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    Children of the Mind
    Children of the Mind
    Children of the Mind
    Audiobook13 hours

    Children of the Mind

    Written by Orson Scott Card

    Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir and John Rubinstein

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The planet Lusitania is home to three sentient species: the Pequeninos, a large colony of humans, and the Hive Queen, who was brought there by Ender Wiggin. But now, once again, the human race has grown fearful; the Starways Congress has gathered a fleet to destroy Lusitania. Ender's oldest friend, Jane, an evolved computer intelligence, can save the three sentient species of Lusitania. She has learned how to move ships outside the universe, and then instantly back to a different world, abolishing the light-speed limit. But it takes all the processing power available to her, and the Starways Congress is shutting down the network of computers in which she lives, world by world.

    Soon Jane will not be able to move the ships. Ender's children must save her if they are to save themselves.

    Children of the Mind is the fourth book in Orson Scott Card's The Ender Saga.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateSep 1, 2004
    ISBN9781593974855
    Children of the Mind
    Author

    Orson Scott Card

    Orson Scott Card is best known for his science fiction novel Ender's Game and its many sequels that expand the Ender Universe into the far future and the near past. Those books are organized into the Ender Saga, which chronicles the life of Ender Wiggin; the Shadow Series, which follows on the novel Ender's Shadow and is set on Earth; and the Formic Wars series, written with co-author Aaron Johnston, which tells of the terrible first contact between humans and the alien "Buggers." Card has been a working writer since the 1970s. Beginning with dozens of plays and musical comedies produced in the 1960s and 70s, Card's first published fiction appeared in 1977--the short story "Gert Fram" in the July issue of The Ensign, and the novelette version of "Ender's Game" in the August issue of Analog. The novel-length version of Ender's Game, published in 1984 and continuously in print since then, became the basis of the 2013 film, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin. Card was born in Washington state, and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he runs occasional writers' workshops and directs plays. He frequently teaches writing and literature courses at Southern Virginia University. He is the author many science fiction and fantasy novels, including the American frontier fantasy series "The Tales of Alvin Maker" (beginning with Seventh Son), and stand-alone novels like Pastwatch and Hart's Hope. He has collaborated with his daughter Emily Card on a manga series, Laddertop. He has also written contemporary thrillers like Empire and historical novels like the monumental Saints and the religious novels Sarah and Rachel and Leah. Card's work also includes the Mithermages books (Lost Gate, Gate Thief), contemporary magical fantasy for readers both young and old. Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card. He and Kristine are the parents of five children and several grandchildren.

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    Reviews for Children of the Mind

