Card, Orson Scott: Ender's Game
Ender's Game (1985)
Written by: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 324 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Book One
Ender's Game is a classic no matter how you look at it. And while I'm less and less convinced I must read some classics, there are simply some I feel the need to have under my belt. I scored my copy of Ender's Game from a friend of mine. She'd purchased it to read, her hubby read it first and told her about it, and she decided it simply wasn't going to be the kind of book she'd be interested in, so she gave it to me. It's been languishing in my TBR pile for a few years now, and the only reason it's seen the light is because it ended up on the February Poll, so thanks to my personal resolution to read every title that makes the poll, I decided to get this one out of the way (that sounds so exciting: getting it out of the way). I will note that at the time of writing this review, I've never gone out of my way to look into the truth behind the internet rumors (which I know are more than rumors) about Card's personal behavior and beliefs. When it comes to readers separating the author from their work and/or political beliefs, Card's name is brought up the most. I know about the issues with the author only in a very vague way, because this book was in my TBR and I was determined to read it.
The premise: ganked from Amazon.com: Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses -- and then training them in the arts of war... The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'... Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet?
Review style: There's not a lot I can say about this book, so let's forgo an LJ-cut and forgo the spoilers, okay? NO SPOILERS.
My Rating
Give It Away: Today I came across a post that made me wonder about the statute of limitations on spoilers. I mean, if something's old, like ten years or more, one should not have to worry about "spoiling" something, right?
There's two ways of looking at it: stories that are more about the journey, for stories that rely on writing style and characterization to really deliver the overall experience, spoilers aren't really an issue. Yes, there may be a question to answer at the end, something to resolve, but sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Other times, the destination is more important, and that's where spoilers get tricky. It gets even trickier if the journey and destination is combined to form some kind of EPIC TWIST that's supposed to punch the reader/viewer in the gut and leave them gasping for air.
When I was in grad school, science fiction writer Tobias Buckell talked about the dangers of twists, and he said his goal is to write as if the reader -- while reading it for the first time -- is actually reading it for the second time. There were lots of lessons packed into this statement, and the one lesson I want to focus on here is that once you know the twist of a story, the story should still be just as good, if not BETTER, on the second read/viewing. It the second read/viewing is diminished once you know the surprise, then the writers in question haven't done their job very well.
Ender's Game is a classic that I've never read until now. However, I knew the twist. I knew what would become of Ender by the book's end, though there were a few details I didn't know until I'd read them. Yet the big twist, the important twist, was already known to me. So while reading, I kept asking myself: what's the point? I mean, short of satisfying some sick urge to say I've read the book, what good does reading accomplish since I know the big surprise? The writing style is clear and direct, but not anything that sucked me in on an artistic level, and at times, the dialogue jarred me out of the story with its awkward jargon, and I'm not referring to military-speak either. Characterization never pulled me in, because I already knew where Ender would end up by story's end (whoa, way too many end's in that sentence!), so I wasn't invested in his journey, I wasn't rooting for him, because I already knew what he was and would become. Nor did I find his inner conflicts compelling. Valentine and Peter came close to boring me, and I found many reactions portrayed by many characters rather melodramatic. Ender might have truly felt the ups and downs OSC portrayed, but sometimes, I never really believed in his remorse.
Maybe knowing the surprise simply ruined me. Maybe knowing vague facts that Orson Scott Card is a writer to avoid because his personal politics make him look really bad on the internets colored my reading, though I don't know specifics (and in fact avoided them so that I could read this book as unbiased as possible). Or maybe because I've already read one book (no, three, actually) that focuses on the treatment of children during war, I simply didn't have room in my heart for another (I doubt this is the case). I don't know. I think this book does have something to offer, if you're not aware of how it ends before starting, and that makes me wish I'd read this book when I was younger. Or, barring that, earlier in my reading "career" and CERTAINLY before I knew the big twist.
Because this book was almost a DNF. Seriously. But I felt so guilty for putting down a book that so many thousands have loved (including people I know) that I made myself finish. And that's not to say the book was bad. It reads fast, and it paints quite a clear picture and offers some level of intrigue. But because I knew the twist, I was never able to engage fully in the book. With that said, if you've never read the book and you also know the twist, sample the first few chapters before deciding to read this. If you find yourself bored, you may want to put this aside. If you don't, then go for it, and let me know if knowing the ending before starting the book colored your reading experience positively or negatively.
Me, I could've done with skipping this. But I didn't, and I can at least say I've read OSC and his most popular book. But I've no interest to continue the series nor try any of Card's other books. The writing style is just not speaking to me, and that's just personal preference.
Cover Commentary: The copy I've got is pretty darn dated and it's not appealing by any means. It's the kind of cover I'd go out of my way to avoid in stores, you know? The newer cover, as seen behind the cut, is far more appealing: colorful, showing us something of what Battle School might look like, and fonts that stand out without resorting to tricks to catch our attention. But in the end, that's just me preferring the newer cover over the older, but in truth, neither cover is such that I'd stop in my tracks in the store and pick it up.
Next up: Silent Blade by Ilona Andrews