The Martian Chronicles, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Stranger in a Strange Land…an average geek’s favorite reading list can be literally incalculable. 👾
Geek Paradise
The Martian Chronicles, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Stranger in a Strange Land…an average geek’s favorite reading list can be literally incalculable. Orson Scott Card proves he can make the list with Ender’s Game, which encompasses a scheme of ruthlessness, constant battles, manipulation, and in the end, compassion. Its the year 2070, and Ender Wiggin at age six has been chosen to attend Battle School, a military academy explicitly for the brightest children where they are intensely trained in order to become military commanders. There, Ender is immediately resented and maltreated through the manipulation of adults who force Ender to be exposed to violence in order to achieve necessary character.
The amazement and reaction of Ender’s attitudes throughout the story is completely distorted. Card pushes him into being an impenetrable killer with a brutal response, and then shoves him back into the little boy struggling to be a respectable individual. Ender is constantly on the verge of huge problems and all the decisions are pinned on him. Ender follows a similar pattern with authority figures tampering his situation to foster the abuse he has already sustained, which eventually forces him to eliminate the enemy that is bent on destroying him. Ender is a combination of Valentine, his loving older sister, and Peter, his heartless older brother, with Valentine’s compassion and Peter’s cold blood. The difference with Ender is that he has a noteworthy sense of empathy, a gift in understanding the solicitudes of other people, and cannot simply be submerged into wanting power. With this Ender can be considered an innocent killer whose virtues simply aren’t recognized.
Ender’s story genuinely begins when Ender is made commander of Dragon Army at Battle School. Due to Ender’s genius in leadership, Dragon Army goes on to dominate all possible competition, despite all the obstacles the adults place in Ender’s path. Soon afterwards, Ender is notified that he is being transferred to Command School for the next stage of his training. This is where a legendary veteran called Mazer Rackham tutors him in the use of a space battle simulator and he learns more about the enemy he is facing, which are called the Formics or “buggers”. Eventually Ender is disclosed to the “final exam” where he reveals what he is truly capable of.
With an environment that requires no hint of feebleness or the slightest mistake for someone so young, Ender’s Game is not for the meek. Ender must deal with life at the Battle School where everyone seems to be against him, separation from Valentine, his fear of Peter, and the almost necessary violence in his nature to become the best of his kind. Regardless, this is an adeptly written novel and can be interpreted on many differing favorable levels, whether to read it for a political or philosophical message, or for the sheer pleasure of the exciting rendition that Ender’s world gives you is a fascinating experience that can benefit undoubtedly anyone.