Short Story
Like many of Card's works, the novel is an expansion of a short story, his "Lost Boys", which can be found in his short story compilation Maps in a Mirror. In the short story version, Card assumes Fletcher's role as the protagonist. Some minor plot details are different as well in this story, such as the protagonist's occupation (an editor for a video game magazine) and the story is told from a first-person perspective instead of the novel's third-person perspective. Though he refers to many real events (such as his writing of Ender's Game), the short story is also completely fictional. Because of his use of himself and his real occupation, real locations and real people, Card had to append a special note stating that the story is fictitious.
Card has stated that this book was one of his hardest to write due to the emotional nature of the subject material. This comes across in the writing, widely regarded by those who have read it as some of his most intense, personal writing.
Read more about this topic: Lost Boys (novel)
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