Ender's Game - Democratic Underground

Brickbat

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:26 PM
Original message

Ender's Game

Have you read it? Tell me about it. I usually read what my kids are reading so I can talk to them about it, but this one didn't grab me at all and I don't feel like reading it. Anyone got a Cliff Notes version?

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Dr. Strange

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:29 PM
Response to Original message

1. There is a novella version.

I actually read that first, and liked it so much that I read the full novel.
Here's SparkNotes: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/endersgame/

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Brickbat

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:31 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. I've found a lot of good things about it online

and maybe I should just try reading it again on another day. This is one of the first real young-adult books my kid is reading, and a few things are throwing him, but he loves the book. He doesn't want it to end. I see there's a series; I haven't told him that yet.

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Cid_B

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:46 PM
Response to Reply #2

4. Great book...

The rest of the series didn't grab me as much. As for EG, what's not to love about a child Napoleon kicking ass across the galaxy (unwillingly at times.)

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:28 PM
Response to Reply #4

13. Yeah, I think that's the appeal to my son.

Who's a bit of a Napoleon himself. :)

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trof

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:41 PM
Response to Reply #1

26. That has to be one of the most convoluted things I've ever read.

I'll stick to Twain and Fitzgerald.
;-)

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JTG of the PRB

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:44 PM
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3. I loved it. I read it for the first time last year and I loved it.

The only thing that was kind of tough was separating the book from the author, because the author is a fairly hard-core right winger.

But the book was great. It's long, but it's completely worth it.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:28 PM
Response to Reply #3

14. I should just buckle down and read it, it sounds like.

Now he's reading "The Lightning Thief" and wishes he were the son of Poseidon. He's usually got four or five books going on at one time.

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TCJ70

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:48 PM
Response to Original message

5. I downloaded it on iTunes...

...so I could listen to it on my commutes. It was really good. I haven't tried to read it, that may be more difficult, but it was not hard to get through in audio format.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:30 PM
Response to Reply #5

15. Ah, interesting!

I don't enjoy audiobooks, but I do know a lot of people listen to them on commutes (I don't have a commute, either). My children, however, LOVE audiobooks and listen to them as they fall asleep -- after I've read to them first, of course! I'll see if he's interested in the iTunes version...

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MicaelS

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Thu Mar-18-10 09:56 PM
Response to Original message

6. Wikipedia has good synopsis.

Ender's Game.

I've read it numerous times and loved it, however.....criticism I later found, and read to be quite valid, has diminished the enthusiasm I once had for the book.

Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality

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Brickbat

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Thu Mar-18-10 10:02 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Yes, I've found some of that criticism, too.

My son has been trying to articulate to me his thoughts about a protagonist who uses violence in such a supposedly morally "clean" way. It's interesting, and I really should just get off my ass and read the book so I can draw out what he thinks about it.

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MicaelS

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Thu Mar-18-10 10:36 PM
Response to Reply #7

11. You really should....

If you turn off your critical thinking, and just read the book as Card intended it's quite enjoyable.

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lazarus

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Thu Mar-18-10 10:03 PM
Response to Original message

8. child abuse

I liked it a lot when I first read it, but later it just seemed to be child abuse.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:30 PM
Response to Reply #8

16. I got the same feeling on some of the stuff I read.

I'm familiar with dystopian science fiction, but it's hard when it's kids.

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Richard Steele

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Thu Mar-18-10 10:11 PM
Response to Original message

9. It was OK, but he really brought it all together with "Speaker For the Dead"

He was about the FIFTEENTH whr9ter to beat that lame premise
into a "novel" when he cranked out "Ender's Game"...
but he took it to heart and actually wrote a decent novel
to follow it up.

Sadly , after that, someone backed a dump truck full of cash
up to his front yard, and he eagerly threw his IDEAS
into the fireplace to make space for the tons of 2-pence banknotes.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:31 PM
Response to Reply #9

18. Hee!

"Tons of 2-pence banknotes." :rofl:

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frogmarch

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Thu Mar-18-10 10:33 PM
Response to Original message

10. Orson Scott Card,

while calling himself a Democrat, supported many of Bush's policies and voiced his support for the Iraq War and the republicanz' war on terrorism. Card is vehemently opposed to gay rights and is a frothing-at-the-mouth homophobe. He scoffs at evolutionary theory and defends ID, which in itself is enough to turn me off.

I read Ender's Game before I knew anything about its author. The book was okay, but reading it made me tired.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:32 PM
Response to Reply #10

19. I have the same problem with one of my (formerly) favorite authors, Mark Helprin.

Not Mark Halperin. A fiction writer named Mark Helprin. Gorgeous if often overblown prose...aaaand Bob Dole's speechwriter.

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Blue-Jay

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:38 PM
Response to Reply #10

25. Yeah, Card is a real dickhead.

But, I really enjoyed the Ender novels (up until the last two) and I also enjoyed the Alvin Maker series. After that, he went nutso by injecting his whacky political beliefs into his fiction.

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MissMillie

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Fri Mar-19-10 10:27 AM
Response to Original message

12. loved it

I've been reading the other Card series written from the point of view of Bean. Also quite good.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:32 PM
Response to Reply #12

20. I'll make a note of the other series.

The kid can't get enough of books.

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Fire Walk With Me

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:31 PM
Response to Original message

17. Great author, hideous politics.

"Empire" made me want to puke. Stick to the Ender/Bean sagas..

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:33 PM
Response to Reply #17

22. I'll make a note of it.

My son is a strong reader AND political, and I'm sure it will bug him when I tell him about the author's views...

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HiFructosePronSyrup

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:33 PM
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21. It's a good book.

Some good sequels too.

Rest of his shit sucks though.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:34 PM
Response to Reply #21

23. That's the impression I'm getting, for sure.

I'll make a note of it.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:35 PM
Response to Original message

24. THANKS TO YOU ALL FOR RESPONDING! I really appreciate the input.

Like I said, I usually read what my kids are reading, but this one just didn't grab me. I really appreciate your views and opinions.

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Orsino

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:53 PM
Response to Reply #24

27. He made a couple of good sequels, which you should check out from the library...

...rather than giving another penny to support his anti-gay ramblings.

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Brickbat

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Fri Mar-19-10 05:58 PM
Response to Reply #27

28. The one book came from a library book sale.

I know where you're coming from. :)

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