A War of Gifts: An Ender Story by Orson Scott Card

[katekintailbc]

A War of Gifts: An Ender Story
by Orson Scott Card
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5740416/


It's been... I'm not sure. 10 years since I last read an Orson Scott Card book? I don't think I've ever read an Ender series book. I like to read things in order, so I'm not sure how I ended up being talked into this. But I'm glad I did.

As I couldn't be considered a fan of the Ender series when I sat down to read this, I didn't feel like anything was lacking (I figured there was a whole series out there for exploring more of these characters). Quick the opposite, in fact, because it seemed to do so much in such a small number of pages. The story starts off with two different families on Earth and winds up as sons from those two different families interact at Battle School galaxies away, close to the front lines of war. This is a fascinating story about religion and culture in this futuristic setting. My favorite kind of science fiction is very character driven (like this) with aspects familiar to me (like culture and different holidays) applied to completely different situations. The story is well-written, letting me see the issues from multiple points of view. And the end was really all I could have hoped for or expected. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it definitely got me into the Christmas spirit... and wanting to properly enter into this universe of Card's! What a rich, interesting world with fun, realistic characters.