Chapter 8: Space and the Illusion of Childhood

I have been working on reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card for months now. Though in all honesty it has probably been more of a process of years. This has been, by far, the book I've received the most recommendations for. I'm not typically one to read a book slowly. If I don't finish it within the first week or so of picking it up, it remains unfinished for years if not permanently. I have a horrid memory and typically after a few days I forget the importance of characters or what exactly is happening or sometimes even the main goal of it all (serious memory problems, I'm telling you...). However, there was something different about this book. This was one of the craziest autumns of my life so there's a plethora of reasons why it kept being put down but every time I picked it back up again, I was drawn back in and I had no problems following what was happening. I wonder now if that made me enjoy the book more because just as Ender felt things around him moving at odd pace with sudden starts and stops, so was my reading experience.

It took me a while to be really absorbed into the story (possibly contributing to my slow reading of it). There are so many strange aspects to this world that are introduced but unexplained, leaving the reader to interpret it themselves (only to have their conclusions approved or voided later in the book). So it takes a little time to get used to your surroundings. Also at the beginning the characters are so defined by specific characteristics that they become almost caricatures. This follows Ender's own thoughts, understandable ones for children, but keeps you distant from the rest of the characters, perhaps accentuating how alone he feels even surrounded by others.

I couldn't resist! Saw this and could not stop laughing!

 The plots follows Ender Wiggin, a child of seven, who has been chosen by the government to join their military training academy in space where they prepare to fight the second invasion of an alien race called Buggers who came far too close to annihilating the human species the last time they came around. Once there he realizes he is not just another soldier there for training. The government has been watching him and has picked him to act as the commander over the invading forces. The book follows his years through battle school as they push him to the very edge of his abilities in their attempt to make him the perfect tactical machine.

And yes! A movie is finally on the way! IMDB says November 1, 2013

One of my favorite parts was actually the subplot where Ender's older siblings Peter and Valentine, who are also young children as well, take on alias's and invade the nets, spreading incendiary political theories, commentaries, and ideas. Peter, the more violent one, takes on the aspect of the more rational while Valentine, the empathetic one, takes on the more radical. These segments focus on her perspective as she tries to understand and condone what they're doing regardless of Peter's less than pure intentions.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (324 pages)

Judgement: Psychologically Stimulating (8 out of 10)