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mar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Colonisation, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Homophobia
toast_y's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This has become one of my favourite books, I love it a lot and it really helped me get into science fiction. I’d recommend to anyone just starting out in the genre (like I was). There are some pretty sad/heartbreaking moments in my opinion but I also tend to be overly emotional during books
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Sexism and War
oldmanwilson's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
stylo_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's striking that for someone with repellent and destructive beliefs in the real world, Card was able to write a novel so deeply concerned with the question of empathy in darkness. Ender's Game I first read as a child, taken with the verisimilitude of its depiction of children's mentalities and concerns, even if the characters' speech patterns and invulnerability to emotion strains credibility. As Card's introduction in the revised edition points out, adults often criticize the work for its "unrealistic" depiction of childhood, whereas children have the exact opposite reaction, appreciating the work's refusal to dumb down their internal dialogues and concerns for the sake of appeasing adult egos and perceptions. Yes, children are in fact concerned about war; they do think about the meaning of life; they do wonder at the cruelty of their peers and humanity; they do wonder how to atone for their sins. They are whipsmart and know more than you think.
The prose is sparse and utilitarian, the plot straightforward and fast-moving, but all in service of the themes: why are human beings so vicious towards the other? Why is empathy so hard to exercise? What is the point of war, and what does it do to us? And what does redemption look like? Intense cruelty towards the characters only sharpens the point on which these examinations take place. (During one pivotal reveal towards the end of the novel, I pictured Ender's face as none other than Aleksei Kravchenko's in Come and See, the greatest and most tragic war movie ever made.)
The young-adult nature of the book does mean that themes, while mentioned, are not fully explored. Exploration of the themes rests in the realm of allusion; there's an impressionistic character, the way so much is communicated through Ender's dreams, through the fantasy game he plays on the computer, and the all-too-brief conclusion which I still find thrilling and evocative. I look forward to seeing if these themes are expounded on in Speaker for the Dead.
As a 30-something, this remains a striking, sad, and unique work.
(Caveats: There is some casual sexism in the book, and Card fumbles the ball on racial sensitivity with some of his characterizations - see for example the slang language used by the kids.)
The prose is sparse and utilitarian, the plot straightforward and fast-moving, but all in service of the themes: why are human beings so vicious towards the other? Why is empathy so hard to exercise? What is the point of war, and what does it do to us? And what does redemption look like? Intense cruelty towards the characters only sharpens the point on which these examinations take place. (During one pivotal reveal towards the end of the novel, I pictured Ender's face as none other than Aleksei Kravchenko's in Come and See, the greatest and most tragic war movie ever made.)
The young-adult nature of the book does mean that themes, while mentioned, are not fully explored. Exploration of the themes rests in the realm of allusion; there's an impressionistic character, the way so much is communicated through Ender's dreams, through the fantasy game he plays on the computer, and the all-too-brief conclusion which I still find thrilling and evocative. I look forward to seeing if these themes are expounded on in Speaker for the Dead.
As a 30-something, this remains a striking, sad, and unique work.
(Caveats: There is some casual sexism in the book, and Card fumbles the ball on racial sensitivity with some of his characterizations - see for example the slang language used by the kids.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
katiieecat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
lycheejelly's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, War, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, and Vomit
applesaucecreachur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
My most recent read of this book was in audio format, and as OSC himself claimed, the format added to the experience. I rooted for Ender because he was resilient, and rueful, and relatable and so exceptional that even for all that battle and command school put him through, I still found myself wanting to be in his shoes. The story forces its audience to examine the choices they make, both selfish and sacrificial. On a technical level, the military prowess displayed sets the bar intimidatingly high for any author with a genius protagonist. I’ll definitely want to reread this book in a physical format so that I can annotate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Fatphobia
poetskings's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf.”
Ender’s Game will always be one of my favourite books. It resonates with me in a way that few other books do, and Scott Card creates a world that is both easy to fall into and wholly believable. These are twelve year olds who are being forced into committing atrocities because the human race can’t believe for even a moment that any other species might be interested in peace.
While yes, I know that Orson Scott Card is kind of an awful person, and some of his less savoury views come across clearly in this book (misogyny is basically coded into every character from the get-go and reading a six year old say the n-word with a hard -er is incredibly jarring to say the least), I can’t help but believe in and root for these characters as the adults increasingly become the enemy.
I don’t think I’ll ever read the rest of the series, but Ender’s Game is a classic, and that’s a label it deserves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Sexism
julis's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The initial idea was to reread Ender’s Game to get a different view than HP and HP fanfic on how to write traumatized world-saving children in intense magic schools and because I had a vague memory of Peter and Valentine taking over the world.
The good: I did pick up more thoughts on how to write under 18s for adult readers without alienating anyone and how to weave geopolitics into narration. Also grudgingly impressed with OSC’s ability to guess how the net would transform politics and communication (and how governments would take control of it).
The bad: Sexism, racism, homophobia, and slurs used for funsies.
The good: I did pick up more thoughts on how to write under 18s for adult readers without alienating anyone and how to weave geopolitics into narration. Also grudgingly impressed with OSC’s ability to guess how the net would transform politics and communication (and how governments would take control of it).
The bad: Sexism, racism, homophobia, and slurs used for funsies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
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