Ender's Shadow 108
| Ender's Shadow | |
| author | Orson Scott Card |
| pages | 380 |
| publisher | To |
| rating | 9/10 |
| reviewer | dave@lpb.net & patrick@freeware.org |
| ISBN | |
| summary | Card's latest in the Ender Saga details the life of Bean |
J. Patrick Narkinsky's Review
Like most geeks of my age, I greatly enjoyed the book Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. This book describes the story of a child (named Ender) who is selected at the age of six for special training to lead an army against an alien species. Ender, like most geeks, experienced profound isolation from most of his contemporaries -- in part because of his exceptional intelligence.
Ender's Game was followed by three sequels. None of the sequels were as good as the original; in them, Ender lost his edge and became a relatively moderate man rather than a brilliant child. Because of this, I was frankly not expecting much from Card's latest attempt. Especially Since Ender's Shadow does something that is almost unprecedented in fiction: it re-tells the events of Ender's Game from the perspective of a relatively minor character in Ender's Game.
My first thought when I heard the premise of this book was "Oh no... Card has turned into another Piers Anthony". I thought that Card was probably beating a great story and a good fictional "universe" to death by trying to go to the bank with it too many times.
I was pleasently surprised. While Ender's Shadow recounts the same basic events reported in Ender's Game, it does them in a genuinely fresh manner; from a fresh point of view. When Robert Heinlein tried to retell stories in his later books, the result was always horrible, hackneyed plots. Card has succesfully avoided this pitfall, mainly by adding substantial original material not found in Ender's Game. This book doesn't just try to connect with Ender's Game. It has its own story to tell.
Most importantly, this book is not about Ender Wiggin: it is about Bean. It starts with Bean, as a child of around four ("he thinks") on the streets of Rotterdam. The first section of the book gives us a glimpse of Bean's life as a child, without parents, on the streets of Rotterdam. It is not long before Bean is under mortal danger from an older child on the streets, and is fortunate enought to make his way into Battle School through little more than good luck.
In Battle School, Bean is like a second Ender. He is as bright as Ender. However, unlike Ender, Bean is isolated from the students and in league with the teachers. It is made clear throughout that Bean is the second string; that he is there in case Ender fails and his primary task is often to make sure that Ender does not fail.
This arrangement brings out Card's peculiar genius as writer: writing about brilliant children in a way that is actually reminiscient of what brilliant children have actually experienced. Bean, like most geeks, experiences profound isolation. Yet, somehow he thrives on this. Some of his abilities (for example a remarkable ability for logical induction) remind me of the things which isolated me in my youth.
The bottom line is that I enjoyed Ender's Shadow for the same reasons that I enjoyed Ender's Game: great writing, good plot, and excellent characters. Most of all, like its predecessor, Ender's Shadowreminds me that I am not in fact alone in the memories of my school years; that at least one writer must have experienced the isolation that I felt because he can write about it so well.
Dave Hauser (boog3r)'s Review
I think the hardest part about writing a review on a good SciFi book is that you can't candidly discuss details on the subject matter. You end up with a nice paradox: How to convince the reader the book was actually good without telling much about the subject matter. You must instead rely upon the delivery and tale-weaving skill of the author while glossing over the details of the first twenty pages of the book for bait.
My experience with Card's writing is not complete, but what stories of his I have managed to read have sent my imagination places few other authors have managed. Heinlein and Card both take my mind and heart for great roller coaster rides through a menagerie of worlds. Ender's Shadow is what you might call a 'synquel' to Ender's Game. It takes the life of Bean and tells the same tale through his eyes. An interesting and very daunting task considering the magnitude of Ender's game. I believe Card delivered with a full platter, maybe out-doing Ender's Game a little too much.
Bean is a small child living in poverty on the streets of a futuristic Rotterdam. He is a boy with an interesting history and an even more interesting future. Facing certain starvation he joins a 'family' comprised of other maligned children formed on the street and rides the wave to a spot in Battle School. While there he learns about, studies and eventually meets and befriends the star of Ender's Game, Ender Wiggin. They unite in a quest to tame Battle School and prepare for a war against the 'Buggers' or Formics, a species of insectoids governed by a hive mind. Throughout the book there are numerous intertwinings, embellishments and explanations of events from Ender's Game; but told from a different viewpoint so as to be completely new. If it has been a while since you have read Ender's Game, much of it will be new and you will find yourself looking for that old, beat up copy you have lying around.
Downs
If anything might be wrong with this book it is the power Card bestows upon Bean. From what you get out of the first book it seems Ender is the main man running the show, he is the commander and the others are subordinates (not to mention good friends). I can't be sure if it was indeed Card's plan to elaborate on Ender's story and place Bean as the glue-holding-everyone-together. In many ways Bean eclipses Ender in certain skills but they both have their own independent strong points.
