
So.... I'll wait to see what others say about it. I felt like Invasive Procedures was a major waste of time that I only read bc it had Card's name on it, and then it had none of the things I like about OSC books, such as good writing.
Posts: 115 | Registered: May 2011
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I loved it - had a very updated Heinlein-esque feel to the worldbuilding, with classic Cardian introspection.
I didn't read Invasive Proceedures, but I did read Johnston's Ender's Game comics, and thought they were a bit too rushed (compared with Yost and Black's adaptation/originals). However, I think he did a really great job here - and even though it doesn't have my favorite art and suffers from being a comic (OSC's stories don't really fit well in the general comic mold, I think, much as I adore the form), I'm very glad to have the whole story I can reread after the end of Earth Unaware.
(I should note that I've loved nearly every single book in the entire series, including Ender in Exile, Shadows in Flight, and especially Children of the Mind, so I'm definitely predisposed to like it. But I do think it's a genuinely well done, enjoyable work, and am eager to see it continue - maybe even to the Second Invasion!)
Posts: 428 | Registered: Nov 2006
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Kelly - I'm with you on "Invasive Procedures." I didn't like it much at all, and remember finding a lot of typos in it. At the time, I thought "Must be Aaron Johnston's input that killed it."
However... I'm about 2/3 of the way through "Earth Unaware" and it is fantastic. Seriously, it is so engaging that I keep having to remind myself that it takes place in the "Ender's Game" universe. So now my opinion of Aaron Johnston has changed completely. I guess I just didn't like "Invasive" on it's own merits.
The new book feels like true sci-fi, sort of a mix of the Gateway novels by Frederick Pohl and something Ben Bova would have written. The tech is legitimate-sounding and it is full of high-tension and drama.
I'm already lamenting the fact that this book will be done in a day or so and I'll be stuck waiting again for the next one.
Posts: 298 | Registered: Sep 2011
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quote:Originally posted by DustinDopps: Kelly - I'm with you on "Invasive Procedures." I didn't like it much at all, and remember finding a lot of typos in it. At the time, I thought "Must be Aaron Johnston's input that killed it."
However... I'm about 2/3 of the way through "Earth Unaware" and it is fantastic. Seriously, it is so engaging that I keep having to remind myself that it takes place in the "Ender's Game" universe. So now my opinion of Aaron Johnston has changed completely. I guess I just didn't like "Invasive" on it's own merits.
The new book feels like true sci-fi, sort of a mix of the Gateway novels by Frederick Pohl and something Ben Bova would have written. The tech is legitimate-sounding and it is full of high-tension and drama.
I'm already lamenting the fact that this book will be done in a day or so and I'll be stuck waiting again for the next one.
Sold. I'll pick it up.
Posts: 115 | Registered: May 2011
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Yay! I also went back and reread Shadows in Flight - it's been a good year (at least in quantity) for Ender fans, and if you're a fan like me, it's been a good year in quality as well!
Posts: 428 | Registered: Nov 2006
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Just finished the book. LOVED it. Really really really liked it. And I was not fond at all of Shadows in Flight. This felt much better for me, possibly because the characters are fresh, the universe itself seems fresh-- different tech, different political and economic situations, etc--, it seemed like a story in its own right instead of the stepping-stone that Shadows in Flight felt like.
*SPOILERS BELOW*
The chapter with Mazer made me just about scream with frustration. That was so messed up. I really like what they've done with Lem-- you want to despise him but at the same time you feel some kind of understanding or sympathy with him. Not a heavy-handed "bad guy" vibe at all. I had to get excited when they first came face-to-face with a formic. That brought me back to reality that this IS the EG universe. Only complaint was the length. Far too short. I want more.
Posts: 115 | Registered: May 2011
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Yay! When you posted "Sold. I'll pick it up." I was afraid you'd end up hating it and would blame me for over-hyping. I'm glad you liked it as much as I did!
Posts: 298 | Registered: Sep 2011
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Ha, I bet it only seemed short because you just got finished with the latest Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones is not the name of the series, come on, you know better than that) book. Those things are freakin long as heck!
I thought Earth Unaware was a pretty standard novel length. Although it probably didn't help that structurally it only felt like only a portion of a novel.
Posts: 38 | Registered: Oct 2011
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quote:Originally posted by Dread Pendragon: When I got done with the last Game of Thrones audiobook I looked at audible and noticed a new OSC book, Earth Unaware.
I was around 2 hours into it before I recognized a name (Mazer Rackham) realized it was from the Enderverse!
Loved it, but it was short.
What is Mazer Rackham doing in a book about the 1st invasion? Hasn't it been well established that he was an obscure figure in a neglected part of the military until he swooped in during the 2nd invasion?
Posts: 10177 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Dread Pendragon: When I got done with the last Game of Thrones audiobook I looked at audible and noticed a new OSC book, Earth Unaware.
