J's Pages

by Orson Scott Card

First read in July of 2006.

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by Orson Scott Card

This is a good book, despite the fact that it has one of the plot elements I loathe--the gifted child. (In fact there's more than one gifted child in the tale.) In this future time, humanity has twice been attacked by the insectoid race referred to as "Buggers". The only reason they survived the second invasion was by the brilliance of a single commander, who in a single battle managed to decimate the alien fleet. So now, years later, the leaders of Earth's space fleet are looking for the next commander who might enable Earth's survival of the third invasion. Children are monitored from an early age to determine those who might have the necessary potential, and the likely candidates are drafted into military academies for further training and evaluation. Ender Wiggen is a six year old boy whom the monitors consider the prime candidate to be humanity's savior. The book follows Ender's journey through Battle and Command Schools as he is pressed and molded into command material. It's a fascinating tale, with an interesting cast. Mr. Card has endowed his child prodigies with enough character to almost make me forget that they're @#$%^ wunderkinder. On the down side, the fact that the soldiers in the book are kids does give the tale a creepy edge. Also, I found some aspects of the end to be disappointing. Whether it's because they didn't seem well developed or because they conflict with my worldview, I don't know. Still, it made for quite an enjoyable read.

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Labels: CheckItOut, OrsonScottCard

by Orson Scott Card

This tale is set in the future, after the ecological damage of humanity has almost wiped us out. Earth is enjoying a resurrection as a now peaceful humanity is working to restore the planet's ecology. There have been many technological innovations, including a device that allows people to view the past. Many of the mysteries of history have been cleared up and many lost cultural works have been recovered. The lives of many people who had been left out of the history books are discovered and humanity is now in closer touch with its past than it ever has been before. Then one day, a pair of time viewers discover that an Arawak woman they are observing can see them! This discovery opens up the possibility that they can actually affect the past and raises the question, "Is it better to continue to heal a damaged planet or to go back and prevent the damage in the first place?" Mr. Card does an excellent job of telling the tale, as well as the complementary story of the man whom the Pastwatch crew have identified as pivotal to history, Christopher Columbus.

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Labels: CheckItOut, OrsonScottCard