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karen's Reviews > Ender's Game
Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
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ender's game is pretty awesome, when it's not being boring.
and of course it is just me - in class yesterday the parts i mentioned as being boring TO ME were other people's favorite parts. and this is all due to a design flaw in me: i am physically incapable of visualizing action sequences. in movies, they make it so easy. in books, i frequently have to reread scenes a few times before i can orient myself. throw in zero gravity and weapons that don't actually exist, and i am loster than lost.
but - the parts of this that are good (to me) were very very good. why have i never read this before?? because i thought it was a total little boy book - all outer space and video games. and it is. but it is also about the formative years of a military savant - pushed nearly beyond his endurance into this pit of loneliness and pure strategy and honed into a killing machine. usually i hate precocity, but this was just brilliant. i liked so many of the characters, i loved watching ender progress, i just loved every minute of it. and even the parts i couldn't wrap dumbhead around, they were still fast-paced, even though i couldn't understand "wait, so who is hiding behind the star?? and who has been flashed? and what does that cord attach to??"
and of course, all that it has to say about the role of ethics on the military and about the suppression of the individual in these circumstances is gorgeous.
and if you like this book, be sure to check out o.s.c's many review of snacks and other sundries:
this one is pretty informative
i am sorry this review is crap, but i am supposed to be studying for a midterm. plus, almost everyone has already read this, so it's not like i am discovering anything here.
come to my blog!
and of course it is just me - in class yesterday the parts i mentioned as being boring TO ME were other people's favorite parts. and this is all due to a design flaw in me: i am physically incapable of visualizing action sequences. in movies, they make it so easy. in books, i frequently have to reread scenes a few times before i can orient myself. throw in zero gravity and weapons that don't actually exist, and i am loster than lost.
but - the parts of this that are good (to me) were very very good. why have i never read this before?? because i thought it was a total little boy book - all outer space and video games. and it is. but it is also about the formative years of a military savant - pushed nearly beyond his endurance into this pit of loneliness and pure strategy and honed into a killing machine. usually i hate precocity, but this was just brilliant. i liked so many of the characters, i loved watching ender progress, i just loved every minute of it. and even the parts i couldn't wrap dumbhead around, they were still fast-paced, even though i couldn't understand "wait, so who is hiding behind the star?? and who has been flashed? and what does that cord attach to??"
and of course, all that it has to say about the role of ethics on the military and about the suppression of the individual in these circumstances is gorgeous.
and if you like this book, be sure to check out o.s.c's many review of snacks and other sundries:
this one is pretty informative
i am sorry this review is crap, but i am supposed to be studying for a midterm. plus, almost everyone has already read this, so it's not like i am discovering anything here.
come to my blog!
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Reading Progress
October 15, 2010
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October 15, 2010
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 62 (62 new)
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La pointe de la sauce
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 17, 2010 12:17PM
only say good things about Ender's Game or else you sleep with the fishes.
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Imagine me flexing my flabby arms behind La pointe de la sauce, cracking my knuckles and raising my eyebrows to reinforce her statement.
Karen, I haven't read this, but remember when I recommended, "The LOst Boys," by Card? He's really a terrific writer.
i know!! and when i finished this, the first thing i thought was "man, i really want to read lost boys now". i did buy it on your rec, but i just get busy and distracted etc etc...my actual "to-read" pile is an embarrassment
Noticed your review, so I thought I'd leave this comment. I recently spoke to an ex-Marine who told me that Enders Game was on the recommended reading list at Marine Officers Training School. The comment has added a new perspective to my understanding of the book and military spirit.
that makes a lot of sense. thank you for sharing!!
i am physically incapable of visualizing action sequences.Me, too! I always get completely lost, and usually I don't bother trying to go back through and decode WTF is happening. I just try to pay attention to whether anyone dies or not.
Me too on the visualization fail. Whenever an action sequence comes in a book my brain knows it's skimming time, because the info isn't gonna register anyway so I may as well just get to the next part as quickly as possible.
i am so glad it is not just me. when i was reading truancy, i knew it was because it was poorly written, but i know osc can write well... but i was fine in graceling and hunger games. they are so bizarre, my failings.
My eyes normally glaze over during action scenes. The Instructions though carried off a long action scene without completely losing me.
karen wrote: "i am so glad it is not just me. when i was reading truancy, i knew it was because it was poorly written, but i know osc can write well... but i was fine in graceling and hunger games. they are so b..."
Oh, but that's likely because there WERE no exciting action scenes in Graceling.
Oh, but that's likely because there WERE no exciting action scenes in Graceling.
Oh man, you should've read it while you were here! I love the action scenes and would've re-enacted them for you, using Marie's furniture, or maybe salt and pepper shakers. Or with more room, throwing myself around. Next time.
there are so many sequels...
ooh, and master and commander!