I was around 2 hours into it before I recognized a name (Mazer Rackham) realized it was from the Enderverse!
Loved it, but it was short.
What is Mazer Rackham doing in a book about the 1st invasion? Hasn't it been well established that he was an obscure figure in a neglected part of the military until he swooped in during the 2nd invasion?
Yes. There is no problem.
Posts: 115 | Registered: May 2011
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Way too short...finished it in three days (slow reader)but wish there was a schedule for when the next edition comes out. Months from now is way too discouraging, especially for someone whose memory is scatter shot, like ME!I'll probably forget all about it by then.
Posts: 2 | Registered: Aug 2012
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quote:Originally posted by Oscar51: Way too short...finished it in three days (slow reader)but wish there was a schedule for when the next edition comes out. Months from now is way too discouraging, especially for someone whose memory is scatter shot, like ME!I'll probably forget all about it by then.
You must be my twin! Totally agree,except for the slow reader part - I finished it in one day.
My memory is so ridiculous that I often ponder on the amazing fact that people actually remember so much about a story that they actually find discrepancies.
- off to pop another probably useless memory aid supplement.
Posts: 3771 | Registered: Sep 2002
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quote:Originally posted by MrSquicky: What is Mazer Rackham doing in a book about the 1st invasion? Hasn't it been well established that he was an obscure figure in a neglected part of the military until he swooped in during the 2nd invasion? [/QB]
He is being an obscure figure in a neglected part of the military in this book. His time comes later on. I'm feeling a, "Hey... what about that guy we overlooked all those years back?" moment coming on in a future book. Posts: 4 | Registered: Apr 2010
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quote:Originally posted by Dread Pendragon: When I got done with the last Game of Thrones audiobook I looked at audible and noticed a new OSC book, Earth Unaware.
I was around 2 hours into it before I recognized a name (Mazer Rackham) realized it was from the Enderverse!
Loved it, but it was short.
What is Mazer Rackham doing in a book about the 1st invasion? Hasn't it been well established that he was an obscure figure in a neglected part of the military until he swooped in during the 2nd invasion?
Yes. There is no problem.
Earth Unaware is the first of a trilogy of novels based on OSC's comic series, Formic Wars.
According to Formic Wars (the comic) Mazer Rackhas does indeed play a very large part in the conclusion of the 1st Formic War. This is a contradiction to previously established canon. Perhaps it will be resolved in later updated editions of Ender's Game.
Posts: 187 | Registered: Jul 2003
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Just finished reading it (or listening to the audio book rather). I suppose I am a bit biased and always love anything in the Enderverse, so I thought it was great and look forward to the next. One thing* I noticed early on was that Mazer Rackham was the only character I recognized from the Enderverse, so the authors could let anything happen to the characters. I did not read the comics, so it was all fresh to me. As for content *spoiler alert* I liked most of it but only found fault with two points. The first was Mazer Rackham's ordeal with the torture. If the point was for him to break out immediately in order to pass the test, why put him through all the torture at all? The other things was that the death of *Major Spoiler Alert* Mono in the destruction of El Cavador. Putting him on the ship was was not really necessary to the story and just added more sadness. The only other time I've had a stronger reaction to Card's writings was in Ender's Shadow; "Don't launch it. Set it off inside your ship. God be with you." Other than that though, it was an excellent book that left me eager to find out what else happened in the Formic Wars.
Posts: 54 | Registered: Mar 2008
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Hi everyone! Sorry to resurrect an old topic-- but I just started reading this book, and I kept wondering, how do you write a book together with another person, anyway? How much of it is OSC and how much of it is Aaron Johnston? There's a lot of OSC's standard signatures in it, and it's certainly as good as any OSC book, so what is Johnston's role, exactly?
Posts: 3 | Registered: Oct 2017
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I wondered the same thing while reading, because OSC's style is clearly present in this book. I imagined that Johnston did all the research - scientific and otherwise - drew a timeline, made a detailed plan chapter by chapter. OSC wrote what he fancied, Johnston wrote everything else, and then OSC read the whole thing doing last corrections. I may be completely wrong, though.
I can feel that the wondergirl, Imala, and the wonderboy, Victor, are very "Orsony". The depth of their relationship, the way the fight - is very typical for OSC and I believe he wanted all that to himself.
Posts: 723 | Registered: Dec 2004
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Pretty much all the characters are very "Orsony" -- especially Bingwen and the scene where he cleverly outwits a bunch of older kids who want to beat him up. (in "Earth Afire") It's not like OSC would need any help writing the book, so I'm just so curious as to what another writer would contribute-- maybe he came up with these particular ideas and sort of asked OSC to write out the ideas and develop the characters?
Posts: 3 | Registered: Oct 2017
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You must be my twin! Totally agree,except for the slow reader part - I finished it in one day. ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
