Study Guide: Children of the Mind (A BookCaps Study Guide)

By BookCaps

Ender’s Game is one of the greatest science fiction series of all time! But it spans across many planets and features dozens of major characters and plots. In short: It gets complex!

The perfect companion to Orson Scott Card’s "Children of the Mind," this study guide contains a chapter by chapter analysis of the book, a summary of the plot, and a guide to major characters and themes.

This guide only covers the fourth book in the original series; additional guides are available for subsequent books.

BookCapTM Study Guides do not contain text from the actual book, and are not meant to be purchased as alternatives to reading the book.

We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookCaps
• Release date: Feb 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465986566

BookCaps

We all need refreshers every now and then. Whether you are a student trying to cram for that big final, or someone just trying to understand a book more, BookCaps can help. We are a small, but growing company, and are adding titles every month.Visit www.bookcaps.com to see more of our books, or contact us with any questions.

Book preview

Orson Scott Card’s

Children of the Mind

Book Four of the Ender's Game Series

Golgotha Press

By BookCaps Study Guides

© 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc.

Published at SmashWords

www.bookcaps.com

Historical Context

Children of the Mind was written by Orson Scott Card and published in 1996. The fourth book in the Ender’s Game series, it is a direct sequel to Xenocide and the last in the series.

Orson Scott Card himself was born in 1951, the third of six children. He was raised a Mormon and to this day his religion remains a strong influence on his life. His writing career began while studying at Brigham Young University. Initially, he focused on poetry but eventually transitioned into short and speculative fiction. He eventually took a position as assistant editor at Ensign Magazine where he would publish his first short story.

Following this he would write a series of audio plays for the Mormon Church along with doing other freelance writing and editing jobs. His towering literary breakthrough would come with the publication of Ender’s Game in 1985. Expanded into a novel from an earlier short story, Ender’s Game would propel Card to fame in the world of science fiction literature and win him both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The follow year he would repeat this with Speaker for the Dead. The next two sequels in the Ender Saga, Xenocide and Children of the Mind would not be regarded quite as highly as the first two, but would nonetheless be well-received. Card’s Ender books would spawn several connected spin-offs. Outside of that universe he authored many other books including his well regarded Alvin Maker series.

Outside of his fiction writing Card has worked extensively as a commentator on pop culture, politics and religion, sometimes leading to controversy. His outspoken views against homosexuality drew the ire of many within the gay rights movement.

Orson Scott Card lives in North Carolina with his wife Kristine. Together they had five children.

Plot

Children of the Mind takes place immediately after the events at the conclusion of Xenocide. With the planet Path cured of the obsessive compulsive disorder forced on it by Congress, Wang-mu joins Peter Wiggin on his quest to convince the Starways Congress to call off their attack on Lusitania. Meanwhile, on Lusitania itself the Ribeira family continues its research on the origins of the now harmless Descolada all while trying to find a way to save Jane, a sentient computer program who can control faster-then-light travel and will soon be destroyed by Congress.

Setting

Children of the Mind has three primary settings. The first is Lusitania, a planet ravaged by a genetically engineered virus and under the threat of destruction from an inbound human fleet. Lusitania is home to three races: humans, Pequeninos and Buggers.

The rest of the book takes place on the words of Divine Wind and Pacifica. Divine Wind is a planet with a culture that evolved from the Japan of old Earth. It is home to the Necessarians, a group of philosophers who hold extraordinary influence over the Starways Congress.

Pacifica is a tropical planet that’s home to a people who originated from the Samoans of Earth. It is also home to Malu and the religion of Ua Lava.

Places, People and Things

Lusitania

The primary setting for the novel and home to humans, Piggies and the Buggers.

Divine Wind

Divine Wind is one of the most influential planets in the Hundred Worlds. It is home to a culture derived from the Japanese of Earth as well as the Necessarians, a prominent philosophy amongst the members of the Starways Congress.

Pacifica

A tropical world that serves as home to a culture based on the Samoans of Earth. It is also home to the religion Ua Lava and the holy figure Malu.

The Hundred Worlds

A loose federation of planets colonized by