patrick, who'd rather be reading than writing but loved this post, continues
to respond to emily:
>
>i also just read (at my brother's behest -- it's his
>favorite book, bar none), a sci-fi novel by orson
>scott card called "ender's game" (poorly written but
>with a cracking good war-games story and maybe one of
>the best trick endings i've ever read.)
>
i've read plenty of card, including the novella-length first version of
ender's game, 20 or so years ago. much more poorly written than the novel,
i'm sure. actually, i don't agree with 'poorly written' here, though it
occurs to me that i rarely reread passages of card's novels to marvel at the
delicate prose. on the other hand, when i finish a great novel of his (and
there are several) his characters and plotlines vibrate in my mind for days.
i can't think of many writers who make me think as long after i finish a
work as orson scott card.
'ender's game' as a novel was a huge success, and card, who was at the peak
of his talents, followed it with 'speaker for the dead' and 'xenocide', two
of my favorite novels in or out of any genre. i highly recommend them
emily; i think that the weaknesses in 'ender's game' disappeared and card's
strengths came into clearer view as the series progressed.
orson scott card is a mormon, and with my aversion to the organized
religions of the USA, i could find him scary. i don't. he creates moral
questions in his novels, but does not push answers. his characters have to
find their own moral ground, and watching them do so is just exhilarating.
and i never feel excluded from that moral universe. that matters.
these are cracking good stories, by the way. my other favorite card novel
is 'songmaster', a love i share with ashara. the best piece of fiction i've
ever read about making music.
patrick
np - bebel gilberto - tantotempo