I like the ghostly floating cover that appears when you hover the cursor over a title. The military can afford nice things! Too bad they have lame font.
I actually prefer action scenes in books. They bore me silly in movies. It's easier to skim a truly dull fight in print. Not that I read many books with fight scenes in them.
i just get confused with the who is doing what to whom. also why sex scenes bore me.
GIVE ENDER'S GAME 5 STARS OR YOU SLEEP WITH THE FISHES!!
good thing i love fishes!
You guys are fucked up.
i can't see the picture, but i bet it rox.
I'm the same way with action scenes in books. I think that was one of my big problems with No Country For Old Men. Too many detailed chase scenes, gun descriptions, etc...I really liked the movie, though.
Oh, and I've never read Ender's Game either. This review makes me want to give it a try.
there are dozens of us!
My problem is that I have trouble visualizing action scenes in movies.
oh, mofo, you always get me...
me too on the visualization. It's why I like joyce the action is secondary and you don't have to know or care what is happening. It is also why I enjoy waxing philosophical in my novels. And Bed hiding!!but really in my view the less that happens the better.
unlike karen they bore me to death in movies as well. I fall asleep in lord of the rings during the battles
I think a lot of writers suck at action scenes. They aren't able to visualize them realistically, or something.In A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift the action happened in real time (like, here he's getting chased down the street, then he ducks into the alley and hears the monster coming, etc) and I had no trouble following it.
Miriam wrote: "In A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift the action happened in real time (like, here he's getting chased down the street, then he ducks into the alley and hears the monster coming, etc) and I had no trouble following it."doesn't that take a long time? I feel like that would be like the classical theater rules about "no more than 24 hours, not change of location etc." that really constricted plays to I don't want to say a less interesting genre, but perhaps a less diverse genre.
Miriam wrote: "I think a lot of writers suck at action scenes. They aren't able to visualize them realistically, or something.In A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift the acti..."
yeah, it's not my shortcomings, it's theirs!!
i prefer this take.
I teach _Ender's Game_ with my Honors Sophomore English class. I have even succeeded in converting girls to sci-fi. :)The social implications the book addresses makes it viable. Card's prose? Eh. He's really not a great "writer," for lack of a better word.
i liked his writing style, but it might just be because i am reading it in the context of a teen fiction class, and some of the more recent selections have given me lower expectations.
karen wrote: "i liked his writing style, but it might just be because i am reading it in the context of a teen fiction class, and some of the more recent selections have given me lower expectations."
don't want you to think i missed that.
don't want you to think i missed that.
well, not graceling, certainly... but truancy fer sure.
hahaahah i love ariel.
i agree battle scenes can be difficult to follow especially in 0 gravity. r. jordan really writes some great terrific and amazing battle scenes when he is cooking. yes, unfortunately, at times, he can describe an herb very well. .
I do wonder if your opinion of the author changes after reading this blog of his. I have to say, mine did, and not for the better.http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-hy...
Tatiana wrote: "I do wonder if your opinion of the author changes after reading this blog of his. I have to say, mine did, and not for the better.
http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-hy..."
um whoa.
http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-hy..."
um whoa.
oh, yeah - i know he is a cuckoo clock - his political and social opinions are totally not my own, but i knew that going into it. i still liked the book. i mean, i love t.s. eliot, but i don't agree with a lot of his opinions, either. i am a master at compartmentalizing shit.merry, is this my virgo?
Uhhh. Hmmm. That would make sense. But also, we think you have the Libra rising, which is the thing about being able to see both sides to an issue and decide based on fairness, not person emotion. But, probably being critical of a work product separately from being critical of a person's life would be a Virgo thing. I'm all about that, and I've got the Virgo deal to. Different from you, but still Virgo.
You are lucky you can do it. I only knew some vague rumors about him before reading the book, but after I finished, I looked up some stuff people kept mentioned and wow, not sure I can get over it. If I ever cared to read anything else of his, his views would definitely affect my perception of his work.
Wow, your link to Card's column was a major value-add! Wheat Thins are my favorite!!
his snack reviews are amazing. they kill me!
I FEEL THE SAME WAY! (about the trying to visualise/process all the action.)
This book will be the death of me. It is so dreadfully boring. I don't think you have a problem with visualizing action sequences. The issue is, there is NO action! I'm nearly 150 pages in and we're still "playing games". I'm sorry, but shooting little fake guns and freezing each other's bodies 50 pages in a row is not action. I honestly don't want to finish this book, but have to for my teen literature class. Lord of books, please help me.
This is a good book. My favorite parts were seeing how ender spoke with Valentine about how he loved his enemies once he understood them. But once he understood them, he was forced to crush them. Him thinking how he was like Peter made me cry inside. His love for Valentine was heart wrenching. It made me smile to see how Peter went from a killer to being a young man who focused his energy in a better way.
have considerable trouble with 3-d visualization myself, for various reasons I think...
