Embarrassing but true: I'm still a sucker for books in the Ender's Game "series." I know it's an artifice to put that in quotes, but I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about. Look, I know Card is totally bonkers, and I know not only how each story is going to go, but also how it's going to feel as I read it.

And still.

Can't quit it.

Probably has something to do with what a wonderful book Ender's Game is, and how important it was for me (and presumably all 30-something nerds) when I was growing up.

It's sort of like having Christmas cookies. Each year, you know what they're gonna taste like, you know they're not that good for you, but it's comforting. Comfort science fiction, we'll call it.

Anyhoo, this book is precisely what you'd think a book set between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead is. Good enough, enjoyable. Nothing that's shocking.