Nose in a Book

Well, I wasn’t going to include this one, but I’m sure it’s the book I’ve read the most times, so that must say something about it right?

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

I believe it was Michelle that introduced me to OSC, and I know that Ender’s Game was the first one of his books I read.  I was in high school the first time I read this book and I was really into science fiction at the time.  However, I have continued to read it over and over because it’s more than just science fiction.

The novel opens as the human race is on the brink of destruction.  Earth has been attacked previously and future confrontations are imminent.  The ruling body has decided that the best hope for success is to breed geniuses and train them in the art of war.  The main character in the story, Ender, is one of these geniuses.  As the story begins, Ender  – a mere child – is taken from his family to begin his military training in space.

All of the other recruits training on the space station are children as well (although Ender is the youngest) and their life revolves around the game referenced in the title of the novel.  It is a war game played in zero gravity.  As the story progresses the game becomes more and more important and difficult. As Ender is challenged in the game, he reveals his intelligence and sheds his innocence.  I can’t say more than that without giving away the story.

There are so many reasons why I continue to read this book over and over.  First, I love the narrative. There is something about it that will appeal to anyone who enjoys a good story.  It is interesting and entertaining and relevant (even though it’s about an alien war…it’s not really about the war, it’s really about human nature).

I also love the way it is written.  The only word I can think of to describe the way it’s written is smart.  (I know that’s not very descriptive, but hey, I’m not putting myself on this list!)  I really like that the writing strictly tells the story.  There is nothing at all that is not needed as part of the story.  (No 100 page soliloquies here!) It’s very succinct and to the point.

A third reason I love this book is that despite the fact that this is a science fiction novel, it is very real and believable.  The characters and their behaviour strikes a familiar chord.  The behaviour of the children is certainly not admirable or the best we could hope for, but in this sense I find it very similar to Lord of the Flies.  I took a class in university were we always seemed to end up arguing about the reality of the Lord of the Flies. Many of us, myself included, argued that this would never have happened.  I have since changed my opinion.  I think, if left unchecked, a child dominated society would very quickly deteriorate into anarchy.  (I’ve seen how quickly that happens in my own home when I am not policing things!)  With current research we now know a lot more about how the human brain develops and when, than OSC and William Golding did.  Turns out that the part of our brain that is responsible for rational decision making isn’t fully developed until your mid-twenties (as anyone who has dealt with teenagers probably already knows)!

Anyway, back to Ender’s Game.  I think it’s a book anyone can enjoy and not just science geeks like me!

I recommended another book by Ayn Rand and I have another recommendation for Card too that’s a little less science fictiony.  It’s called Songmaster.  It’s been a while since I’ve read this one but I remember liking it because it was about the power of music.

I told someone (you’d better be reading!) I would make a list of some of my favourite books, so I thought I would post them here. I was going to put them all in one post but after writing some of the reviews, I decided that they could stand alone.  Also, these are in no particular order, just as they happen to occur to me.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand:

Rand was born in Russia and lived through the revolution that led to the rise of communism.  Her experiences in communist Russia were apparently decidedly BAD as evidenced by her anti-communist, anti-socialist and anti-religious leanings.  Atlas Shrugged takes place in an America that is slowly and covertly abandoning a free market economy.  In response to this, the country’s most talented minds decide to do something drastic about it.  Some deliberately run their businesses into the ground, others merely disappear, leaving their ventures to be run by people who are less competent. The story continues as the blundering government tries to make do without the more intelligent entrepreneurs.  You can probably see where the story is leading and it is very political.  I still found it very entertaining and well written.

The development of objectivism is attributed to Rand and many say that this book is where she perfected her philosophy.  At times the novel gets very heavy and even overwhelming but even these parts are worth reading.  I learnt a lot from reading these parts.  As someone who lived through the Cold War but didn’t really know much about world politics, I never really understood what the big deal was.  Reading Atlas Shrugged and other books by Rand I have come to realize that communism, the way it was implemented in the Soviet Union is really very dangerous and destructive.  In my opinion (as a good little Canadian socialist) her viewpoint is extreme but after going through what she did, I think she is entitled to a little extremism.

I would suggest that before a person tackle Atlas Shrugged (1000+ pages – eek!) a good starting point is another of Rand’s novels – We The Living.  Rand herself has said that this is the most autobiographical of her works and it definintely helped me to be more sympathetic to her ideas.