Ender in Exile

Whilst this is in the mainline Ender series, and contains a significant development for that storyline, on the whole this book is oddly placed. It feels like an epilogue to the first four books/ quadrilogy of the Shadow series, yet also spends a lot of time with characters who are only relevent for parts of this novella (Allesandra and her mother, starfleet captains and colony xenobiologists). This somewhat drags the reading excitement, although there is a clear throughline about Ender's emotional distance (from his family, friends, humanity) and suffering as he carries the weight of his actions from Ender's Game, and some solid world-building. A decent and almost fast read, I'm just not sure how to feel about Ender in Exile overall.