I wanted to start an Orson Scott Card thread just for the heck of it. I saw that Brad seems to like him, so I figured...hey...something we can actually agree on. Well...maybe not...but we'll see .

Ender's Game is my all time favorite book. Has anyone else heard that they are planning on making it a movie? Wolfgang Petersen is said to be directing it.

Any other books by Card that any of you specifically enjoyed?

Both the Ender Wiggin and Alvin Maker tales are among my favorite series. I'm hoping Card puts the finishing touches on Alvin soon. I also enjoyed Wyrms.

I'm curious to see what they do with the movie myself, especially since they're also including Bean's story with it. That might just be too much material!!! We'll have to wait and see.

Isn't Alvin's story complete? Book 6, "The Crystal City".

There isn't any more are there?

Have you read the latest "BEAN" story? "Shadow of the Giant" I think it is called?

Have I heard of Orson Scott Card? Who hasn't heard of Orson Scott Card?

Seriously, I love Ender's Game. I'm going to read a lot more of these books, but I think they're great!

I've never read anything by him, sounds interesting though.

Ooh, then read Ender's Game first. It's the first book, and it's REALLY good.

I heard there were going to be 7 books in the series. But I haven't heard anything else about it for a while now..

I think I'm up to date on the Ender stories. I'm wondering how he'll conclude the Bean stories.

Yes, I have read all of his novels except "Saints", "Crystal City", "Shadow Puppets", "Shadow of the Giant" and that new one out, called "Magic Night" or something. We had a convo here a while back about him and I was accused (wrongly) of being anti-Mormon.

I was involved in a lengthy convo about him in another forum where everybody was getting upset because he has written opinion pieces supporting Pres. Bush and the Iraq War. I have cut and pasted my reply to them below....

(Title of post: "Who cares what his political views are?")

"His books are entertaining as *heck* (have you read "Hart's Hope"?). Besides, he has portrayed homosexuality positively in his books. I support gay rights strongly and I sit far to the left of center, and I have read almost all of Card's books and loved them all (except "Children of the Mind"). I will continue to read his books, even the "women of Genesis" series. I can separate the art from the artist.

I despise Charlton Heston personally, but I love a lot of his films and he's a great actor."

I have read all the books except the newest one.

I know what you mean about Card's politics Lefty,

I can't stand Grisham's politics, even how he portrays them in his books, But he is such a great author that it doesn't bug me all that much, and I really enjoy the story regardless of the fact that I think it is "wrong" in political terms.

I agree alot with Tom Clancy...but he is SO preachy in his books (I hate it when authors use a novel as their soap box), I absolutely refuse to read any more of his books, even though I liked much of his earlier work.

Card slips his views into his books too, but I think he is much more subtle than other authors. Some people hate him just for being a Mormon, and are convinced that somehow he is using his books to convert everyone to Mormonism.

The "Alvin Maker" series is actually modeled after "The Joseph Smith Story", the founder of the Mormom Church. It mixes "history with fantasy" by Cards own admission, and the books, especially the first books draw upon the history of Joseph Smith pretty heavily.

The "Call to Earth" series is basically a fictionized version of the first two books of the "Book of Mormon". Again, Card took a "historical account" and put a Sci-fi Spin on it. Even the main Charater (Nefi?) is named after Nephi, the "prophet" he took the story from. In fact...I could be wrong...but he probably spells the name that way, because it is the Portuguese spelling of Nephi. Card served his Mormon Mission is Brazil, so many of his writings, including "Speaker for the Dead" draw heavily on Brazilian culture. Even the slang used in The Ender Saga is often Portuguese.

I honestly don't think that there is anything intentional on his part, I don't think Card is trying to convert anyone. Like many authors he is simply writing about what he knows. He write some books specifically for a Mormon audience, and others like "Lost Boys" are writen for the general public, but from the perspective of Mormon Culture.Card has also written many books and opinions that are in direct conflict with Mormonism, and are very critical of the Mormom Church. Read "Saints", and I think you will read a book that the LDS Church would not have a very favorable opinion of. He may be Mormon, but is intellectually critical of many church doctrines.


Some other stuff:
Did you know that he wrote the story for a recent PSP video game? I think the video link is posted on his website.

Oh...by the way...

I did read "Shadow of the Giant" but did not have very high expectations. I haven't cared for the series all that much, and probably wouldn't have read it if I didn't get the book for free.

It was much better than I expected, perhaps due to my low expectations...but the ending was as powerful as anything he has written in the "Ender's Game Saga".

