First post about Ender’s Game? How very, very sweet.
Ender’s Game is not only one of the greatest Scifi books of all time, but one of the greatest books of all time. I would love to hear if you are also a fan and what you enjoy about it.
Indeed. I read it (and sequels) a number of years ago on a friend’s recommendation.
I keep hearing bits and pieces about a movie, which would totally be possible with today’s SFX options, but I understand there are lots of difficulties. Regardless, I’ve always been excited about the possibility.
I heard an interview of Orson Scott Card on either the Signal or Firefly Talk and he indicated they are very close to making the movie now. The major stumbling block, ironically, was the script. He was not happy with it, but they appear to have finally gotten over that hurdle.
Orson Scott Card looks to the movie Serenity as inspiration. He wants Ender’s world to be real, gritty and true. I am sure he also looks to this incarnation of BSG as well. What is awesome is that he owns the rights, so he is taking his time to get it right.
This movie should be amazing. Someday.
I love this novel, one of the best SF book ever. If you really hate someone, give him the book as a present and then spoil the great ending 
Though I was kinda disappointed recently to read about Orson Scott Card personal opinions on a few topics, I know you should always try to separate an author from his art, I will have a hard time reading another of his novels…
Did anyone read Ender’s Shadow? If not…you SHOULD! It parallel’s Enders story from the point of view of Bean. It’s “awesome” seeing the same scene from the two different points of view.
Aye Ender’s Game is a book that i still read and re-read regularly, unfortunately I misplaced my copy of Ender’s Shadow some time ago… I always enjoyed books that got more in the characters head, so having the different view points presented like that really floated my boat =)
not the mention the fact that the original book never gets old no matter how much i tend to read it
P.S. Aviendha, Wheel of Time reader by chance?
I read Ender’s Game about 7 years ago at the insistence of my friend Dave (i really enjoyed it). He and his wife Shanna are huge sci-fi fans with shelves of books and DVDs. They met in high school many years ago when he spotted here walking down the street in her Dr. Who scarf.
Their oldest son Joel shared much of their love of sci-fi, and as a extremely bright kid who sometimes found himself out of synch with the adolescent world due to his intellect he always identified with Enders Game. A love of the book was something that David, Shanna and Joel always shared, even during some rounds of painful teen rebellion.
So it was with great sorrow that I received an e-mail from Dave saying that Joel , 19 years old, had been found dead at a friends apartment 2 days earlier. I was out of town that day and did not get the message until the day after the funeral (which in the Jewish traditions must occur as quickly as possible). As I read Dave’s brief two line message and reeled with the shock of the news the part that burned into my mind was the the line reading:
“I read ender’s game to him last night for 5 hours until John and Mary took over at 3am.” (John and Mary are his grandparents)
So as Dave sat vigil with Joel’s body the day after he died they spent some of their last moments together reading Ender’s Game. The image of that haunts me…I can’t even type this without breaking down.
I guess it is time to track down a copy of Ender’s Game again and settle in for a read. I enjoyed it the first time I read it, but I suspect there might be more for me the second time through.
Sorry to throw such a sad story into the middle of a discussion about a great book, but I thought you all might appreciate how special a book it is to my friends.
George
George, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. Indeed, Ender’s Game is one of those books that resonates deeply with many people for many reasons.
Thank you for sharing. So say we all.
Indeed. George, I’m so sorry too for your loss, and greatly appreciate you sharing this with us.
I’m thinking about starting a group read of Ender’s Game. I’ve been thinking ever since we launched the forum that we could do something like that by creating a special space with threads for chapter groups – say four or five – so that everyone could participate by posting in the particular thread that follows the part of the book they’ve just finished reading. I was thinking about doing it with Dune – since I’m apparently one of five people on the planet who haven’t read it yet – but it sounds like Ender’s Game might be a better first choice. Would any of you be up for this?
Regardless, I’m going to break out my copy this week, too, George.
All you have to do is give me a reason to re-read Ender’s Game Chuck and I am there.
Frak, between you and I, I have never read Dune either, almost for exactly the same reason as you: Bad movie. I’ll read that in the GWC reading group as well.
Thanks for the kind words everyone. My copy of Ender’s Game has gone MIA so I am off to the bookstore after work today.
Chuck and Solai, Dune is an amazing read. It is one of the few books I have read as many times as LOTR. There are layers of detail in the universe that Herbert created that are great fun to explore. So much is hinted at in Dune and its sequels that it is fun to ferret it out. The pre-quels that his son has written based on his notes are great fun if you are a backstory whore like me. Not as well written as the originals, but still quite good.
George
PS: Yeah, the movie was pretty lame. Good visuals for its day, but I could do without the Toto soundtrack and the cheesy “killing words”. Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck kicked ass though.
I too am sorry for your loss George. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Locke…the Wheel of Time series is my FAVORITE. Did you hear that Robert Jordan died last week? I’ve read the series more times than I can count.
Chuck…count me in for the group read of Enders Game…as well as any other sci fi/fantasy books. Oh…I love sci fi/fantasy and i also haven’t read Dune (but I did see the movie!)
Wow George, that is a really sad story and I am sorry for your loss.
This is a great thread! I have started re-reading Ender’s Game because of it. I don’t think I could do a whole re-read of the entire series. None of the other books are the same as Ender’s Game. They all have very different themes and emotions associated with them. Card says that there will be one more book in the series tying the stories of Ender and Bean together.
I know there are others here who can offer more impassioned arguments than me as to why this should be our next group read, but I thought I’d open a thread for it to kick things off. Maybe one of you can take it from here.
Personally, I’d be fine with reading this as a) it’s a classic, b) it’s an easy read at just over 200 pages, and c) a lot of other sci-fi draws on ideas that originate here.
I’ve somehow managed to never read this, and I’m told that makes me some sort of weirdo – can’t have that.
I’d definitely be on board.
I think I have stated my feelings regarding this book fairly clearly. In short: Brilliant, must read classic. I have given this book to more people than I can count and all have had the same reaction: “Thank you…I couldn’t put it down.”
This is a quality essential book.
I am on board - this is not the first time someone has suggested I read this book. In fact a good friend over at the SciFi.com’s forums named her cat Ender after the book
Now I need to get my hands on a copy.
No weirdos allowed here, The3.
My sister just read this and is pressing me to read it. I’d like to get to it after Dune.
Any book I haven’t read yet is a book I’m looking forward to reading !
This book is truly a classic. The originality is incredible. I’ve read it at least 10 times and it never ceases to amaze me with the depth of the storytelling.
Personally, I enjoyed another of Card’s works more, and that is The Worthing Saga. Epic. My favorite book of all time.