"I'm saying that when your child goes off to war, you will never get him back. Not as he was, not the same boy." These words are spoken by John Paul Wiggin, husband of Theresa and father of Andrew. They certainly ring true in speaking of any military conflict and the manner in which it affects those involved on the front and those waiting at home. In this instance, however, the possible changes are more devastating as Andrew, also known as Ender, is only 12 years old.

Having just saved the world, opposing sides are now clashing in an effort to determine what to do with the heroic and genius preteen. One side wants him to come back to Earth and attempt to return to a normal life, while the other side knows that to do so would only bring chaos and danger. To come home would lead to pressures to fulfill a military life and make him the target of opposition assassination attempts. Should he return to Earth, or take up exile on Eros, a training facility of the Hegemony?

Ultimately, Ender chooses neither. Instead, the young man elects to make for the outer colonies. Rather than hibernate on the lengthy voyage, he chooses to remain awake and age over the course of the trip, hoping that he will grow from a confused and immature preteen into an older, wiser and more capable leader at the glorious age of 35. While he and his sister Valentine make their way through space, back home their brother, Peter, methodically undertakes a plan to assume command of the world.

ENDER IN EXILE takes place about a year after the events of ENDER'S GAME and immediately prior to those in SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD. It is an extraordinary gap in time that has left many readers of the series wondering just what happened to Ender in the years he was gone. Orson Scott Card finally delivers those answers, and he does so in fine fashion. Where this work really comes together is that if you are a longtime fan of the series, you will enjoy digging and filling in all those gaps. If you have not read any of the previous Ender books, fear not. Because Ender and company are exiled, with a bit of a connection still to the news from Earth, the story is essentially isolated from the others and thus easily accessible to all newcomers.

While it does not pack the punch of ENDER'S GAME in terms of action or philosophical questions, ENDER IN EXILE is still a sensational adventure that is bound to please those who make the choice to crack its spine.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

Right after Ender's Game I was really excited to go and read Speaker for the Dead right after, but I was kind of disappointed to find that it came so long after Ender's Game and had very little explanation of what happens right after Ender's Game. Since then I've read that speaker was supposed to be it's own novel without Ender, but when writing the Ender's Game novel Card realized that it would work well with Ender, so he kind of just threw him in there and put a last chapter in Ender's game to lead up to Speaker.
Anyways, I feel like this fills in the blanks really well and makes an easier transition into Speaker for the Dead, and it's almost like a parallel novel like Ender's Shadow, except instead of just shadowing one book, Ender in Exile lightly shadows the entire Shadow series.
Now I can't wait for Shadow's in Flight!

I began reading Ender in Exile and quickly realized I needed to finished the Shadow series first (I still haven't read Shadow of the Giant). Ender seems different to me in this novel...more sarcastic maybe? Even Valentine seemed wittier. I do like how throughout the shadow series and this book, we learn more about Ender's parents. I loved First Meetings and I was happy to see their characters developed. I never was satisfied with the huge gap between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. I felt ripped off, like we missed out on teenage Ender. I am thrilled that OSC has filled at least some of that gap.

Enjoyed the book. It fills in many details with enders parents as well as his time after BS. Card as always can keep you turning pages, I dont think there were any major revelations and Cards end notes are very right in that it should be read at the end of the series rather than in chronological order. I cant know Cards motivation for writing EiE but it is not a cheap edition to cash in a little more with Ender.

Ender is acknowledged as the victorious warrior against the notorious buggers threatening Earth in Orson Scott Card's momentous first novel, Ender's Game. Ender in Exile is the sequel to that first novel, revealing Ender's life-long quest to free himself of guilt in the death of Stilson, Bonzo and all the formics in the universe. But Ender clarifies this issue by stating he's not to blame for their deaths but he is responsible. Intent is not the issue but consequences are.

While Ender is attempting to reconcile his outer reputation as a savior of the earth with his killer, instinctual responses and consequences, the reader discovers the evolution of so many who touched his life and he theirs in some way during that questionable, short time span.

Colonies are being formed on all the former formic worlds and it is through the ansible email communications that we learn how Peter, Ender's brother, evolves into the Hegemon, a world leader who can wreak peace or devastating war on earth. What will he honor, knowing his own destructive, evil nature?

Hyrum Graff could retire as the engineer of the ultimately victory Ender won; instead, he has bigger plans as Minister of the Colonies now in the process of being rebuilt and shaped by humans traveling in and out of stasis to their destinies as the creators of a different world than strife-ridden Earth. Who is smarter about that process, the court-martialed, shamed Graff or Ender and what is the destiny of those affected by these plans?

Ender's sister, Val, is the single-minded relative and person who has Ender's best interests in mind and agrees to sacrifice her relationships with Peter and her parents to be a guiding force to heal Ender of the crushing burden he carries for past actions and as the first Governor of the planet, Shakespeare. How will Val reconcile her sacrifice and Ender's resistance to her advice? Are they really opponents or is there more behind their genius plans and conversations?

What about other members of Ender's "jeesh" or battle squads, those with him and those banished before and after the final war with the Hive Queen? While he might be worshipped by many of the world, what of Bean's descendant, Achilles, who carries a twisted story of the past and is determined to wreak punishment on the one who hold's the world's highest regard? This and so much more fills Ender in Exile with a story that covers the gap between the end of the war and the Speaker for the Dead story in Orson Scott Card's brilliant science fiction series.

