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Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing >

Orson Scott Card

Foust is SO authentic

22:17 / 29.11.02

Ender's Game, as I remember, was the first adult novel I ever read, around the age of 13 (Jurassic Park being the second). As such, I've held a pretty strong loyalty to it throughout the years. I've read and re-read it, and it never gets old.

Speaker For The Dead was arguably better. Perhaps Ender's interactions with the central family were rather corny, but they resonated with me none the less. Card made an honest attempt at creating a truly alien race with the piggies, and along with that came some heart-breaking moments.

Lost Boys was a ghost story about, of all things, a Mormon family. Essentially, the story was about the search for the security. A family of good people trying to find a safe place in a hostile world. Gripping, with a punch-you-in-the-guts ending.

I've heard Card's work derided as trite. I disagree. Since when does Joycean-obscurity equal depth and truth?

23:13 / 29.11.02

I've had this argument many, many times, so I hope you'll forgive me for the short, shit answer. Am willing to elaborate if anyone wants.

Ender's Game - Goodness.
Speaker... - Much goodness.
Xenocide - Slightly less goodness, but still goodness overall.
Children of the Mind - Arse. How to take a decent series and turn it into mush in one easy step: loose track of why you started writing the series in the first place, try to handle 'big' themes, fumble the ball.
Shadow side-series - Pap. How to yadda yadda pt2: milk the original series for all its worth under the pretence of "fleshing out the backstory," manage in one fell swoop to dilute everything that filled the originals with goodness. Note to Card: Bean may well have been a likable character in the first book, but changing events so that he's the power behind the throne does not work. You've made Ender a stooge. Not clever.

My intro to Card was his novelisation of The Abyss, in which he cocked things up at the end in much the same way. Note to Card: we don't need to know that Ed Whatsisface only chose the correct wire to cut because the aliens manipulated his brain chemistry. By introducing this idea, you have managed to lose all of the tension in the finale. Not clever.

23:37 / 29.11.02

By the way, Foust, Speaker..., as I understand it, was originally going to be the first Andrew Wiggin story. Card wrote Ender's Game after he came to the conclusion that the former needed more backstory than chucking it all in one novel would allow.

pointless and uncalled for

09:36 / 30.11.02

I've been a fan of Card for sometime, with thanks to my father for introducing me. While I enjoyed the Ender series I think that it was superceded in quality by the Alvin series.

My favourite of his writings would be Folk of the Fringe. Although this may have more to do with my post-apocalyptic leanings than the actual merits of the book. Fortunately for me it doesn't lack merit.

I won't be so bold as to say I love Card but I definitely well disposed towards him.

Foust is SO authentic

10:47 / 30.11.02

Yeah, I forgot about the Shadow series when I created this thread. Still, a guy's gotta put his kids through college.

11:26 / 30.11.02

I pretty much agree with E. Randy. I really loved the Ender series except for Children of the Mind. I've read the first two Shadow books, and they're pretty awful (I'll still read the next one at some point, 'cause I'm a sad fucker and I can't help myself, but I sure as hell won't buy it in hardback).

I tried the Earth stuff, but couldn't get into it at all. So the Alvin Maker books are worth a go, then?

15:23 / 30.11.02

Ender's Game thread

19:57 / 30.11.02

I've only read his Ender books, and I'm unsure about the new Shadow ones. I enjoy them, and they're sort of like the video game Civilization put onto paper. (China invades India, Russia invades...etc.'), but yeah, they're nowhere near the greatness of Ender's Game.

I sort rank everything after Ender's Game the same. Children of the Mind was no worse than the two that preceeded it and the three that followed...

Foust is SO authentic

20:05 / 30.11.02

Hm. I ran a search for Orson Scott Card, and nothing came up.

02:02 / 27.11.06

Why is Ender's Game referred to as an adult book? It may have started as such but it's about children and I've seen editions meant for children. It has greater power than the succeeding books (haven't read the Shadow sub-series) which analyze other aspects of family.
I have most of Card's books. The fist book of the Alvin Maker series didn't impress me as much as Treasure Box, probably because I identify too much with the character from the latter book. Will come back to this thread when I've read the other books.