    3.5/5

    2,226 ratings43 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The general consensus seems to be that the Ender quartet takes a dip in quality beginning with Xenocide, but I think that Children of the Mind quickly rebounds and delivers a much more compelling story. While Xenocide got stuck in place with its endless, boring scientific analysis of the descolada virus and philoctic twining, CotM focuses mostly on relationships between characters - especially Young Val/Miro and Peter/Wang Mu.The quartet comes around full circle very nicely, and Peter even appropriates Ender's classic phrase when the going gets tough. My only complaint, which leaks back to Xenocide as well, is that Plikt is such a useless, wasted character. She could have been completely removed without altering the story at all, and her absense would not have been felt. I kept expecting her to suddenly matter, and she never did.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Card runs out of steam on this one. In fact Card has lost it as far as I am concerned. Stop writing sexually frustrated novels Card!
    • 5/5
      This book is maybe the most important book of the series because reveals the origin of all problems.
    • 2/5
      Tension continues to slip away as characters ceaselessly discuss philosophy and feelings until every character blends into the same person; Orson Scott Card giving lectures. At many points I’d zone out while two characters are arguing endlessly about one of the same problems that have plagued them for three books now without being solved and I’ll lose track of who is talking, and realize that I can’t tell who is talking because they all speak and act the same way. They all overanalyze, exaggerate and overly rationalize every word they or the people around them say. The fleet, the descolada and the children of the mind are talked about until I just want it to end. There’s a significant death in this book and I found myself skipping past it because at that point the dialogue had become too much. I had to take a break and listen to a different book, come back and finish it at 1.5 speed. All I can say is I’m glad it’s over, I adore Speaker for the Dead and Ender’s Game but Xenocide and Children are far too much Lusitania and philosophy. They could have easily been one short book. I am excited to read Ender in Exile some day but not for awhile, this one really wore me out.
    • 3/5
      I finally read the conclusion of the Ender Quartet several years after finishing Xenocide. This was about 15 years ago. Children of the Mind was so forgettable that I couldn't tell you much of what happened. The Lusitania Fleet harboring the M.D. Device finally arrived to carry out their intended destruction, but I can't recall what happened next. Or before. Or why it mattered. Lemme check...(checks Wikipedia)... Weird. What an unnecessary story. I can't say I understand it even now.If someone recommends that you read the Ender books, just read the first two and stop after that.
    • 4/5
      The final chapter of the Ender collection is quite philosophical. It touches on the existence of the soul and artificial intelligence. Again the world building is great, characters are well developed, and action is nonstop.
    • 5/5
      A nice finish to the Ender quartet. This one is really Jane's story, and I liked how the questions about her existence were resolved. In Xenocide, I thought the notion of Outside seemed like a literary crutch (solve our problems by wishing!), so I was glad that it's impact was less in Children of the Mind. It was way too easy to abuse when characters created whatever they wanted, and it's still a little touchy with the instant travel. The book leaves some things open to the future, with the new lives of Ender and Jane and the new planet they all must deal with, so I expect that Card may visit here again.
    • 3/5
      The fourth and final, for now, book in the Ender series. It picks up right where Xenocide finished. Indeed the author has said that originally the two books were conceived as one. This book wraps up the stories of Ender, piggies, hive queen, Jane and the descolada. Well mostly, there is one big (and new) thread that is left dangling. In the afterword (of the audiobook) the author touches on that and says that a future book that ties the Ender series and Shadow series together will also tie up the dangling thread. So I am excited about that.
      This was first time I have read this book. I had read the prior three several times but always got series burn out before getting to this one. I am glad I have read it. I give it only 3 stars however. The rating of 3 stars to me means it still is a good book but that there was something missing or some other issue. For me the issue was that some of the emotional and philosophical scenes were a little long. The purpose of the scenes were fine, just that a lot of words were used to describe them. This can cause me to lose interest in the dialog or can lead to series fatigue.
      Anyway, if you love the Ender series or the way that OSC writes then I would certainly recommend finishing it out as we all wait for the final novel.
    • 2/5
      Just meh. I'm glad I finished the series but I would not have read this on its own. Each book made me just wish I had stopped at the previous one but I do enjoy closure.
    • 5/5
      I gave this book the 5 stars because it is metaphysical and really challenges you to think about what it is that make a person who she or he truly is and how do we know that. (whew! what a convoluted sentence!) Are you you because of your soul? Or do your memories and experiences make you? Or is it a bit of both. Ender is the pivotal point in this whole discussion of course. And being Ender make everything a bit magnified. That is why I enjoyed this one, although the end, even though you see it coming [really good foreshadowing], still makes you sad. I don't want to make it a spoiler so read it and experience it for yourself.
    • 3/5
      Really the second part of the story from Xenocide. Although all the threads are gathered up and wrapped n a bow for the reader, it does seem a little bit Deus-Ex-Machine - not as good as the first 2 books. But still an enoyable read.
    • 4/5
      Really wish Card had done more with the Descoladores.
    • 3/5
      seemed a bit of a weak conclusion...
    • 3/5
      Much of this book is spent summarizing events and reintroducing the characters from the previous works, probably in order to make it a stand-alone novel. What remains is a very simple plot problem; save the world (Lusitania) from annihilation of a super bomb. Of course, the solution is far from simple. The philosophy and ethics and characterization involved is as deep and interesting as ever, but so much of the action takes place beyond physical reality that I lost my connection to the story. It felt like reading a psychiatrist’s analysis of the motivations of the characters.
    • 4/5
      I'm still enjoying the series...good writing and it works hard to tie up the ends of the last book and even gives some final conclusions (for Ender) to the original book too. I feel that the detailed writing related to the cultures was a little more than I needed but after reading the afterward I can see what influenced the author to write in such explicit detail.
    • 4/5
      Some very challenging and interesting ideas presented here. Conversations about Strangers, Friends, Souls, Edge and Center communities and the purpose of life.
      A fitting end to the Ender Saga, though the books go on.
    • 5/5
      While I'm hesitant to look at one book and say this is the best book I've ever read, I can never come up with an answer to the question "What book do you like more than Children of the Mind?" It has depth, it is bittersweet, it is perfection.
    • 1/5
      Yes, this ties up all the loose ends left from Xenocide and Speaker For The Dead, but it is so clumsy, and so much like a plot-info-dump, rather than a real, elegant story.
      I could write, on an index card or two, the salient plot points, and save you the trouble of reading this.
      Oh, and lots of predictable. All over the place.
    • 2/5
      This book was so bad that it made me want to take a star off of the first three books in the series. All of the plotlines built up throughout the series are brought to disappointing deus ex machina conclusions. The idea that if you want it, it will be is so easy and such a lazy way to resolve the plot and moral corners that the author wrote himself into. Very unsatisfying. Sometimes it's not the author's job to resolve every single issue he touches on and it's either hubris or a lack of understanding of the depth of moral, ethical and philosophical issues to try.
    • 3/5
      This was much better than Xenocide, but it still had a slowness and flatness to the storyline that I'm not altogether satisfied. I suppose I get irritable with thoughts that seem to go on forever. I would like to see more of the things he wants to expressed shown in dialogue and the like, but that's probably just a preference.