One thing Card should have incorporated was hyperlinks to corresponding passages between the two books. I'll be looking eagerly for this...
Ups
This book rocks! It paints a whole new picture of a world many of us love and cleans up a canvas that was already subjected to the brush. Card deftly intertwines a new story into an old and meshes them together into a new entity. A lot of work went into cross-referencing the two story lines and then individual quotes. Card even went to the trouble of adding new insight on characters that appear later in the series as having had contact with Bean during his stint on the streets of Rotterdam.
Slants
I admire Card himself through his writings, it warms me to think there are people who try to write without bias on a certain subject when advantage can be taken. If Card is guilty of this commonality I see it mainly as altruism on his part, trying to improve humanity in his small part through his books. One undertone does surface through most of his books: faith or religion. Parts of his stories will almost always have a thought on faith or theology. Sometimes it is educational in nature, rarely is it preachy. More often it enhances and adds to the story where other authors might use it to thump the proverbial soapbox.
In the Future
If Card is willing and imparts upon us a new volume in the Ender Saga, I would love a telling of the political intrigue Demosthenes and Locke play and how Achilles becomes a weak link in the Russian play for power.
Purchase this book at Amazon
Comments by Card at a book signing (Score:1)
Re:Go Read Ender's Game (Score:1)
``another excellent book from an excellent author''
I remember an article Orson Scott Card for some Commodore 64 magazine some years ago. It was a sprite graphics library written in Assembly. Didn't think much of his design or programming at the time; but I really liked some of his short stories that I read.
Dan Phillips -- sorry, can't remember my login name.
Spoilers... (Score:1)
The biggest problem I had with the book was the way Bean quickly figures out many of the things that Ender takes a long time to realize. I think that the reason he did this was to move the plot along... understandable, but it does make Bean seem rather omniscient.
This book also seems to set up a sequel, in classic Card fashion... can't really blame it for that, however..
BTW, Card has the first few pages of his Ender's Game linked to from his web site [hatrack.com].
Ok, I Can't Resist (Score:1)
arenn's SF Book Reviews [urbanophile.com]
To keep it marginally on topic, of course there is a link to my review of Ender's Shadow.
Here's My Reivew (Score:1)
Ender's Shadow [urbanophile.com]
Re:The other books in the series? (Score:1)
Re:Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers (Score:1)
Isolation isn't an issue (though he's not the "football hero" type - he's got a gang of geeky friends he hangs out with. They're all heavily into Pokemon). The issue for me is, will he enjoy reading it? Will it be a good quality break from the Star Wars spin-off trash he likes to read? Will it make him think?
Definately let your son read it. My first exposure to Sci Fi/Fantasy was LOTR when I was 9, and I haven't looked back since.
I think this goes back to the Hellmouth stuff, but the important thing to teach your kid, if they're a geek, social outcast, whatever, is NOT to develop a 'tude about it. For me, I got very lost oscillating between inferiority/superiority, and it caused me a LOT of trouble. A kid's got to find a middle ground, be happy with themself, but not feel so superior that they reject "mundanes" to the point where it makes their social problems worse - or even unrecoverable. Be different, yes! Be yourself, yes! but learn how to fit in when you need to, because no man is an island, and sometimes you need to fit in to get things done. What was said a couple days ago? Social graces are the packet-headers of everyday life?
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers (Score:1)
For sure, the collector-urge and statistics analysis urge that is exemplified in sports-card collectors has been exploited to the hilt here.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Card's religion (Score:1)
And I never really thought Heinlein was all that religious in his writings. If you want to read a true zealot's science fiction, read C.S. Lewis.
But avoid at all costs: L.Ron Hubbard!!!!
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
So are Boo Radley and Rashomon (Score:1)
Time for a poll? (Score:1)
--
Re:Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers (Score:1)
In my NSHO the most important thing for kids that are isolated is to realize that they are not alone, not unique.
Don't bother (Score:1)
I really liked the reviews on your page. I will be picking up a few recommended books.
If you ask me, Children of the Mind is easily the worst (or least good) book out of the Ender canon. It's well crafted, of course, but contained little of the magic of the first two.
Re:just picking..... (Score:1)
That is the one novel I read up to ~50 pages from the end, leafed through the rest and gave up. Did not care anymore what happened to anyone.
Think I'll try Stranger in a Strange Land.
-kabloie
People who are new to Orson Scott Card's Books (Score:1)
For example, I haven't read this book, but I get the feeling from the description that anybody could read it and still understand everything without the legacy knowledge of the previous books.
I'd just be interested in seeing what people think of the book when looking through a different set of eyes, since I'm already an OSC fan.
What Card impresses me the most .... (Score:1)
"Central civilization"
vs
"Peripheral civilization"
and that short article really opened up my eyes and the more I look around, the more it makes sense why some civilizations are so aggressively making troubles to their neighbors, while others are not.
