Any other Ender Wiggin books lovers?

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Irulan
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06 Jul 2011, 4:11 pm

I'm talking also about the sequel Shadow books too. Which ones do you prefer? I like the Ender ones more for the Bean and Petra novels are all too political and military to me which isn't wrong because I enjoy such books too but they aren't even approximately as interesting as the story of Ender in the Battle School in space and later the stories of Lusitania and Path.



Moog
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06 Jul 2011, 4:55 pm

I loved Ender's Game. The rest are a blur, but I must have read 3 or 4 of 'em


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Henbane
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06 Jul 2011, 4:57 pm

It's about 5 years since I read the Ender books, but I think I read all of the series. 5 books? I don't know, anyway I enjoyed them a lot, and I have them on a shelf somewhere. I might read them again.

Orson Scott Card was a Mormon wasn't he. I'm not sure how much of an impact that had on his books, but I imagine it must have had some. In my mind they kind of go together with the CS Lewis sci fi series. In a sort of theologians in space sort of way. But that's just me.



Ambivalence
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06 Jul 2011, 5:52 pm

Henbane wrote:
Orson Scott Card was a Mormon wasn't he. I'm not sure how much of an impact that had on his books, but I imagine it must have had some.

He's a fascist fundy bigot who believes in Lost White Tribes and moronic angels dropping golden tabs; what effect could that possibly have on his ability to write skiffy? :?


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06 Jul 2011, 9:51 pm

I haven't read any of them but my best friend just finished Ender's Game for Accelerated English II. I heard some bad things about Orson Scott Card, though. :?



Enigmatic_Oddity
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07 Jul 2011, 5:14 am

I loved the original book. The original saga following the first book has some fantastic elements in it, which required a bit too much suspension of disbelief. I found much more enjoyment in the Bean saga.

As for the 'bad things' about the author, I assume you're referring to his strong homophobic attitudes which do occasionally come up in his writing, such as in Anton's character, the homosexual scientist who marries a woman knowing well that he is homosexual because he believes it's the right thing to do.



anna-banana
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07 Jul 2011, 12:44 pm

Really loved Ender's Game. I can't believe there's still no film adaptation, this stuff is Hollywood gold.


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Henbane
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07 Jul 2011, 2:19 pm

Ambivalence wrote:
Henbane wrote:
Orson Scott Card was a Mormon wasn't he. I'm not sure how much of an impact that had on his books, but I imagine it must have had some.

He's a fascist fundy bigot who believes in Lost White Tribes and moronic angels dropping golden tabs; what effect could that possibly have on his ability to write skiffy? :?



I'm not really sure what you mean by this. Are you being sarcastic? Or not?

Anyway, it seems to me that regardless of genre, a person's beliefs will likely have some impact on their writings, but whether or not these are conscious or unconscious is the issue I was referring to, as in a deliberate choice to promote their beliefs and transplant them from their current setting to another, or a non-deliberate but impossible to avoid result of inevitability.

It is some time since I have read the books, and my memory is poor, so I could not determine which of those is the likely truth without rereading them.

But anyway, I have no negative opinions of Mormons, certainly no more than any other religion or non religion. Bigotry can occur anywhere.



Jory
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07 Jul 2011, 2:35 pm

I've been told by many people that Ender's Game is great, but Card is such an unbelievably bigoted dickhead that I want nothing to do with him, whether his beliefs make it into his writing or not.

Orson Scott Card wrote:
Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.


Orson Scott Card wrote:
The first and greatest threat from court decisions in California and Massachusetts, giving legal recognition to “gay marriage,” is that it marks the end of democracy in America.


Orson Scott Card wrote:
No matter how sexually attracted a man might be toward other men, or a woman toward other women, and no matter how close the bonds of affection and friendship might be within same-sex couples, there is no act of court or Congress that can make these relationships the same as the coupling between a man and a woman.



Ambivalence
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07 Jul 2011, 2:52 pm

Henbane wrote:
Ambivalence wrote:
Henbane wrote:
Orson Scott Card was a Mormon wasn't he. I'm not sure how much of an impact that had on his books, but I imagine it must have had some.

He's a fascist fundy bigot who believes in Lost White Tribes and moronic angels dropping golden tabs; what effect could that possibly have on his ability to write skiffy? :?

I'm not really sure what you mean by this. Are you being sarcastic? Or not?

Tending towards sarcasm. I had Brad Linaweaver and L. Ron in mind.
Quote:
But anyway, I have no negative opinions of Mormons, certainly no more than any other religion or non religion.

Which is, with respect - that's not sarcasm! - your own problem, because you should have a problem with any religion (or non religion) which promotes discrimination: "Gott ist mein Freund" is not a valid excuse for anyone to be a knobhead.

Anyway, no apologies for my dislike of Card, but I should say; I think Ender's Game is okay (though too long as a novel.) I thought it was great the first time I read it, and that's a large part of my problem with it. It's probably a good thing I didn't read it while I was at school, too. :wink:


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Henbane
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07 Jul 2011, 3:54 pm

Jory wrote:
I've been told by many people that Ender's Game is great, but Card is such an unbelievably bigoted dickhead that I want nothing to do with him, whether his beliefs make it into his writing or not.

Orson Scott Card wrote:
Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.


Orson Scott Card wrote:
The first and greatest threat from court decisions in California and Massachusetts, giving legal recognition to “gay marriage,” is that it marks the end of democracy in America.


Orson Scott Card wrote:
No matter how sexually attracted a man might be toward other men, or a woman toward other women, and no matter how close the bonds of affection and friendship might be within same-sex couples, there is no act of court or Congress that can make these relationships the same as the coupling between a man and a woman.


Ah ok. Well he does seem like an unpleasant person from these statements. Being in the UK, I hadn't really heard much about him, or researched him. The most annoying thing I found about him previously was that in searching for his books for customers some were under the surname 'Card' and some were under the surname 'Scott Card'.



Henbane
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07 Jul 2011, 4:02 pm

Ambivalence wrote:
Which is, with respect - that's not sarcasm! - your own problem, because you should have a problem with any religion (or non religion) which promotes discrimination: "Gott ist mein Freund" is not a valid excuse for anyone to be a knobhead.



I think that the way an individual person interprets their religion is the issue as much as the teachings of the religion. I can't think of many religions that don't have objectionable teachings, likewise many non religious philosophies or ideologies. I prefer to deal with a person on an individual level, and not decide from their professed faith or pathway what their actual beliefs are until they manifest themselves.