Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card (4th book in the Ender Series)
If you have read any of the posts about books on my blog you already know that I divide books based on how they feed my brain. There are the brain Candy books that are just fun to read but require little digestive effort; the Light Snacks that give you a little taste and require a little bit of brain digestion; Meals for the Mind that are full of thought and sustenance to feed your brain knowledge and insight.... Then there are books that are just hard to digest- the 7 course meal of the literary world. The Ender series by Orson Scott Card has gone back and forth between the last two categories and this last installment was the perfect 7 course meal of books to wrap up the story lines.
Some may think that these types of books are daunting, and often they are. In my modest opinion most of the books that fall into this category are the classics that you almost have to force yourself to finish. However, with Card there is an easy prose style that makes you want to keep reading. He created beautiful characters that embody all of the characteristics that we hope (or wish) we had, as well as all of those characteristics we fear lie just beneath the surface. His understanding of the foibles and struggles of the human mind burst forth in an allegorical story line that push our moral, ethical and political consciousness to a new level.
This is a book that challenges the reader to think and examine the world in which they live from a safe distance. The book allows for questioning of all beliefs in a safe distant false reality that feels all to real while reading. Though the heart of the book seems to be this moral, ethical, political dilemma that everyone must face at some point of their existence; it is the over arching theme of communication and knowledge that, for lack of a better phrase, slaps you across the face in the last few pages.
This book series is marketed as young adult literature; however, this is also one of those books that as your knowledge and ideals grow over your life, so will the things you take away from this series. Yes, this is a book series that teens would enjoy; but, it is also a book series that warrants rereading, revisiting, re-digesting at different points in your life. Although I did not read these books until I was much older, I doubt my teenage self would have had the full appreciation of the subtlety that Card uses to probe grey areas of the age old question of right and wrong.
This is a book series I recommend to everyone. Even if you are not a Science Fiction fan, at its heart it is a book that dolefully explores the reality of our human existence in a way that is meaningful, life affirming, and sustaining of deep thought.
- Series: The Ender Quintet (Book 4)
- Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (June 15, 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0812522397
- ISBN-13: 978-0812522396