Good work, Card !!
Go Read Ender's Game (Score:1)
Ender's Game was one of the first Science Fiction books I read, and it was the first book I read start to finish without putting it down.
I still count it as one of the best books I've ever read (up there with Greg Bear's Eon, another excellent book from an excellent author).
- Steve
Re:just picking..... (Score:1)
'Number of the Beast' comes to mind.
So does the one where the dirty old man gets his brain stuck in the body of his gorgeous (dead) secretary, and proceeds to get all emotional and weepy. Can't remember the title of that one.
Those both sucked. Hard. In My Ever So Humble Opinion anyway.
I loved most of Heinlein's other books, but those two were just terrible.
Also: Dragonriders of Pern / Nerilka's Story (Score:1)
Preachy old Orson? (Score:1)
Religion pops up in Card's other books, too. Morals if no specific religions are a pretty central part of Pastwatch: Redemption of Chris Columbus, and some of the Folk Of The Fringe are devout, missionary Mormons.
I've enjoyed all of his books. Unlike many other series authors, pretty much all of the books stand up on their own -- you don't *have* to read all 10 books for the whole story.
A story I'd like to see (maybe it's out there somewhere) is the development of Ender and Jane's relationship. Now that would be interesting. Not that Bean's story isn't--the first 4 chapters impressed me a lot, and I will someday soon pick up the whole book to finish it.
I heard a rumor that Jake Lloyd is considered for Ender in the movie, and also that Card rewrote the formerly primarily-teacher-centered script with him in mind. Not that that's a bad thing.
Re:Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Score:1)
Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
and
Tales from Jabba's Palace
-Theamigo
Re:Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Score:1)
Re:One of the sequels was brilliant (Score:1)
IMHO, the title goes to either Songmaster or (A Planet Called) Treason. Card tends to suffer from Piersanthonism aka. "Help, I'm writing a book series, and I cannot stop!" :-) when it comes to his longer works.
Re:Go Read Ender's Game (Score:1)
Or even better, find the novella (or novellette ?) "Ender's Game" which Card expanded into the novel. Its a tighter story, and provides its payoff more effectively. Its still probably my favorite OSC work, with the possible exception of _Speaker for the Dead_.
Not that I have anything against _Ender's Game_, the novel, but I would suggest reading the shorter version first.
Re:Upcoming Ender novels (Score:1)
Its doesn't seem to be currently in print, but I would recommend trying to find a used copy of _Maps in a Mirror_. I think it has pretty much all of OSC's short fiction up to 1990. Its really a must for a Card fan.
Re:One of the sequels was brilliant (Score:1)
was one of the best things I'd ever read
(though there are continuity problems, e.g.
why bugger colonies with no queens had papooses
for carrying young in) until I read "Speaker",
which made me realise that E.G. was by comparison
just background material. I thought Speaker was
truly wondrous. Xenocide I found a bit odd,
and C.o.t.M. was deeply strange.
I don't at all like the idea of Bean pulling
the strings of all three Ender children.
I initially didn't realise I'd already read
some Card, namely the short story collection
"Capitol" - variable but with some good stuff
e.g. Abner Doon.
After "Speaker" I went and bought everything
by Card I could find. Nothing has impressed
me as much as the first two Ender books.
I found the Harmony/Earth stuff incomprehensible.
I thought Alvin started well but got lost
somewhere about book 3. And the one-offs
haven't made much of an impression. The
Capitol / Hot Sleep / Worthing Saga stuff
was well worth reading, though.
The Unbearable Lightness of Bean (Score:1)
It could be argued that since Ender knows none of this himself, his actions are no less heroic. Unfortunately, I'm judging a book, not Ender, and so it still bugs me. I welcome future tales of the battle school students, but not without some anxiety. By the time Card's done with the Shadow books, will there be any greatness left in Ender himself?
Great, but don't buy it from Spamazon... (Score:1)
Amazon spams.
Amazon lies about it.
Don't buy books from Amazon.
My suggestion would be http://www.powells.com/ -
they carry the book, they have it in stock, and
you can give them your real email address and not
get spammed.
Re:Card - Faith - and Rambling. (Score:1)
mythology are different things; in particular, a religion contributes value and heuristics, whether or not it is based on things which turn out to be true.)
It's been commented that some people manage to identify Card's religion from reading his work. I've always thought the same might apply to code; I wonder if someone who didn't know could, for instance, read Stallman's code, or Larry Wall's, and infer things about them - such as religion.
Re:I'm confused (Score:1)
That would be "F_ing Good Read", (working title), or "Damned Fine Novel" (release title). Get it straight. (Those who have "Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card", and have thus read the short story "Damn Fine Novel", will understand... )
Re:One of the sequels was brilliant (Score:1)
Anyway, if you read "Maps in a Mirror", it contains the "seeds" for most of his novels. (it also contains some extrordinarily good short fiction)
I definitely loved both Enders Game and Speaker for the Dead, but some of his lesser known novels are just as good: The Worthing Saga, Treason, Wyrms, and Hart's Hope, to name a few.
