Shattered Sun

I’ve always been a big proponent for my children to do things on their own. That’s what Sam is avoiding like the plague. He used to be the kid that had no fear, would try anything, etc, etc. But he’s become the child that fears life now. He seems to have forgotten how to live as an eight year old. He’s trying so hard to be perfect, to be an adult, to be everything that he thinks he should be now. It seems that no matter how many times I tell him that he’s only eight and he’s supposed to be imperfect, because not only is he a kid but hell, how many humans do you know that are perfect? I know of none, but there must be some that he puts on pedestles. I think that his father is a big person for him to emulate. He definitely doesn’t try to emulate me. I’m the brainy parent, the no fun parent, the parent who makes him do his chores and homework. I’m also the parent that doesn’t give him the answers, makes him figure things out with a little prompting, and generally makes him think on his own. He used to get compliments for being the kid who would sound out words, and even though the sounds he made didn’t seem to fit the word just right, he could always spell the word right. Now he doesn’t want to sound different or be different from the other kids so he’s stopped doing that. And since he hasn’t found another method that really works to his advantage. I kind of feel bad for him. I remember being the child that wanted to be perfect and it’s no cakewalk. I wish I could make him realize now that he should value his ability to think creatively and to hell with everyone who doesn’t understand him. It’s not the importance of being understood so much as the importance that he understands himself and the world around him.

A bit slow in the beginning and there are moments that seem a little far fetched, but it all pulls together in the end and then some! It’s very very good if you get past the initial blah. I love how Card has gone the extra mile in showing that everyone is not what they seem and the flaws of his characters. I am anxious to see how “human” the Oversoul becomes because in this book the Oversoul goes beyond being “just a computer”. Exactly where and when does a computer evolve into it’s own entity? I hope that he addresses that in The Ships of Earth since it makes for a very interesting subplot. There is more that I want to write about it, but it would give too much away from the twisting plot and that would do you an injustice. Go read it and don’t skip to the end of the book, lol.