      I still haven't been able to identify why I think it's rather flat and the characters aren't very well rounded, but nonetheless that's how it comes across.

    • 5/5
      Children of the Mind, The end of Ender Wiggin… Card does a fantastic job of ending the Ender Wiggin legacy with lots of twists and turns in every chapter. This book, much like the others, has a deep meaning that goes far beyond just the story line of Ender’s life. Card draws the reader into the story line before you get hit with the first turn of events, during the middle of the book nothing makes any sense really, then finally at the end everything makes perfect sense. There were parts of this book that I just had to skim over because it seemed to drone on and on about nothing. It wasn’t quite like Ender’s Game that hooks you with every word; this one had more politics and diplomacy. Card has a way of teaching you more about the Human Race, Religion, Relationships, and yourself. More than you ever knew or thought you knew before. Honestly, I didn’t want this book to end. I was so engrossed into the story at the end that I was quite disappointed when it was over. The way that card transitions from Ender’s life into Val and Peter’s lives is amazing. In the end I didn’t really even miss Ender; I was more concerned with Peter and Val. I just wish that Card would have continued the story after this. I would love to see more of Peter and Val and how their lives turn out. Also, what ended up happening with Congress and the transmission that the fleet was supposed to send to them? I really didn’t want this book to end the way it did… sort of “Poof” and it was over… quite literally.
    • 5/5
      Review by: Sara In this fourth, and final, book in Ender's Saga, everyone's story comes to a stunning close, and there's a surprise twist at the end. A remarkable book (as are all the others) and it's become one of my favorite of all time. READ IT OR PERISH!!
    • 4/5
      Final book of a series, made me think a lot about its theme.
    • 4/5
      Not the super amazingness of the previous three books, but seriously, it can't be possible to write the best book ever written four times. So, I give him a break and enjoy learning what happens as things go further with the characters and see some of them off. As usual, I learned more about the human race, myself, religion, and diplomacy from reading this. I know this isn't really a review, just blabber, but I'm tired and I'll edit this some other time.
    • 4/5
      This book has excellent prose; like the books before it, it does an excellent job of making you feel things. However, I feel like this books wasn't actually very well written. The plot lines just feel very cheap. There is almost no real character development that didn't feel like it was just carried over from the books before. The two main relationships of the book take the same boring path: two people working together initially deny having any feelings for each other, and then come to realize that they do like each other. Almost all of the plot is a challenge presenting itself that the characters then overcome. Almost never did anything feel like it was a true danger to anyone. The biggest shock of the book turns out to be a lie one paragraph later. I still enjoyed reading this, but it felt like it depended entirely on the books before and just quickly resolves everything.
    • 5/5
      Children of the Mind is the final instalment of the original Ender's Game series. This fourth book chronicles the fate of the Lusitania colony has they make their final stand against the Starfleet Congress as well as the fate of those who play an integral part of the rebellion - Jane, Miro, Ender and his family and a new host of characters.The conclusion of the story and the resolution for all the characters is satisfying to say the least. There were certain parts of the story where the details of physics and science can seem a bit heavy and difficult to comprehend for those without a certain degree of knowledge of at least interest in the realm of science. In the end, I was sad to bid the characters of the Ender's series farewell as they all journey on in their respective stories.
    • 4/5
      Written with Card's usual charm and wit, Children of the Mind was a fitting (if drawn out) end to the Ender's Game quartet. I have to agree with the other reviewers though, when I say that Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead were much better than the latter two books in the series. Regardless, this quartet is one of my favorite series of all time, and I think that everyone should give it a read. Four stars.
    • 4/5
      Not one of Card's best IMHO, but still a decent read. Besides, it finishes out one of the Ender's Game series (the better one, in my opinon).
    • 4/5
      Ender series still great but loses steam.
    • 3/5
      This final book in the Ender Quartet spends most of its time tying up loose ends from Xenocide than moving the story along. The fleet still threatens the planet Lusitania, Jane still faces imminent destruction, Miro is still angstful about his love life, and Ender's still going a bit mad. Everything is tied up neatly at the end, but by and large these latter two novels - Xenocide and Children of the Mind - feel superfluous. I admire Card for his amazing SF ideas, especially the development of the Piggies, but there wasn't much point in putting all the aiua business in the Ender universe. But that's okay. Now I know how it ends, and if I care to reread the series in the future, I'll simply stop after Speaker for the Dead.