[Wilshire]

What a great book. Don't know what anyone here thinks of Orson Scott Card, but from only ready Ender's Game I'd say he's quite the writer. I couldn't stop reading until I had finished the book cover to cover, and I'd recommend it as a classic in the sci-fi genre.

[What Came Before]

Lol... The Speaker for the Dead may be my all time favorite SF book.

[Wilshire]

Was that the next published book of the series?

[What Came Before]

Not sure about publishing chronology. It is the second book of the Ender Quartet though, which I'm pretty sure were three-quarters published before the Bean Quartet was started.

[locke]

Publishing Chronology went:

Ender's Game Short Story
Ender's Game novel
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind
Ender's Shadow
(other shadow Books)
Ender in Exile
(whatever else has come out)

Speaker for the Dead and Dune are probably my two favorite Sci-fi books, though I've read Ender's Game more than SftD, and Dune more than EG.

It is a great book, and relevant to this board, since Kellhus and Ender are basically identical, although Ender feels remorse when he has to murder those he's caused to love him and loves as well.  Ender's the perfect little murderer, all his sins are okay because they are sins of love, or of loving too much.  and if they're not sins of love, they're sins of superior intellect, which is even more forgiveable than love.  His only failing was when nefarious devil folks withheld crucial information and tricked and deceived him, so his ignorance is only bad because of the actions of other people, his ignorance simply cannot be his own fault, can it? How can you not worship such a god in miniature?

[Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus]

I saw there's a film version of this being produced, and boy does it look atrocious.


...anyways, I'm a fan of his books, his recent The Lost Gate was a fun light read, read it last summer.

[What Came Before]

lockesnow, I really wish there was more really stellar SF to choose from. I really hope Bakker tackles the genre sooner rather than later (and apart from The Second Apocalypse, wherever that lands on the SF/F gradient).

While we're on Card, The Worthing Saga is an interesting read (though, apparently, unbeknownst to me, really exposes OSC mormon - or whatever - preaching tendencies he has).

Maps in the Mirror is, also, a constant and lifelong companion of enjoyment.

EDIT: Anyone ever read the Alvin Maker books?

[locke]

I've read/own just about everything Card's written, one of my great sadnesses of the past few years is that I didn't save the text of a post where I completely broke down his writerly tendencies/tropes as each one recurred in Pathfinder (what a load of garbage that book was, a low-grade James Horner esque rehash of every other book he's written).  It's kind of disturbing just how many of his stories revolve around a super-genius boy getting to play with his own planet as a sort of pseudo god.

Also, there's never been a female protagonist in a card story or novel that had the same interests as a male protagonists.  All females are ultimately focused on either preserving their virginity/purity from the rapaciousness of men or are hellbent on tricksing men into marriage or are after only babiesbabiesbabies or are totally obsessed with a man so that they have no life of their own.

[What Came Before]

Words can stand apart from their maker's. It is the meanings that they invoke inside me that matter.

Though, I'm sure he's as biased as the rest.

[Wilshire]

Apparently Card is making bank this year. I saw that "Seventh Son" movie is being made along with Ender's Game (which I thought looked good from the previews ). Wonder if he ever guessed he'd get 2 huge movie deals for books he wrong 20 years ago?

[Madness]

Well, Card actually had a hand in delaying the making of Ender's Game for that past ten years to facilitate the age of the actors (what is acceptable today in terms of embodied portrayal by a child, wasn't not too many years ago).

I tried reading the Alvin Maker series... never quite caught me like the Ender Quartet did (and even that suffered some serious setbacks during Xenocide and Children of the Mind).

[Wilshire]

Ok yeah true, he did refuse to let anyone touch it until the directors stopped trying to bone him.. but even still, bet he didn't expect to get both.

[Madness]

Seventh Son (moreso than the Ender Quartet) is likely a goldmine to Hollywood. Alvin Maker's comparable to a lesser known Harry Potter.

[locke]

I really love this article.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm

[Cüréthañ]

Thanks Locke, that is a fantastic deconstruction.