And I have to admit, he also did an incredible job on the novelization of a great movie: The Abyss. I thought the novel was as good as the movie, which is difficult to do when going across media. I have high hopes for an Ender's Game movie. I can't wait to see it.
Re:Card's religion (Score:1)
I think his level of preachiness varies with the story. Ender's Game doesn't seem preachy at all, whereas preaching seems to be the primary focus of the Folk of the Fringe stories I've read. Those seem to be the extremes; other Card books I've read seem a little preachy at times, but not enough to really bother me.
On the other hand, I've heard him on a couple of panels at sci-fi conventions where (IMHO) he got really self-righteous. My overall impression is that I can enjoy at least some of his books, but wouldn't want to have to deal with him personally.
Re:R.A.H. and crappy novels (Score:1)
mistake.. Ender a geek? seems more like a robot to me.. but wait, Lem's or Asimov's robots seemed much more human than Ender! I'm really curious *WHY* is 'Ender's game' so much drooled over? It's got nothing.
Re:just picking..... (Score:1)
Re:just picking..... (Score:1)
The other books in the series? (Score:1)
Did I miss one?
Thanks.
AdamL.
http://sprawl.net
hmmm...not too many people will remember... (Score:1)
Ender in books and film (Score:1)
I also look forward to seeing Ender's Game on the big screen. Especially with Card writing the screenplay - even if Peter and Valentine take a back seat and a lot of other things don't happen due to time constraints, I'm sure it will be an excellent movie. Even if Jake Lloyd ends up playing Ender. I'm sure if anyone can write a screenplay to do the feel of the book justice, it's Card. I've always thought that authors whose books get turned into movies should have the final say on the screenplay, since it's their ideas that end up on the screen.
Have there been more than rumors that Ender's Shadow will be filmed either concurrently or just after Ender's Game? I heard something about that - that they would be released within a year of each other, telling the same story from different perspectives. *that* would make for interesting movie marketing - how well can you sell a sequel that is really the same story? Has it been done? Barring remakes, of course. If Shakespeare had written 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern' a year after 'Hamlet', would the crowds have been as large to see it?
The next few years in sci fi films will be *very* interesting.
THANKS, I'll read it, does any one remember ...? (Score:1)
As an SF-SciFi reader for decades I find it unfare to compare the authors and classics of the past with todays' artist and materials.
Anyway speaking well of "Robert Heinlein" and Geeks
Any one know who wrote the following line about reality?
Re:Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Score:1)
-cpd
Re:Card's religion (Score:1)
I agree that "Lost Boys" has a lot of structural faults as a novel, but I still enjoyed reading it. If nothing else, it gives a lot of insight into Card's real-life beliefs and personality, and I found many of the characters appealing even if it didn't all fit together too tightly. The main plot sometimes seemed to get lost in the minor details, but I really liked the details - espescially the computer stuff.
Overall, though, it's definitely not one of Card's best books. I thoroughly enjoyed all the "Ender" books (except for "Ender's Shadow", which I haven't read yet), and also highly recommend the Tales of Alvin Maker series ("Seventh Son", "Red Prophet", "Prentice Alvin", etc.)
Re:Spoilers... (Score:1)
It definitely portrays Bean as a lot more influential in the outcome of the war than appears in Ender's Game.
Absolutely loved reading the book! (They say you don't need to have read Ender's Game before reading Ender's Shadow, but I think you get a lot more out of the story if you have read Ender's Game before).
Re:The other books in the series? (Score:1)
Skippy
Re:Preachy old Orson? (Score:1)
Just a clarification, because it wasn't expressly stated in your post but only referenced to - but Mr. Card is an active Mormon. I, being devoutly anti-theist, have not found Card's books to be overt with a theist bend yet.
And as a small plug for Card, pick up The Abyss if you get the chance. About twice as amazing as the movie. The first three chapters give in-depth information about Bud, Lindsey and Coffey.
Quux26 > Lazlo
http://www.intap.net/~j/
My
Quux26
Orson's work (Score:1)
Here it seems Card's taken a supporting character and expanded him exponentially, giving him the point of view for us. I really like this concept. It's rarely done and when it is, it's rarely done well. Once I finish the fifteen other books in my todo pile, I'll be well advised to take a look at this one. Thanks, Slashdot.
Woohooooo! (Score:1)
Re:Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers (Score:1)
pokemon/star wars "young adult" series.
I hadn't really thought about Ender's Game
for a 10 year old before. The sequels he
wouldn't get, even EG he would get all of it
but he'd probably get enough to enjoy it.