It was the first time that I actually felt like I was reading a Epilogue to "Ender's Game" and was as powerful as if I were reading the original book. Not to ruin it or anything, but it explained some things that offered so much clarity about both "Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow". Definitely a good read...but you might want to read "Shadow Puppets" first or you will be a little lost.

awesome thread

*edited out link*

Thanks Brian,

I just can't wait for "Ender's Game the Movie" to come out. I've been waiting roughly 8 years since I first heard about it.

Of course it won't be the book...but I think I could enjoy the movie on it's own merits.

shon t my link was edited, sorry, my fault.
um, i dont know if this will be edited, but ill try.
google wikipedia. its an encyclopedia with a great entry about Orson scott card.
enjoy.

Thanks for the link Brian.

Card wrote the insults for the sword fighting in "Monkey Island"?

Amazing...LOL, I never would have guessed.

Monkey Island is the collective name given to a series of graphical point-and-click adventure games published by LucasArts (formerly Lucasfilm Games).

The games follow the misadventures of the hapless Guybrush Threepwood as he struggles to become the most notorious pirate in the Caribbean, defeat the plans of the evil undead pirate LeChuck and win the heart of governor Elaine Marley. Each game's plot usually involves the mysterious Monkey Island and its impenetrable secrets.

So far, four games in the series have been released. A fifth is planned, though it has not yet been announced to be in production.


im more of a doom fan.
i was 20 in 1995 when doom arose.
played it on an IBM 486, remember those?
classic.
im actually surprised that there isnt a star trek vs star wars thread at amtam.
the girls which make up the majority have to like sci fi too?

im more of a doom fan.
i was 20 in 1995 when doom arose.
played it on an IBM 486, remember those?
classic.


How could I not remember DOOM? My cousin had a 386 and two 486 computers. We used to play all night until 4am, EVERY NIGHT. He also had a night job in the computer lab at the local grad school. We used to load the game on the network there and play FOUR PLAYER DOOM, LOL. Yeah...those were the days.

Those poor grad students working on their theses. I didn't really think about it at the time...but given that I have been through that unpleasant nightmare myself...I feel a little bad now .

Monkey Island was a classic...and those particular sword fighting scenes were hillarious. I never realized that Card had written them.
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Does anyone wish to share how they were first introduced to CARD?

I was 8 years old when I first read "Ender's Game". I read it in one night. I loved it and read it again the following week. I gave my worn copy to a friend (the cover was falling off) and I bought another copy years later. I read the book over and over again..I have worn out so many copies, and given away so many copies...I have lost count.

Ender's game was my favorite book, and has been ever since. The funny thing is...At that age...I thought Card was just an obscure writer. I had never met anyone else that had heard of him (Who would at 8 or 10?). My dad, who gave me the book, said he knew Card personally. He stated that Card worked for him years ago writing children's stories for some audio prodcutions...but Dad was forced to fire him, because the stories were too complex for what the company was trying to do. My Dad had picked up the book because he remembered the experience working with Card and found it to be an interesting read.

Well..that's how I remembered the story at eight, obviously in retrospect my father probably had much more of an idea of Card's talent than I did. Still..that's the story I heard...and for some reason the image of an "obscure" writer stuck with me.

Over the years I had heard that there was another Ender book, But it was just rumor...and I couldn't imagine looking for it anywhere. For some reason..that image of an obscure writer continued to stay with me...and even though I read many books, I never thought of looking in a book store for the latest book.

Years passed. I was 15 years old and over a thousand miles away from home on an extended field trip. I entered an obscure book store that seemed to have many interesting titles. On a whim, I asked the proprietor if he had ever heard of, "An obscure author by the name of Orson Scott Card".

He looked at me as if I were nuts, and told me that "Ender's Game" was his favorite book. I think he was the first person that I ever met that listed "Ender's Game" as his favorite. To this day...I still find it remarkable when I meet people that also list that book as their favorite. Of course...why shouldn't they if I do? Still...I always find it a bit strange...like I am the only person in the world that knows who the guy is.

In any case, I asked the proprietor if Card had written any other books about Ender. He told me that Card had written two, and I almost fainted with glee. He also said that some people argued as to whether "Speaker for the Dead" was actually better than Ender. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

SPEAKER was a shock to me...especially after reading ENDER so many times. It was such a different book. I loved reading about Ender as a child...and the fact that he was a man in Speaker was too much of a difference for me. Still, It was a great book, just in it's own way. I couldn't stand "Xenocide".

As a grew older I read SPEAKER again. I had a much greater apreciation for the book, and the older I get..the more I enjoy "Xenocide". They still don't aproach the magic I felt reading Ender...but then...nothing ever approaches the magic of your first love.

