Ender's Game, the Movie

[Umbran]

Spoiler

The switchover to discovering the queen was rather too quick. That's not in the novella, anyways, and really seems to be backing away from a point (the question of whether the Xenocide was necessary and correct, despite being horrific) which gives the story depth. I always thought that was (politely euphemistically) not very courageous -- "oh wait, I don't really mean Xenocide; see here, a queen survived."

I don't know about the novella, but it certainly is in the novel. Historically, Card didn't actually start by writing Ender's Game. He started on Speaker for the Dead, and realized he needed to tell the previous story about Ender first. And,

Spoiler

finding the Queen

is pretty central to Speaker for the Dead. It isn't about lack of courage, but about setting up the story he'd actually set out to tell.

 

[tomBitonti]

I don't know about the novella, but it certainly is in the novel. Historically, Card didn't actually start by writing Ender's Game. He started on Speaker for the Dead, and realized he needed to tell the previous story about Ender first. And,

Spoiler

finding the Queen

is pretty central to Speaker for the Dead. It isn't about lack of courage, but about setting up the story he'd actually set out to tell.

Yup; that's why I specifically wrote Novella.

I dunno. It seems to backpedal. A lot. IMO, the theme of Ender's Game works a lot better

Spoiler

without Ender finding the queen at the end

. Whether or not Speaker for the Dead was the intended story, Ender's Game is what resulted. A tight, focused, dramatic story which poses a lot of interesting questions. Again, IMO, all the rest is kneading the dough rather too much.

Thx!

TomB

 

[Jester David]

I think xkcd nailed the problem with the Peter and Valentine subplot:
http://xkcd.com/635/

It was reasonable in the mid-80s but I don't think it works anymore.

 

[Mallus]

I think xkcd nailed the problem with the Peter and Valentine subplot:
http://xkcd.com/635/

It was reasonable in the mid-80s but I don't think it works anymore.

I don't think it was all that reasonable in the 1980s. But in a novel where the main protagonist is a compassionate ruthless child-general-patsy who blows up a planet of bug-people with a Super-Duper Disintegrator Beam (TM), Locke and Demosthenes aren't especially unreasonable creations.

ie, it's okay for science fiction to be implausible. It's often a thought experiment, not a blueprint for realizable future/alien worlds.

 

[Jester David]

I don't think it was all that reasonable in the 1980s. But in a novel where the main protagonist is a

Spoiler

compassionate ruthless child-general-patsy who blows up a planet of bug-people with a Super-Duper Disintegrator Beam (TM),

Locke and Demosthenes aren't especially unreasonable creations.

ie, it's okay for science fiction to be implausible. It's often a thought experiment, not a blueprint for the realizable future/alien worlds.

Spoilers.

When I read Ender's Game fifteen years ago the idea of two political geniuses anonymously posting their ideas online and garnering a following based on their wisdom seemed, well, not that unbelievable. But now... With the myriad of bloggers, talking heads, pundits, and the like offering their ideas online... It's a little hard to buy. I'll take FTL and death rays as that's a fictional part of science fiction. But the nets of the book are much less fiction. All the geniuses of the world have had access to blogs for a generation and we've yet to move one to public office on a wave of public support.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

But now... With the myriad of bloggers, talking heads, pundits, and the like offering their ideas online... It's a little hard to buy.

On the other hand, if you can tell your story through cute cat videos, you will rule the world.

 

[Mallus]

When I read Ender's Game fifteen years ago the idea of two political geniuses anonymously posting their ideas online and garnering a following based on their wisdom seemed, well, not that unbelievable. But now... With the myriad of bloggers, talking heads, pundits, and the like offering their ideas online... It's a little hard to buy.

Look at the social-media augmented political protest in the Middle East. Not quite global political transformation, but more than just nattering away on DailyKos or RedState.

But that's not why I give the Peter and Valentine plot-line a pass. Ender's Game positions itself squarely in the tradition of a Science Fiction Novel of Ideas (the caps are important!). Peter Redditting himself into becoming the Hegemon qualifies as an intriguing SF Idea, part of a thought experiment. I don't think it's intended to be literally plausible -- in the same why Britain's transformation into Oceania wasn't ever likely to happen, and whose plausibility is irrelevant to 1984.

On the other hand, if you can tell your story through cute cat videos, you will rule the world.

I am now picturing Peter the Hegemon stroking Grumpy Cat, Blofeld -style. Thanks for that...

 

[trappedslider]

This discussion about the subplot reminds of that incident from a number of years ago, in which a stock that no one had heard of shot up all due to comments made in a chat room

 

[airwalkrr]

I hasn't seen it but I has to! Ender's Game is my absolute favorite piece of science-fiction literature I have ever read. I am planning to see it this week. Thank you for posting things in spoilers!