Biggs' Zone

A Gamer Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: Orson Scott Card

Book Review: The Swarm

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On June 25, 2020

In Book Review, Fantasy

Book Review The Swarm (The Second Formic War, #1)The Swarm by Orson Scott Card
My rating: [rating=5]
(Click here to view on Goodreads)

Ask anyone that knows my taste in books and they will tell you that I love the Ender’s Game Series. It even made my Top 5 Books list. So when I heard about these series of books that are essentially prequels to Ender’s Game, I was immediately interested. Honestly I wasn’t even aware there were books about the first Formic War until I began reading this book. Now I guess my list has grown bigger (since there are still books in the “Enderverse” that I haven’t read yet).

The Swarm is the first book of three in the new Second Formic War series. The third book has not been published, yet. This series follows Mazer, Victor Delgado and Bingwen as they face off against the Formics again, after the tragic events of the First Formic War. This book focuses on the International Fleet’s struggle to gain a tactical advantage over the Hive Queen and her swarm. When a Formic ship is discovered on an asteroid in the Kuiper Belt Bingwen, Victor and Mazer race to gather as much intel as they can to assist the IF and save the human race.

Biggs’ Review

I didn’t do any research about this book before reading it. We found it on sale and decided to buy it because I love the Ender books and my wife had heard good things about it. The rumors are true. I enjoyed this book just as much as I enjoyed his other books. While I haven’t read the First Formic War series, this book begins setting up much of what we see in Ender’s Game. I’m excited to read The Hive to see what other “origin stories” are ahead. Unfortunately I don’t own a copy … yet.

If you’re an Orson Scott Card fan and/or an Ender’s Game fan then this series seems right for you.

View all my reviews

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
– Dr. Seuss

 

Book Review: Shadow of the Hegemon

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On June 18, 2016

In Book Review, Science Fiction

Shadow of the Hegemon (Ender's Shadow, #2)Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
My rating: [rating=3]
See the review on Goodreads

Ender’s Game is a top 3 book for me (right up there with Ready Player One and Moby Dick). I’ve read Ender’s Game more than once, I’ve read Ender’s Shadow and I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for a couple of years. I don’t know why I waited so long to read it. I knew it wouldn’t be anything like Ender’s Game, and it wasn’t, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good book.

Shadow of the Hegemon reads kind of like a Tom Clancy novel. It’s as if the author took all the battle school kids and put them into a Rainbow Six novel. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, Tom Clancy is a fantastic author, however I just enjoyed the other two books more.

Bean was probably my favorite character from Ender’s Game, which is probably why I enjoyed Ender’s Shadow too. I think that is also why I did enjoy this book. We get to see Bean’s prowess, without Ender. We get to see that potential in him that Graff and Ender knew he had. We also get to see an interesting side of Peter and Ender’s parents. It also answered a lingering question I had after reading the other books. What happens to these children once they have returned to Earth.

View all my reviews

diablo3-readingThe more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
– Dr. Seuss

Movie Review: Ender’s Game

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On March 2, 2014

In Movies, Reviews

enders-gameMy Rating: [rating=5]

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Sir Ben Kingsley

Plot: I’m not going to go into the plot much because I encourage you to read the book. The book is amazing and pretty much my all time favorite book. Andrew Ender Wiggin is a prodigy. He has the ability to counter nearly any enemy attach, and he’s only 11 years old. His remarkable abilities attract the attention of military leader Colonel Graff who believes that Ender may be Earth’s last hope against an alien attack, but first Ender must complete Battle School to receive the proper training.

Biggs’ Synopsis: As an avid fan of the book, I was pretty apprehensive about the movie. Everyone knows that Hollywood loves to destroy a good book (ex: Eragon). I know the author, Orson Scott Card, was standing between Hollywood and the making of this movie, leaving all of us anxiously awaiting the day when the movie will finally be made. Personally, we were not disappointed. I think the movie was great! It stayed fairly true to the book and I think it nailed Ender’s philosophy. There are a few sub-plots the movie leaves out, but it doesn’t really take away from the main story. I do wish they had spent more time on the battle room where we really got to see Ender’s abilities shine.

Also, the soundtrack is amazing! I bought it immediately after watching the movie and have already listened to it numerous times. If you haven’t read the book, do that first. Seriously, don’t watch the movie until you have read the book. If you have read it and are reluctant to see the movie, I would still encourage you to see it. If you are not the kind of person that can take the time to read the book, then go ahead and see this movie (but I would still strongly urge you to read the book).

/cheers.

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