Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

The story is set in the future, approximately the year 2070. An alien race known as the Formics (often called the Buggers by children) has attacked Earth twice. Humans were very nearly destroyed the second time around, and would have been annihilated were it not for the work of Mazer Rackham. Now the government is preparing for the next invasion, gathering all of Earth's brightest children and sending them to Battle School, where they will learn to use their military genius to win the next Formic War.

The story centers around a child named Andrew Wiggin (given the nickname "Ender" by his sister's mispronunciation of his name). At the beginning of the book, Ender is only six. He is recruited into the IF (the International Fleet) and taken to Battle School, where he endures six years of intensive training. But Ender is not just another one of the children at Battle School; he is the one on whom all the government's hopes are pinned. For Ender is the best of the best, the genius among genius, and he is to be the next commander of the human fleet.

I wonder if J.K. Rowling ever read Ender's Game. As I read it I often thought of Harry Potter. Maybe it was because both books focused on young children or that the training games reminded me of Quiditch. Also, the young heroes of the books have to grow up so fast and face so much responsibility - They both hold the lives of so many in their hands. Even though I can't quite identify the similarities, in my mind at least, there was a similar feel.

Ender's Game was first conceived of when Card was only 16 years old. It was many years later that it was first published in a Science Fiction magazine as a short story. Even later Card developed it into a book that was awarded the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novel. Ender's Game is used by the Marine Corps University at Quantico as a textbook on the psychology of leadership.

Thanks to Chris I own Speaker for the Dead which is a follow-up to Ender's Game. Card has said that Ender's Game was written specifically to establish the character of Ender for his role of the Speaker in Speaker for the Dead, the outline for which he had written before novelizing Ender's Game. I'm excitedly looking for to reading Speaker for the Dead.

The Cardathon Challenge

Becky at Becky's Book Reviews is a big fan of Orson Scott Card so she's decided to host a challenge featuring him. Since I also like the books that I've read by Card and would like to read some more I'm joining in the fun. Becky has a blog set up just for this challenge. You can get there by click on this link: Cardathon Challenge.

The challenge starts January 2008 and doesn't have a set ending date. This is the basic information for this challenge:

To qualify for the Cardathon Challenge a book needs to meet one of the following criteria:

1) a book written by Orson Scott Card
2) a book edited/compiled by Orson Scott Card
3) a book with an introduction by Orson Scott Card
4) a book reviewed by Orson Scott Card on his official website.

How many books are we talking about? I'd suggest choosing 6-12 books to read. Along with alternates, of course. Always feel free to list more alternates than 'official' choices. Essentially, you could read as many or as few as you wanted. Although, I hope that given a year, you would read at least six books. If you should read all the books on your list, feel free to add more.

How many books must be written by Card? I'd hope that you would choose at least one or two books for your list. But you can choose many other authors as long as they've been mentioned and/or recommended by Card. This leaves the selection process very open-ended, and gives you many, many options.

In addition to the link to Card's official website, Becky also includes a list of all the books he has written, edited, or contributed short stories or written introductions. You can access this list by going to the Cardathon Challenge Blog. Keep in mind that you can also read a book that Card has reviewed on his website.

So, what will I be reading for this challenge? I haven't whittled my choices down to the final selections, but this is the 'long list'.

Books by Card
An Open Book
Hart's Hope
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
Invasive Procedures
Treasure Box
Cruel Miracles

Books Reviewed by Card on his Website
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Goodnight, Irene by Jan Burke (an Irene Kelly mystery)
Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint
The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz
TheMessenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear


I can highly recommend Enchantment and Ender's Game, both by Card, to anyone who is planning on join the Cardathon Challenge.

Favorites in SciFi

1. Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
This may be as much fantasy as sci-fi. A modern 'prince' mysteriously finds himself in a medieval forest starring at a sleeping princess. I was enchanted by this novel ! I recommended this book to my husband who was surprised that I liked a book with a man running naked through a forest. What he must think of me?!
2. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
What a fun premise: The bad guy, Acheron Hades, steals characters from original manuscripts of some of the best-loved classics and that changes every future printing of the book. It's up to Thursday Next to rescue Jane Eyre and get her back into the book. Thursday works for the Literary Division of the Special Operations Network. This is a quirk book with lots of laughs and a great mystery. I think anyone who's quirky will enjoy it. There are 3 more books in the Thursday Next series. I liked Lost in a Good Book even better than the Eyre Affair and am still looking forward to reading The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten.
3. Mort by Terry Pratchett
Another quirky fun book. The main character, Death, is feeling pressured from the demands of his job. He takes on a lanky teenaged apprentice named Mort. It's interesting to learn the ins and outs of the job along with Mort. The problem comes when Mort falls in love with a princess and decides not to 'take her' when her time comes. Of course, that messes with the ?reality? of Discworld. Meanwhile, while Mort covers his responsibilities, Death takes a vacation to discover what LIFE is really all about. The love triangle that develops between Death's daughter, Mort and the princess just adds another layer of depth and wackiness. I LOVED this book and am considering putting it on my reread list.
4. Pawn of Prophecy Series by David Eddings
A student recommended this book. When I asked if it was a series he ducked the question and said there were lots of books that went along with it, but I wouldn't need to read any further than the first one. I should have seen it coming! I stopped after the 5th or so that were actually in the series. Very enjoyable.
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I enjoyed the first in this series, but stopped after the 2nd.