Have u read enders game?

[zegma]

just wondering if u have read enders game or other books by him.

srry for the other thread i didnt put the poll up in time. i went over the 5 min limet. :(

[KillerCardinal]

Yep, I read it and loved it. However, I read it about 10 years ago(I think) and only remember bits and pieces of it at this point. Thus when people talk about it, I keep going, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"

Hmm, I should probably read it again, now!

[tsuyoshikentsu]

The enemy's gate is down.

[Mewtarthio]

Remember: When you can't figure out the solution, cheat. Cheating is always the secret hidden answer.

[thevorpalbunny]

No, no, no. Cheating is unethical.

Re-writing the rules, on the other hand. . .

[zegma]

The enemy's gate is down.

ahhh. thats gatta be the best qutoe of that book. also saved thier lives at the end. ( hehe broke the tension.) not ganna say any thing else, dont want to spoil it.

[tsuyoshikentsu]

No, no, no. Cheating is unethical.

Re-writing the rules, on the other hand. . .

As I said:

The enemy's gate is down.

[Indon]

It's not cheating.

It's achieving the objective as stated, rather than the objective as implied.

Slight Ender's Game spoiler:

Spoiler

Show

Objective as implied: Win by disabling opponents, then move through gate.
Objective as stated: move through gate.

Edit: Though aside from Ender's Game itself, I liked the Alvin Maker books better. The Homecoming books were also quite good, but not as good as the Maker novels.

[ryos]

Edit: Though aside from Ender's Game itself, I liked the Alvin Maker books better. The Homecoming books were also quite good, but not as good as the Maker novels.

Oh, if we're going to go there (;)), then anyone who has enjoyed any of Card's writing should make sure and read Hart's Hope. It is my favorite of his bar none.

[Dark]

Okay, now I definitely have to link to xkcd.
Battle Room

Remember: When you can't figure out the solution, cheat. Cheating is always the secret hidden answer.

Shorter lesson: If they're making you play, then screw their rules.

[PirateMonk]

No, no, no. Cheating is unethical.

Re-writing the rules, on the other hand. . .

"If at first you don't succeed, change the rules."

ahhh. thats gatta be the best qutoe of that book. also saved thier lives at the end.

Spoiler

Show

The pilots lives? No one else was in any real danger.

[Fascisticide]

I've read it and Ender's shadow. Both are great. I also have Speaker for the dead, but never got to read it yet. It seems very different from the other two.

What are your favorite books from Orson Scott Card?
I think he wrote fantasy too if I'm not mistaken...

[Kanthalion]

I'm a little confused?? how can it be that less people have read the book than have also liked it?

[KillerCardinal]

I'm a little confused?? how can it be that less people have read the book than have also liked it?

Some probably didn't notice that it was a multi option poll. At least thats the only sane reason I can think of.

[Endevin]

Just now finishing up my second reading of all four books, and I love them all. Anyone who's only read Ender's Game/Ender's Shadow should definitely read the other three.

[talltwin36]

I was the moderator for one of Card's sites for three years, www.ornery.org . I have had dinner with him, and his wonderful wife Kristine, several times. I think Pastwatch and Enchantment are two of his best works, after Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. His normal web site is www.hatrack.com .

msquared

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Not quite sure why this thread is here, but yes, Ender's Game is my favorite series ever.

I've read every book of the Ender saga and the Bean-split off and am dying for him to hurry up and publish the final book that ties them all in together.

[Demosthenes]

*points to his name*
No, I have not ever read the book. Sarcasm aside, I can't wait for him to finish up the series. Yeesh, he came out with First Contact but I can't find it anywhere!

[Kanthalion]

*points to his name*
No, I have not ever read the book. Sarcasm aside, I can't wait for him to finish up the series. Yeesh, he came out with First Contact but I can't find it anywhere!

Your name is a Ender's Game reference? I thought you were into Rocky Horror.

Wait. Nevermind--that's Damocles.

[Beren One-Hand]

I've read quite a few of his books and loved every one.
Unfortunately the only series I've been able to finish was the Homecoming saga.
Man I wish the libraries around me were more complete.