A brief afterworld expresses not only thanks to the countless individuals who supported and assisted Card in this huge endeavor but also offers a singular message to those to whom this story is really directed, a significant, needed and moving tribute indeed.

Ender in Exile can be read as a stand-alone novel, with enough repetition for a new reader to understand what preceded this novel. It's also an excellent prequel to Speaker for the Dead which took a huge leap beyond the past bugger war. That Orson Scott Card manages to fill this gap and at the same time create a new story within a grand series speaks of his superb skills as a writer with enough imagination and creativity to shape stories within stories, changing, maturing character perspectives and worlds interweaving present, past and future science fiction to thrill both faithful and newly found readers of every persuasion.

Reviewed by Viviane Crystal on November 16, 2008

This book is more properly considered part of the Ender's Shadow series, rather than a sequel to Ender's Game. It is stylistically like the Shadow series, features many of the same characters, and ties up loose ends from those books.

Card has found a clever way to do that, while centering the story on Ender and Valentine. Readers of Ender's Game will recall that Ender and Valentine left on the first colony ship because there were some good reasons Ender could not return to Earth. This book picks up just before that voyage begins.

However, that voyage takes decades because of time dilation. So the events of the Ender's Shadow series all unfold during the voyage.

That allows a different slant on those happenings, while also resolving much of what happened to Ender during that period. Ender still has some life issues to face, and this novel shows us how he faces them.

I don't recommend this as anyone's introduction to the world of Ender. Read Ender's Game for sure before this. I'd also recommend at least the first couple of books of the Ender's Shadow series as prerequisites. The more of the series you've read the better you'll lke this, though I don't think you needed to read all the way through that series to enjoy this book. (By the way, it's unnecessary to read Speaker for the Dead and its sequels. They take place later in the timeline and you won't suffer any loss of enjoyment if you have not read them.)

However, if you liked Ender's Game and want to know what happened to Ender as a teen in more detail, this is the story for you. And if you felt there was one major loose end at the end of Shadow of the Giant, you're right and that loose end plays into the story as well.

I was pleased because the sequels to Ender's Game (Speaker for the Dead, etc.) really didn't give me a satisfying view of Ender's character. I concluded at the end of that series that Card really didn't like Ender that much, based on the life he lived in those novels. Perhaps I was mistaken, or perhaps Ender has grown on Card over the years, because the tone of Ender as a character is completely different here than in those books.

There are some minor inconsistencies in this story and the other books and stories in the series. Card details these in the Afterword. The biggest conflict is with the story where the computer character Jane is introduced, which was in the collection First Meetings in Ender's Universe. For me these inconsistencies did not get in the way of the story.

If you have read and liked just about any of the Ender books before, you'll definitely want to get this one to complete some disparate storylines. If you're like me, you'll read it fast. It just came today; I finished it before bedtime and felt motivated to write this review right away.

A well written book with great characterization and insight that is hard to put down (I often ponder the nature of addition while reading his books). That being said, if you are new to the series, I wouldn't start here.

I have read every Orson Scott Card book written and will continue to do so. He is my favorite Fiction author and I have one more reason to feel that way.

The third Formic War ended thanks to Andrew "Ender" Wiggins who believed he was playing a computer simulation game at Battle School instead of actually killing the Queens who gathered on a single planet. With their deaths, their soldiers, workers, and pupae died; Ender was responsible for the genocide of a race. He also killed two bullies in self defense, but the leaders of earth's nations do not want him residing in the United States because he could become a weapon that could destroy their own country. His brother Peter wants to be the ruler of a one world government, but his sister Valentine decides to accompany her younger brother to prove her sense of freedom.

The Formic Worlds are colonized by Earthlings since they remain in a pristine state. Ender decides to go to Planet Shakespeare where he hopes to learn why the Queens gathered in one place so that they could be killed. He is to be the governor as a hero to those who remained and the new colonists. The Commander of the ship taking him to Shakespeare wants to be the power behind Ender's government or to find a way to exile him back to earth. Ender, a thirteen years old boy with a brilliant mind prevents the coup before it begins by creating a better standard of living for the people. Ender, in his spare time, digs up Formic artifacts seeking clues to the Queens gathering.

Ender is intelligent and compassionate yet in many ways he is also tortured because of his wisdom and passion. His parents will not communicate with him and he rejects Battle School as he has to emotionally deal with real deaths he indirectly caused and not simulated gaming deaths. Less action than previous tales in the Ender saga, ENDER IN EXILE is much more cerebral as Orson Scott Card takes his fans deep into the heart and soul of a young boy forced to grow up too fast.

Harriet Klausner

This book lies directly between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. It also wraps up some of the story from the Shadow books. I think that anyone new to the Ender saga would be well advised to read the books in published order and save this for later, even though it fits in earlier from a chronological point of view.

The book is very cerebral and much of the emotional impact relies upon familiarity with the works already out there. Sometimes really getting a feel for what is going on requires knowing events from Ender's Game and the other books.

Card is a good author and writes well. The characters are strong and it is an extremely interesting story dealing with many themes already brought up in the Ender books. It is one more opportunity to dig deeply into ideas about leadership, morality, survival, regrets, forgiveness, the sanctity of life, etc.

I think the people who are going to enjoy this book the most are those hardcore fans who will be happy just to have more. The good news for them is that this is a solid effort, not just something cranked out for more profit. They will be able to enjoy spending some more time in the world they have come to love.