What are you reading? [March 2017]

[Nellisir]

Like N.K. Jemisin, whose work I've absolutely loved.

I adore NK Jemisin. One of my recent (past 10 years?) favorites.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Gave up on the Odyssey re-read. Not sure if it was the translation or what, but my eyes were glazing over.

Now I’m reading Kai Ashante Wilson’s follow-up to Sorcerer of the Wildeeps, A Taste of Honey.

 

[Kramodlog]

I just finished Ender's Game. The moral values presented at the end of the book made me feel like this page turner was propaganda.

It is clear that the novel is an expose on the "end justifying the means". The issue with that is that the situation is loaded toward feeling that extermination of the Formics was necessary. The military characters presents the situation as if there are no other courses of action than the use of violence. In this case the complete extermination of the Formics. It becomes clear that the discourse is that overpopulation will lead us to fight for terrotiry and it will be the ones who are the most ruthless who will win. The aliens are ant-like and do not have individual personality, so they are a metaphore for communists that must be exterminated or else they'll take over the world (so much for that theory).

There are contradiction in this justification. One character says to Ender that even if the aliens didn't knew they were killing intelligent being when they killed humans, the aliens still are responsable for what they did. But at the end of the novel it is revealed to Ender that he just exterminated an entire alien race, other characters say it wasn't his fault because he didn't know what he was doing since that info was hidden from him. To add insult to injury, Card then has the alien race pardon Ender for their extermination. It felt like a sick twist to make us swallow the genocide (well, xenocide).

I hope this book is only popular because it is a power fantasy for bullied video game nerds. Not because space-Hitler is cool.

 

[Zaukrie]

Wow, I read it as the end did not justify the means, and that what the military did was wrong. Like, we read totally different versions. Interesting. Of course, I read it many years ago...

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[Kramodlog]

Wow, I read it as the end did not justify the means, and that what the military did was wrong. Like, we read totally different versions. Interesting. Of course, I read it many years ago...

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Interesting. I see it differently because everything went the way the International Fleet wanted it to happen and their means to achieve that goal (lying, abuse of kids, genocide) proved effective. The end result is that humans get to colonize space and they get "prepared" planets out of the extermination. That solves the overpopulation problem on Earth. It is like the colonization of the Americas again. A genocides gives rich new territories to colonists.

Ender lives, his torturers are found innocent in a trial (and so is he indirectly), he gets to see his sister, is forgiven by the species he exterminated(!), his brother ultimately sort of makes peace with him. How is genocide not justified in this novel?

 

[trappedslider]

I've only seen the Hitler aspect used by detractors of either the book or of Card himself or a combo of both. It's on the reading list of some military academies iirc.

 

[cmad1977]

A thread on an Internet forum about what people are reading. Very interesting.


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[Ralif Redhammer]

Finished A Taste of Honey. Good stuff from a rising star. Now I’m reading the Medieval work, The Poem of the Cid. I remember seeing the Charlton Heston movie in class when I was a kid, but that’s about it.

 

[Kramodlog]

I've only seen the Hitler aspect used by detractors of either the book or of Card himself or a combo of both.

I would be surprised if people who praise the book would compare it to Hitler, Nazis or the Shoah.

It's on the reading list of some military academies iirc.

It ain't a positive for the novel.

 

[Blue]

Wow, I read it as the end did not justify the means, and that what the military did was wrong. Like, we read totally different versions. Interesting. Of course, I read it many years ago...

I'm with you. I read it as the military complex did the unspeakable and Ender's morale anguish was because of that. Reading further books (which I don't recommend, they aren't as good) seems to hold that up.