Ender's Game

By Orson Scott Card

 In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender’s skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in Zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.


This book has literally been on my 'to read' list for at least ten years. I finally got to it around Thanksgiving and was pretty floored by this book. If you haven't heard of it, it won a couple medals and people tend to either love this book or hate it, which is pretty telling that it is a book that gets a lot of discussion. I was pretty surprised at the load of profanity in this book, but it does lend itself to the story and what is going on, not that I'm excusing it, it still bothered me a great deal. It's really hard to see Ender as such a little kid through the whole book, what with his being a super genious and all the kids in this book being smarter than Einstein. I guess that's part of the fantasy, and the eventual horror. I had no clue what was going to happen and was shocked to say the least at some of the 'reveals' at the end of the novel. Holy smokes. It takes quite the story to get me going like that, and Mr. Card outdid himself on that front. It is apparent from the first pages why this book is contriversial, and why it has won so many awards. This is a book about belonging, about growing up, and about society and war. It's about a whole lot of things and anyone who reads it can find something to latch onto. It's pretty amazing. That being said, I had mixed feelings when I read the last pages. I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I was sad as I finished and more than a little disappointed in the future Mr. Card painted. There was hope, but it was bleak throughout, and I had a hard time swallowing it. But, that in itself, is a sign of what superb writing, and touching story he was able to write. And it only took someone twenty years to make this book into a movie...I just found out it's being made into a movie coming out this summer. We'll see how it goes, looks promising when they cast Harrison Ford.

I give it a 4 out of 5 for excellece, even though I felt a slight emotional scaring by the end.

Pathfinder

Orson Scott Card

Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg’s strange talent for seeing the paths of people’s pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him—secrets about Rigg’s own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.
Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two faction, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.

If you've never read a book by Orson Scott Card, you ought to give it a go. He is a master at creating new and believable worlds. Pathfinder is no exception. I was hooked the moment I read the prologue to the first chapter that had an alternate story featuring a young man named Ram, from our earth. Ram's story entertwines with Rigg's very tightly as you learn a little more at the beginning of each chapter. I admit, I skipped ahead and read the beginning of each chapter because it was killing me. But Rigg's own adventure is quite the doozy, losing his father and trying to figure out who he really is and what it was that his father wanted him to do. Rigg meets others who have strange talents like his pathfinding- a way to view the past- and they help each other to find their destinies. A great adventure story filled with mysteries and great characters. I thought this was a stand-alone book, but found in the notes after the book that it is yet another series...man I know how to pick 'em! Yet another one I'll have to wait patiently for. I've never been much for science fiction, but Mr. Card sure does spin a good yarn!

Seventh Son

By Orson Scott Card

This first volume of the Tales of Alvin Maker introduces young Alvin Miller Jr., the seventh son of a seventh son, who lives on the frontier of an alternate early 19th century America, where folk magic such as faith healing and second sight really works. While Alvin embarks on his mythic struggle against the Unmaker of all things, he is watched over by a flesh and blood guardian angel; he is pursued by the rigid, zealous Reverend Thrower; and he is guided by the wandering Taleswapper, William Blake.

So I was recommended this book when I was 15, and only now am getting to it 7 years later. Better late than never eh? What makes this book interesting is that I heard it was a science fiction loosely based on the life of Joseph Smith. There are some pretty obvious parallels in the book, but other things are completely independent. This book is about magic, good and bad. It’s about a boy who is the seventh son of a seventh son, and as such, has inherited a special magic and responsibility. This is the first book in seven I believe from Orson Scott Card about Alvin Miller. This book comprises Alvin’s birth to when he is about 9 years old. It was lots of fun and quite different. I’m not a fan of science fiction, but I can read this series.