It's a long read for a little guy - the Hobbit
took him a month. I gave him an old Lester
Del Rey juvenile of mine found in my sister's
garage sale the other day. EG is certainly a
better book.
My SO has also read EG and may have opinions of
her own along the lines of "a book where the
hero kills another child in cold blood in the
first 20 pages is approprite for children?" -
but I'll give it a shot.
I have a felling though that I may be bypassing
a sub-genre that worth reading. Once a kid
starts reading "real books" can they still
go back and enjoy the Heinlein/Norton/Nourse/Del Rey
juveniles or will they become too jaded?
Re:Upcoming Ender novels (Score:1)
As was the case with Feist's Magician, when it went to paperback, it got split into the two constituent books. (This is a *massive* source of confusion for me, as I remember Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead as one book, not two.)
I believe Ender's War was also the name of the short story. If you can track down a copy of Maps in a Mirror, you should be all set.
By the way, before anyone tries to correct me, I just doublechecked this:
Ender's War includes Ender's Game, copyright 1984, and Speaker for the Dead, copyright 1986. Maps in a Mirror includes Ender's Game, the original short story.
btw: Ender's Shadow is one of the few books I've read in the last year, cover to cover, twice in one week. It compares well with the original combo of Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, in my opinion.
Re:People who are new to Orson Scott Card's Books (Score:1)
Ender's Game was on my summer reading list for this past summer, and after hearing about it on
Very glad I read it, otherwise I would have read Jurassic Park...
Not to mention the other book I read was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Both of these books were (are) awesome.
And if I buy Ender's Shadow before the 30th, I can send in both recipts and get $4 back! Wow, a whole $4...
miyax
Too powerful??! (Score:1)
Second:
There have been more than a few posts here about how they thought the book was too powerful and overshadowed Ender's Game.
SO? That's all the better. How can something be "too good?" I think both books can stand alone and be great; and together they make a more powerful insight into how child prodegies work, think, and act.
Others have said Bean was too powerful and he overshadowed Ender.
Well, that's fine, too, because it didn't affect the outcome of either book (much). I think that having an "uber child" still not come out of Ender's shadow even though in a lot of ways he was superior just adds to the drama of Ender's power struggle with the teachers and himself.
Poll: which is OSC best book ? (Score:1)
Another very close second could be "Songbird", the story of a boy who grows up destined to be the singer in the court of an emperor. There's something almost magical in that story.
Snif !! I think I'm going to Barnes&Noble and get a couple of OSC books to pass this weekend.
Well.. (Score:1)
There have been several comments that bean should have not been more intelligent than Ender. I always thought that he was. Ender even kind of acknowledges this when he makes Bean the leader of a special toon, to figure out new strategies.
Ender was by far not the most intelligent person in the story. Mazer Rachman (sp?) was likely more capable of devising the actual tactics, but Mazer himslelf said that he was too old and tired to be able to do it, or words to that effect.
Peter was at least intelligent as Ender, as was Valentine. Ender's Game states explicitly that they weren't less intelligent than Ender.
Peter was turned down from battle school, because they were afraid that he was TOO dangerous, further he was not empathetic enough to be able to begin to think like the enemy. He would have had no problem pulling the trigger on the Little Doctor, but would have had difficulty getting there. That is if he didn't take over the command school or something like that.
Valentine on the other hand, would have been able to figure out exactly what the buggers were doing, but once she did, she would have never blown up the bugger world, even if she thought she were in a game.
Of the three, Ender was the only one with the right balance of ruithlessness and empathy, which would make him into an appropiate weapon to use as an ultimate weapon.
Ender, Valentine and Peter aren't really in the same class as most geeks. While very intelligent, they all seem to have a great deal of leadership ability. I have no doubt that I could devise better strategies than many of the moden generals, getting people to follow me would be my greatest problem.
Bean struck me as much the same. He was more than capable of doing the job from the standpoint of tactics, and ruithlessness, he just couldn't have gotten the others to follow him as easily as they did Ender.
Of course Ender's Shadow may totally contradict this observation.
In regard to the best of the books, I though Speaker for the dead was the best, and I was disappointed with Xenocide and Cildren of the Mind. While both were rather good, and worth reading, they did not live up the eithe Ender's game, or Speaker. I expected Xenocide to be better than Speaker, after all Speaker was better than Ender, but I guess not.
Re:Card's religion (Score:1)
The main plot of "Lost Boys" is obscured in all these little details. Instead of sticking with the main plot, the book explores into ad nauseum every little detail that takes place in their daily lives. The focus of the book is also wrong. Character development occurs primarily on the father of the family, leaving the son, the most important character like a distant, obscure, emotionless entity that happens to lives in the same house. Moreover, in order for the end to make any sense, the reader is forced to make a "leap of faith" he didn't have to when the story first started. In one sense it is a murder mystery that ends as a fairy tale.