I was in the bookstore about 15 years ago and I just was looking for sci fi books (I wasn't as much into fantasy back then). I noticed two books, Hart's Hope and Seventh Son, both by OSC. I loved them both. I was struck by how he could write in two different styles in two books. Seventh Son reads like an alternate history with a frontier type of language (as befitting the setting), while Hart's Hope was written in more of a lyrical fantasy in the old style. After those two, I finally read Ender's Game and was blown away. I loved how Peter and Valentine assumed the identities of Locke and Demosthenes to debate each other (via a method that was amazingly prescient of modern-day on-line forums and message boards) and employed the old debating technique of arguing the opposite position of their beliefs. I'm looking forward to the film, although I don't think any cast has been announced yet. I'm not sure how old the kids will be in the film. Dakota Fanning could play Valentine. Maybe Rory Culkin for Ender or Peter, depending on how old the kids will be...

I've been reading Card ever since. Speaker For the Dead is actually my favorite of all of Card's books. Besides those four, my favorites are Red Prophet, Ender's Shadow and the entire Memory of Earth series. Songmaster is also really good. The only Card book I haven't liked was Children of the Mind.

Have you read Treason (known in an earlier incarnation as Planet Called Treason)? An interesting book, although out of print and hard to find.

"Speaker for the Dead" would make a very interesting movie from a character standpoint. It certainly wouldn't have all the action that usually accompanies sci-fi fare, but the universal themes explored in the story may attract those that eschew the genere.

Series like Ender's Saga and Harry Potter really transend their generes and maintain an audience that would normally be turned off on such fare.

Well... I thought I would post the latest "News" Regarding the Ender Movie:

Well, so much for Dakota Fanning playing Valentine! It sounds like the finished movie will be as much like the book as Simon Birch was like A Prayer For Owen Meany!

Well...I think that is what Card is trying to avoid...but the whole Valantine Peter subplot seems to be a major part of the whole story.

I remember years ago (around 1997-98) Card posted the first part of a script for Ender's Game. He got so much bad feedback regarding the script that he yanked it off his site, and vowed never to do such a thing again.

I think Card wants it to be as close to the book as possible, but at the same time be realistic. I can't blame him for not wanting The WB to make his book into a movie "in name" only. I think he is just trying to point out some of the logistical concerns with converting the book into a movie.

I think with fantasy novels and SF, the best way to go might be to turn it into a miniseries on cable, which is what is happening right now with George R. R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series. Each book in the series looks like it will get a full miniseries, probably on HBO or Showtime. That's probably the only way to do it right and still keep the integrity of the story and keep the fans happy, too. Can you imagine a mini-series of "The Tales of Alvin Maker"? *drools*

I read Ender's game when I was in 5th or 6th grade, and it was instantly my favorite book until I read Foundation by Asimov my senior year in high school. My mom brought it home from some librarian's convention where she got it for free. She said she thought I might like it. I tried reading the other ones in the Ender series, too, but they never really grabbed me as much as the others. I hated Children of the Mind so much that I never actually got around to reading the last one. The crazy chick with the lines was the thing that did me end.

I did read all of the Bean ones, though, and I thought they were much better than Ender's. Of course, Bean was always my favorite character, too.

DUDE!

I just found a copy of Ender's Game in Chinese!

I'm so stoked! I started reading it right away.

My Chinese still SUCKS...but since I practically have the book memorized... it helps.

The way that names are translated in Cantonesefor "Ender's Game" has been very interesting. the pronunciations (as close to English as I can):

Wa Loon da = Valentine

Bay Duck= Peter (same charachters used for Peter in the Bible or other translations)

Gok lie foo- Graff

On Duck why Ging= Ender Wiggin ("Ender" is actually the characters used for "Andrew" in translation)


In the Chinese tranlation that I am reading, their is a part in the book where Ender introduces himself to another older kid at battle school as "Ender", and the kid responds, "That's a name?". They actually had to explain that the English name is "Ender" in parenthesis so Chinese Readers could understand why there was a question there. I guess...in a sense... the Chinese Title could be called "Andrew's Game" instead of "Ender's Game".

If the names don't sound that close to the English names...that's because they are only an approximation. In fact... The actual translations were probably geared toward Mandarin... which would sound much more simular to the English names:

Pay duh- Peter

Ga lay foo- Graff

On Duh- Ender

Anyway... I'm only about 12% through the book so far.

another interesting observation..."The Giant's Drink"...

I recently came across the part where they were discussing "Fairy Land". In the Chinese version of the book that I am reading, the term used for "Fairly land" was "Immortal Relm"

I don't know...I just thought that sounded much better than "fairly land".