Speakers for the Dead

 Speakers for the Dead Card is Card's follow up to Ender's Game, and while it also claimed various awards, for me this is where the series heads downhill.

 Notably, this book is absolutely nothing like Ender's Game, the setting is a remote alien planet that humans have begun colonizing, and Ender himself is now and adult, and bears little resemblance to the character from the first novel.

 The plot involves lots of uninteresting religious-style babble, some weird trees, and a weak Ender unable to cope with what he did in the war(despite having no knowledge of it..).

 There are more sequels after this one, but their quality is takes an ever steeper dive-- too be avoided.

7.4/10

Ender's Game

 This book is the reason Orson Scott Card is a recognized name, it won him the Hugo and it is if nothing else, an
entertaining read.

 The story follows Ender a third child, and whose birth was only allowed because of his parents high IQ, as he is shipped off to battle school to be trained to fight the alien menace Earth faces.  Battle school is where the majority of the story transpires, with Ender having to learn to fend for himself, but also to lead his squad in battle.

 The book ends with a twist ending, which is probably what has made this novel somewhat enduring.  Card also wrote numerous sequels and related books, but none are as captivating as this first one.

 Ender is interesting to read about, and the book is quickly and deftly paced, I've encountered very few people who didn't enjoy this one.

9.1/10

The Forever War

 The Forever War is Haldeman's classic novel of interstellar war,  and this one should not be missed.

  An elite group of soldiers is formed on Earth, conscripted into this group is Mandella, our narrator.  It is the not to distant future, and Earth has encountered a hostile alien race.  In response they form Mandella's squad-- with the best and brightest Earth has to offer, and send them out into the stars to wage war.

 There is an element of Vietnam to the war, and the story, and not suprisingly Haldeman served in Vietnam.  Eventually Mandella returns to Earth, but due to the effects of relativity, it is not the Earth he knew.  He doesn't belong, and once again he heads out into the stars for a second tour of duty.

 Read this shit

9.2/10