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dcm7918's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Toxic friendship, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Colonisation, Grief, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Bullying
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Xenophobia
cozylifewithabby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
Moderate: Violence
mar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Colonisation, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Homophobia
shieldbearer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Bullying, and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Bullying- happens very often in the text Child abuse- the premise of the entire book is Ender's emotional abuse at the hands of the government War- while combat itself isnt' described, it's a topic of frequent discussion Child death-toast_y's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Sexism and War
stylo_'s review against another edition
- 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
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.)
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
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Animal cruelty
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
The author is a piece of shit which takes away some enjoyment from the book. I probably would have rated it a slightly higher star (3 or 3.5?) than what I did if it wasn't for the author of the series wasn't a homophobic mormon asshole.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, and War
katiieecat's review against another edition
- 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
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