Total Score: 4.3/5
Readability: 5/5
Literary Quality: 3/5
Stimulation: 5/5
Synopsis:
Following the First and Second Invasions of the buggers, the human race is desperately trying to prepare itself for the third one. Humanity has formed the International Fleet, or IF, specifically for this purpose. While the human race’s survival dangles upon the fragile thread of hope that is the IF, the IF keeps a groundbreaking secret regarding the nature of the Third invasion from earth’s population. As the clock ticks down to the final invasion, the IF continues to search for promising leaders in young boys through its Battle School program, until it finds Ender Wiggin. This novel chronicles Ender’s transformation from a precocious child into the most compassionate killer the universe has ever seen.
Major Characters:
Andrew (Ender) Wiggin – A young boy described as humanity’s last hope
Peter/Valentine Wiggin – Ender’s equally precocious siblings
Colonel Hyrum Graff – Administrator of Battle School
Bean – Smartest child in Battle School
Bonzo Madrid – Ender’s first commander in Battle School
Review:
Allow me to preface this winner of the two most prestigious science fiction awards, the Hugo and Nebula, by sayint that is certainly not for everyone. Readers tend to develop two distinct opinions with few opinions inbetween. Readers generally find this novel engrossing and enlightening, or they find it juvenile and completely unrealistic. I will openly admit my bias and say that I hold the former opinion & this novel significantly changed my life and was my favorite novel for most of my life.
Card introduces most of his characters when they are just young children, generally at 5-6 years old. There are older children in this novel, but they do not play a significant role until Ender joins his first army in Battle School. However, do not let the ages of these young characters fool you into thinking that they are by all means juvenile and immature. Card’s portrayal of these children put their intelligence at levels comparable to highly educated college graduates. These “children” speak with unmistakable wit and scheme with uncanny cunning. Readers will find that any preconceptions of stepping into a world of first graders to be quickly abolished and replaced with a startling and frightening picture of these children’s shrewdness.
This is where many of Card’s critics attack this novel. Numerous educators of young children claim that such intelligence is simply impossible in children of 5 or 6 years. They argue that Card’s portrayal is unrealistic and bizarre, and to some point, intellectually grotesque. Critics argue that this portrayal of children detract from their humanness and the reader’s overall ability to empathize with the children’s predicaments and tribulations. I would argue that it’s impossible to prove that children can’t be that intelligent, but the point would be moot as neither supporter nor detractor of Card’s work would be able to prsent definitive evidence. All I can do is, again, point out that this novel is not for everyone. If you can accept Card’s children as possible, viable human beings, this novel will present you with many perspectives and interesting insight into the nature of the child-adult relationship. If you can’t accept Card’s children, you may have real problems getting through this novel without thinking “Well this is stupid because it could never happen”.
Unlike many space opera writers, Card adopts a simplistic, minimalist writing style that once again, either alienates readers or magnetically draws them into the story. While well known space opera writers such as Frank Herbert, Dan Simmons, and GRR Martin use what I’ll call, for the lack of a better term, a Melvinistic style. Their writing, while beautiful and descriptive, is incredibly dense and at many times, difficult to plow through. Card utilizes a style that is clean and simple; he presents the reader with the facts simply and in a straightforward fashion. Card rarely uses common literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and personifications. Card does, however, employ a significant amount of symbolism and makes up for his lack of literary devices with his sharp and revealing diction. Card’s style is most befitting for a student in middle school or high school.
Once again Card’s detractors have another angle to attack Card’s work from. Admittedly, Card’s style is not considered orthodox for space operas, but nonetheless it conveys the strong emotions and more importantly, motives behind every character’s actions which are such a crucial part of the novel. Personally I found Card’s style to be a refreshing change from the dense and difficult writing of other science fiction authors, but again, it’s not for everyone.
Where Card strikes home is in his characterization of Ender Wiggin, the young protagonist who carries the weight of the world upon his shoulders. Card delineates Ender’s character just enough for the reader to see what kind person Card wants his audience to see, but he also leaves enough ambiguity for the reader’s imagination to fill the gaps where Card did not explicitly define Ender’s character. The defined sections of Ender’s character are just as important as the ambiguous sections due to the fact that Card ensures no one can create an image of Ender of pure evil or love incarnate.
As the characters are fascinating, so is Card’s idea of the Battle Room and Simulator Room. Card’s imagination has created a riveting concept of a training room for zero-g space combat and maneuvers. This Battle Room is simply a fascinating idea that captures the hearts and imaginations of those who dream about space combat, as nerdy as that may sound.
It would be moot to mention what issues or points of contemplation that Card raises in this novel due to the fact that there are simply an infinite number of ways to see them and address them. All I can say is read this novel for yourself and you will naturally begin to notice the complexities of the relationships between Card’s characters. Then when you read it a few more times, you will begin to see the very same complexities in your own life, in your own relationships, and that is when you’ve begun to understand Card’s point of writing this novel.
Memorable Quotes:
“So he believed. Believed, but the seed of doubt was there, and it stayed , and every now and then it sent out a little root. It changed everything , to have that seed growing. It made him listen more carefully to what people meant, instead of what they said. It made him wise.”
“It was a lie of course, that it wouldn’t hurt a bit. But since adults always said that when it was going to hurt, he could count on that statement as an accurate prediction of the future. Sometimes lies were more dependable than the truth.”
“Nobody controls his own life, Ender. The best you can do is choose to be controlled by good people, by people who love you.”
“Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf. Survival first, then happiness as we can manage it.”
“‘I’ll lie to him.’
‘And if that doesn’t work?’
‘Then I’ll tell the truth. We’re allowed to do that, in emergencies. We can’t plan for everything, you know.’”
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