"Lost Boys" started out as a short story. It just didn't scale well to a novel.
"Ender's Game" was a _very_ good novel. After reading "Lost Boys", I'm tempted to skip reading "Ender's Shadow".
Re:Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers (Score:1)
I am very much concerned about Hellmouth stuff. You make a good point about oscillation. My son has a tendancy to feel sorry for himself, and retreat into reading. I'm just worried that this dark stuff will aggravate it. OTOH, feeling you're not alone _does_ dispell isolation!
-- Robert
Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers? (Score:1)
My question is whether to give it to my 10.0 year old son. Reading level is not a problem. He has been suffering worse isolation than I went through at his age and later. I'm worried that this reading material would aggravate it. My wife would have my hide, but that's par for the course.
Any thoughts?
-- Robert
One of the sequels was brilliant (Score:1)
Speaker for the Dead was better than the original, and arguably the finest moment of Card's career. It's one of the best character-oriented SF books ever written (which might be why techie-types don't like it as much). The third book, Xenocide had much more of the "chapter in an ongoing saga" feel that the recent Alvin Maker books have; I was unimpressed enough not to want to read the fourth book.
Re:Sounds good... (Score:1)
He's really nice. He went to The Citadel, near where I grew-up, and he was really happy to talk about that with me. He was still really nice to all the "Mr. Card, I love all your work, and you made my child-hood." people (of which I was one), but he also made time and effort to actually talk to a fellow human being.
He came off as a very decent guy.
Re:Spoilers... (with more spoilers) (Score:1)
-Adam-
Re:The other books in the series? (Score:1)
I'd love to see OSC write this but if he won't I'd be happy to.
Re:Is this suitable reading for children/teenagers (Score:1)
Homeworld (Score:1)
another two pence (Score:1)
Oh bother, there goes my karma.
Ender meets Jane (Score:1)
It appears in "Far Frontiers" (ed Robert Silverberg) ISBN 0-380-97630-7
Re:The other books in the series? (Score:1)
They did do something by not destroying it. The point of that was to give Peter(Ender) the chance to do the right thing this time around, and live a new life without the guilt he faced his whole life.
What I wouldn't give to have a second chance at life like Ender got to have...
Re:Upcoming Ender novels (Score:1)
There is, however, a book called "Ender's War"; it's "Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead" bound in one volume, published sometime in the 1980s. I found it in Powell's City of Books [powells.com] a few weeks ago but didn't buy it (I wish I had, to complete my Ender collection with this obscurity). I don't know if it's still available.
If you want another review of "Ender's Game" the novel, I wrote an epinion (silly name) which you can find at Epinions.com [epinions.com]. I think it's pretty interesting, but...
Abigail
The Second Coming of Ender (Score:1)
is the moral that it sucks to be human? (Score:1)
bean is not placed in ender's shadow. he's shown as the super mind runnnign the show - from the situations at battle school to the plans of Locke. placing bean as the person who is smarter than the wiggins and tells them what to do, undermines the awe that i used to feel at the idea of kids that smart.
bean is genetically enhanced. he's not human.
and he can't bear to kill. and that coming from card, who shoves christian morals down my throat thru the earth- series, and the other ender's sequels, is is a scary moral.
it's fun to get angry at the bits while you read it though.
Re:Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Score:1)
Nerilka is a minor character in Moreta.
Re:Card's religion (Score:1)
I have not read all of Card's books but in "the Lost Boys" his religion is much more apparent. It it not such so much SF but more of a thriller, although with supernatural overtones. It was still a very good book in my opinion. It is also about a game programmer who runs into troubles at his new job. This in the time of the early PC's.
But did you know that the Alvin Maker series has some very tight links with the story of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons? I did not at the time I read the novels but it does give an interesting perspective.
Anyhow, great books, great writer.
just picking..... (Score:2)
The Bully of Barkham Street (Score:2)
The Bully of Barkham Street (Score:2)
It ends up as a different story, for some reason
The novella was better (Score:2)
If I ever write a famous short story, remind me not to turn it into a novel
Re:Go Read Ender's Game (Score:2)
Of course, Ender's Game was far from the first Sci Fi book I ever read.
I recently re-read it, and enjoyed it a lot, though I kind of cringe at the mental clarity given to a six year old boy - it almost seemed as if "ultra-genius" was a crutch used by an adult author to get into the mind of a supposed child. I'll be disappointed if the same treatment is used for Bean in Ender's Shadow.
"The number of suckers born each minute doubles every 18 months."
Re:Brilliant Geeks (Score:2)
But that does not change the fact that I spent the first 18 years of my life being deliberately tormented and isolated. It cannot remove the instinctive "curl-up and hide" reflex that I have whenever I'm faced with a large group of people in a social environment. It can't change that whenever I go to a party I feel nervous and out-of-control because the first party I went to I got my ass kicked.
