Shadows in Flight

6:00 pm 4 January 2012

Solid entry in the series but suffers from too much focus on dialogue and internal dialogue and a lack of action to the plot. The plot itself is very simple: Bean has left Petra and Earth behind to take their children to the stars with the hopes of finding somewhere they can live out their limited days in peace. Each of the kids is unique. Ender, a scientist, is focused on learning how to solve their giantism condition and save them all. Carlotta is an engineer, expert on starships, how they operate, etc. Sarge is the soldier. But yet they're not older than 6. Then a mysterious ship appears which may be a Formic ship and they investigate seeking answers. They find more than they're looking for: a secret which could save them all.

Much time is spent building family relationships and exploring the Formic ship. A few interactions with dangerous servant bugs on board provide the limited action but the rest is talk and thinking. Card is good at this and chose wisely to keep the book short, but I could have done with a bit more substance. For those wishing to know more about the Formics, however, this book reveals it in spades. It also resolves what happens to Bean and his children and certainly leaves room open for further stories with the kids.

A good read. Strong prose. Strong characters. But not as substantial as desired. So 3 stars.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt

Shelf

Currently reading

Recently added

Shadows in Flight