Another fun standalone read is Treason

[KillerCardinal]

Not quite sure why this thread is here, but yes, Ender's Game is my favorite series ever.

Probably because Ender's Game was referenced in Parson's most recent Klog entry, and got a LOT of talk in the main Klog discussion thread.

[Kanthalion]

Probably because Ender's Game was referenced in Parson's most recent Klog entry, and got a LOT of talk in the main Klog discussion thread.

A LOT. In fact, I feel like I read it even though I haven't

[Midnight Lurker]

I loved Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, but as far as I can tell, Card went abruptly and completely insane about halfway through Children of the Mind...

[Rift_Wolf]

I've read Enders Shadow; isn't the strategy from that book basically pre-emptive strike? Although (SPOILER) the idea of that book; the children were told it was a training program when they were actually commanding troops in battle, does kind of mirror Parson's predicament; he thinks he's having a coma dream while he's actually leading troops into battle.

[talltwin36]

The Homecoming series is based almost directly on the Book of Mormon.

msquared

[Mewtarthio]

I've read Enders Shadow; isn't the strategy from that book basically pre-emptive strike?

Spoiler

Show

The "strategy" was bending the rules and exploiting loopholes. Ender does it every time when he's exhausted all other options. For instance, there's the gate mentioned above: You're ideally supposed to disable all enemies and capture their gate, but when Ender was outnumbered 2 : 1 he just went straight for the gate and won. It's in every other major dilemma of the book: The giant's drink puzzle (both drinks are poisoned, so just kill the giant instead), the final battle (using the Little Doctor against a civilian target sets a bad precedent and is technically murder, but it was the only hope they had... not that he'd have done it if he knew the full scale of what was happening), etc.

[averagejoe]

Ender's game was easily the best of Card's books (that I have read, obviously) and probably the only one that was a Really Good Book (tm). Ender's Shadow was roughly on par with it, but it bugs me when authors retroactively change things.

Spoiler

Show

The thing is, though, his strategy really wasn't exploiting loopholes per se, because they really weren't loopholes. It's just that everyone else was so busy looking for solutions that they didn't think to examine the question. Which Ender did.

[Thimble]

Spoiler

Show

The "strategy" was bending the rules and exploiting loopholes. Ender does it every time when he's exhausted all other options. For instance, there's the gate mentioned above: You're ideally supposed to disable all enemies and capture their gate, but when Ender was outnumbered 2 : 1 he just went straight for the gate and won. It's in every other major dilemma of the book: The giant's drink puzzle (both drinks are poisoned, so just kill the giant instead), the final battle (using the Little Doctor against a civilian target sets a bad precedent and is technically murder, but it was the only hope they had... not that he'd have done it if he knew the full scale of what was happening), etc.

Well, kinda.

Spoiler

Show

He tended to hit where people weren't expecting and very, very hard. Didn't he kill a couple of kids who were picking on him? As I recall, he didn't kill them intentionally as such, but he didn't like fighting and took the hard, unexpected strike to end it quickly. And people died.

[Om]

Clearly Rob knows his market well. I've never read it but it appears that I'm very much in the minority here.

[Gitman00]

Ender's game was easily the best of Card's books (that I have read, obviously) and probably the only one that was a Really Good Book (tm). Ender's Shadow was roughly on par with it, but it bugs me when authors retroactively change things.

Yeah, although as retcons go, that series wasn't the worst of the bunch.

Spoiler

Show

The main retcons I remember were the MD Device - In Ender's Game it was a twin beam weapon, in Shadow it was more of a missile - and Bean's strategic prowess. In Ender's Game he was supposed to be brilliant with a small tactical strike force, but didn't have enough of a broad battlefield perspective to command a large unit. In Ender's Shadow he was supposed to be nearly as good as Ender at large-scale strategy. This is explained away by hinting that the instructors had manipulated Ender into believing Bean was less capable than he actually was, so Bean would be freed up to keep an eye on the whole battle and step in if Ender broke down. Pretty weak, if you ask me.