If my life were a failure, then that would be a whine, an excuse. My life has NOT been a failure -- so it is not whining to acknowledge the pain that I experienced.
In fact, it's probably healthy to acknowledge it. Oh yeah -- I've never been much into games, and one of my major pastimes in high school was long-distance backpacking. Hardly the stereo-typical "pasty geek" that you allude to.
In other words, stop the stereo-type.
Re:The Second Coming of Ender (Score:2)
Whenever you have a book that is as interesting as Ender's game was, there are all kinds of questions not only about the characters, but about the world that the author created in the book that don't get resolved. Hell, if they were resolved, then every fantasy/sci fi book that created itself a new universe would be extremely long.
With a shift in perspective, you get another look at the same universe, the same events within the book, and I find that type of thing extremely valuable. While I haven't read this new book yet, I think that I'll probably enjoy it quite a bit because I enjoyed Ender's Game and I remember wondering about many different aspects that weren't explained in the book.
Creativity and art has everything to do with looking at things from different perspectives, and I think that's what Card is probably doing. Or at least, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now - at least until I start seeing Ender beanie babies, ender t-shirts, and ender glow in the dark boxers in every store on the planet.
David
Re:Card's religion (Score:2)
[]
Re:Card's religion (Score:2)
There are many who (at times rightly) criticize the Utah Mormons for their oddities. Or rather, for the difficulty which some of us have understanding life in the "real" world (if I may use the phrase).
I suggest that this is due more to the Mormon culture than the Mormon religion. Many of us are only Mormon because our parents and grandparents were. This seems to be the same in any religion.
However, in the case of Orson Scott Card, and indeed even C.S. Lewis, these men know why they are religious. If more of us were that way, I'll bet there would be a lot less religious strife in the world.
Oh - and as for beer in Utah, you are right that it is not easy to come by at lunch time. However, I have a good friend who visits sometimes on business. The only souvinirs he has brought back with him have been tee-shirts from our various Utah breweries which, according to him, are not bad at all.
Additionaly Info on Ender's Game (Score:2)
- He just finished a screen play of Ender's Game and is looking for a producer for it. If this movie is made, he hopes that Ender's Shadow will be filmed at the same time.
- There will be a follow on to Ender's Shadow.
- There will be a book about Petra's perspective on the events in Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.
Those are the main points. I certainly hope that if he does a book on Petra, that he does a wonderful a job with it as he did with Ender's Shadow. As far as the movie(s), I can't wait to see them!
R.A.H. and crappy novels (Score:2)
Note: I am a hardcore R.A.H.. fan from way back. My senior (high school) term paper was a comprehensive overview of the works of Heinlein. :^) Just because the man was a giant and a pioneer in SF doesn't mean that he couldn't write crap at times, though. My NSHO is that he got very self-indulgent in his last years.
Yah. The first 2/3 was fun, and I really liked the characters. [Spoiler alert] When I picked it up, I had the misfortune to flip it open, and saw the name "Jubal" mentioned, which raised my hopes too much for the book. Jubal Harshaw was one of my favorite characters from Stranger in a Strange Land. But by the time we got to him, the "all-universes-converge--all-stories-are-true--let -me-pull-in-characters-from-my-old-books " had lost its appeal.
I Will Fear No Evil [amazon.com]. Not one of Heinlein's better books, I agree.
R.A.H. can claim somewhat of a medical excuse for some of his work -- for several years, he had partially blocked carotid arteries, which put him in a state of continual oxygen deprivation of the brain. I've heard a story that, after he got the operation to have his arteries cleaned out, he looked at some of his recent books and said "I wrote what?! But he can't claim that excuse for To Sail Beyond the Sunset [amazon.com].
Re:Card's religion (Score:2)
Card's novel "Lost Boys" (no relation to the vampire movie) is worth reading to gain a better insight towards his Mormon beliefs and how they affect his writing. The book is, at times, a little dense in its moral introspection, but is well written and an interesting change of pace from his other novels. The story concerns a Mormon family who moves to the east coast when the narrator (the father) gets a job as a computer game programmer. Much of the book is about the family trying to face the challenges of their new life, but there's also a fantasy/supernatural plot twist than lends an eerie edge to the whole thing. It's not my favorite of Card's books, but is well written and is worth reading just for the excellent depiction of the early 80's personal computer scene (Atari 800/C64/Apple ][).
Overall, I have a lot of respect for Card and the way he expresses his beliefs -- even when he is on the verge of being heavy-handed, he never proselytyzes or insults the reader's intelligence
Re:The Second Coming of Ender (Score:2)
His preface to "Speaker of the Dead" gives insight (Score:2)
That's what OSC decided to change in Speaker for the dead. He wanted to tell a story of of an adolecent hero finally turned adult. After years of his restless travel, Ender finally became too lonely to continue. He decides to root himself somewhere... and build a community. OSC talked to some length of this full circle from leaving one's childhood community as an adolecent, to joining or forming one later as an adult (albeit, sometimes a very different one).
