The sequels (along with the books about Bean) are kind of so-so. Card's writing gets technically better, but somehow none of his other novels have the raw emotion of Ender's Game. They're too...calculated, perhaps?

True, it's how you do it rather than what you do, to a large extent. Like, you know [Bad username or site: >murinae</a @ livejournal.com]? No matter what kind of story she's writing, she always has these amazing insights that make me sit up and take notice.

Eheh, I think I've seen enough crack to not be too surprised at what you're reading. It's gotten to the point where I'm more shocked by really good plot rather than really crazy crack. I think I need to read more Western fandoms...