Michael Ramey
I want to thank Dr. Brittnee Fisher for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the Vikings Read More Challenge & Book Club Blog. I have never participated in a book club before, so this is an excellent opportunity to explore different types of books. Since I majored in history, most of my reading has focused in that area, but I feel it is time to branch out and get out of my comfort zone.
Apparently, my family felt the same way. During the winter holiday break my sister gave me two sci-fi books: Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead. I enjoy reading about science and astronomy and I watch many sci-fi shows; however, I had never gotten around to reading any sci-fi books or short stories. Both books are part of the Ender’s Game series written by Orson Scott Card. While the author has had his share of controversy, I still try to approach one’s art with an open mind while being aware of a creator’s flaws and prejudices and how they may shape their work.
The first book follows Ender Wiggin, a child who is recruited by the government to train and compete among classmates to become a commander of an interstellar fleet fighting against an alien threat. Ender’s Game explores the dystopian environment that forced the government to try to find the next Alexander the Great or Napoleon to lead them. This society is only driven to defeat their enemies without considering why the aliens did what they did or how this desperate drive has negatively shaped humanity. While this book reads more like young adult fiction, Ender’s Game delves into mature themes of societal militarism, parental abandonment, and perpetual guilt which drives the characters’ actions.
In contrast, Speaker for the Dead explores the aftermath of the war from the first book and explores the meaning of death, grief, regret, and legacy. While Ender’s Game is more action oriented, Speaker for the Dead is more cerebral and more focused on ideas rather than action. After a mysterious death occurs at the hands of an alien race on a recently colonized planet, the Speaker of the Dead – a humanist religious figure who eulogizes the dead by telling the truth about a person, flaws and all – is called to the colony to offer their services. Since spaceships travel near the speed of light in this series, it takes the Speaker two weeks to arrive, but due to relativistic space travel, over 20 years have passed on the colony. The issues with the time delay, such as changing attitudes, new developments, and more deaths, drive the story.
Both books explore important themes, but Card only scratches the surface of those themes in his narrative. I wish he had explored each theme more in-depth and had those themes drive the story rather than the characters providing a surface-level treatment. The conflicts and resolutions in both books felt contrived and did not have any emotional weight to them. Either way, it was nice to read something different and new. I hope by contributing to the book club, I can provide some insight into my reading interests and challenge myself to try new book genres.
Ender's Game by