I personally don't find OSC's writings too preachy. While he is definately influenced by his faith, many of these influences manifest themselves in universal ideas like in SFtD. In fact I'm not even remotely Mormon, but they can still reach me. Cheers to Orson Scott Card!
Card - Faith - and Rambling. (Score:2)
Science Fiction's mythical worlds, and grand escapade of the gifted and the isolated drew me to the genre, imagination held me there. I would sit in bed imagining sequels, prequels, and the side stories of lessser characters.
Although I do find Orson Scott Card to be a touch preachy, (Ever notice the parallels between the myth of Joeseph Smith, and Alvin Maker?), I also enjoy his writing style. His characters may not be as fleshed out as in some literary works of art, he does tend to drag a story on longer than neccessary (occassionally) - Yet still his tales captivate and intrigue.
The best description of Card is in that Omni where I first found his writing, I do not remember the exact words and I can't go out to the farm and rummage through the bookshelves in search of the magazine, so I will paraphrase.
As a child he never killed insects for enjoyment. He is an unassuming man, a devout mormon not the type who you would expect to write stories so filled with the dark elements of life and human nature, yet he does.
This devout mormon may insert his religion into his stories. Alvin Maker is the Mythical Joseph Smith; Is Jason in The Worthing Saga Jesus visiting his other sheep or is he the mormon missionary? Personally I am not judging his faith and the method in which it creeps into his fiction, simply I think it is good to be aware in the ways in which the Mythology one grew up with becomes a part of one's character. Other Science Fiction authors, even those who eskewed faith of all kind, have inserted Christian and Jewish mythology into thier fiction, Card is no different.
What shapes us, shapes our art. Card's faith is the colors he chooses. It does not make the art offensive to my eyes.
Side Note - if you haven't guessed - I am a second generation athiest, my use of the word mythology in reference to religion is intentional in all cases. For those I may have offended by the use of that word, one quote sums it up -
You eskew all other gods but your own, I only believe in one less god than you do.
--
Yes. (Score:2)
This realization meant, instead, that I didn't take the social pressures of high school as seriously. So the popular cliques don't like me; I'll never see them again as they go on with their fulfilling-for-them-but-certainly-not-me lives. So someone's resentful that I got a higher score on a test; that's their issue, not mine. The friends I found didn't necessarily share my interests, but they did share my perspective.
Yet another ramble from Abigail
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Score:2)
Anyone intrigued by this idea -- telling a known story from the point of view of a minor character -- might also enjoy Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Well before writing the screenplay for last year's Shakespeare in Love, Tom Stoppard wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in which the events in Hamlet are viewed through the eyes of two minor characters (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, go figure).
I confess, I haven't seen the stage play, I've only seen the movie (http://us.imdb.com/Title?0100519 [imdb.com]). But the movie was pretty good.
Card's religion (Score:2)
(And this isn't supposed to be a dig against against Mormons; just from what I understand of the religion, missionary work/conversion work is a rather large part of it, and one would sort of expect a devout Mormon author to impart a lot of his belief system in his writing simply as a matter of fact.)
-=-=-=-=-
Upcoming Ender novels (Score:3)
This comes from an article in a chain bookstore's (B. Dalton, I think) science fiction newsletter. Unfortunately, I threw it away last time I cleaned, so I'm relying on memory.
Card is planning two more novels in the "Ender" universe. The first (The Hegemon's Shadow, I believe) is a sequel to Ender's Shadow, again starring Bean. In this story, he is helping Ender's brother Peter (as Hegemon) unite Earth under a single government. I'm looking forward to this one, as it gives insight into some of the events Card "tacked on" to the novel version of Ender's Game to set the stage for Speaker for the Dead. The second is another Ender's Game "synquel" set at the Battle School, this time focusing on Petra, the most successful female student at the School.
For anyone who hasn't read the original novel, Ender's Game has been re-released at a special ($3.95?) price, and is well worth picking up. Does anyone know of any currently available source for "Ender's War", the original short story version? I think it was originally published in Analog, but I'd love to find an anthology that includes it.
Here's my .02 EU (Score:4)
Let's not confuse Card with a writer of "action" fiction. In nearly all of Card's books, there is an underlying exposure of different aspects of humanity that is missing in the writings of most others. Not that Card has any special insight into humanity, he just has a unique approach to reminding us that we're all just human under whatever facade we have built up. Before reading Card, I had this idea that Mormons have oddball ideas about religion (I still think that) and should be ignored and avoided. Card has wrenched me out of that position a bit.
Online Chapters (Score:5)
ACK