The Sword and Laser discussion

Anyone else reading (or read) this latest books in the Ender Universe? I just finished it last night. While I enjoyed it, I found it a little unoriginal within the body of Card's novels.

Right off the bat, the three Delphiki children reminded me completely of the dynamics between the Wiggin children. It worked within the context of the story, but it seemed all too familiar for me to take completely seriously.

Once Bean and Petra's plans for the children come into light it reminded me a lot of The Worthing Saga, an earlier work from Card. The Worthing Saga is primarily about Jason Worthing, who is given the chance to colonize his own world. There are a lot of details that make The Worthing Saga different from Shadows in Flight, but there are definitely some major parallels.

I'm still eagerly awaiting the now titled Shadows Alive, but this definitely didn't feel like one of Card's better works. Thoughts?