By Orson Scott Card
I read this a few years ago during my “understand the nerds around me” reading phase. This time, it was selected by the Armchair Adventures Book Club. I like the book, so I was happy to read it a second time. I’m waiting for the library’s copy of Ender’s Shadow to be available, I’m interested to read that one. I’ve previously read Speaker for the Dead as well.
Thoughts:
- I can accept all of the other technological advancements of the science fiction world, but the age of the children. They act too old, so I consistently picture them as older than the author describes. He restates the ages many times, as though to force that into my head, but it won’t go. They are all 10 years older than Card says they are in my head.
- The use of the nets by Ender’s siblings was prescient. Ender’s Game was originally published on Delphi, putting Card well ahead of the rest of us in adopting the internet.
- The presence of an alien enemy temporarily allied human nations, but did not resolve earthly conflict. That seems more realistic than the version where humanity unifies once conflict with another world starts.
- Ender, the xenocide doesn’t have free will
- His nickname is fitting. All of his fights, he ends emphatically.
- I enjoy the twist that he becomes the villain because of his own work as the original Speaker for the Dead.
- Something I only thought significant in the second read: Mazer tells Ender that the buggers never deliberately attacked civilian populations during the first two invasions after Ender asked about the weapons working against a planet. Ender is currently playing games (as far as he knows), so this is kind of a weird comment. Why would Mazer be concerned about this when he just asked about the rules of the game? They’ve been good about keeping him in the dark up until this point, it feels like an odd slip to hint at what is really happening. It’s an interesting dodge of responsibility. They know how Ender fights. They know that the weapon works on the planet. Then they tell him “oh gee, if you want to wipe out their whole species, I guess that’s your decision.” Then he does, and they all celebrate. It seems now, not just that they won, but that they found a patsy for what they know was a morally indefensible act.