Audiobook Awesomeness: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

SUBTITLE: Where in the world is Ryn the Librarian?

Sorry folks, I know I have been absent. I’ve had vacation, family emergencies, and just a case of laziness. It has taken several weeks for me to realize I have not written a post about anything at all. Despite not writing, I have indeed been active with audiobooks and other works.

Back in late August, when I was feeling down about YA, I used the search tool Novelist to locate a recommended adult novel for those who love The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  With that as my base, Novelist popped out The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. This novel seemed promising, though a little longer than I would like in a book. I know it’s lame, but I really don’t like books longer than 450 pages. Harry Potter, The Historian, Twilight, all these titles were enough in the length department for one life time. BUT with an audiobook, I could make The Gargoyle work for me (I have a one hour and 20 minute daily commute). As soon I finished disc 16, Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card came in (I was fifth on the waitlist back in June) and I knew I would need to start right away.

Now what is my point with all of this? Why am I not writing about The Gargoyle? This is primarily because The Gargoyle is truly an adult book. In fact, I can’t even really describe it as there are some seemingly, scandalous points about it that would need discussing. So I am just going to stick with Ender’s Game, as it features a young boy protagonist.

Plot via goodreads. Government drafts genius child Andrew "Ender" Wiggin to defend against alien Buggers, but rejects sadistic brother Peter and beloved sister Valentine. In orbiting Battle School, rigorous military training, skill and natural leadership elevates boy to isolated position, respected by jealous rivals, pressured by teachers, afraid of invasion. 

This military science fiction title was first published in 1985, but has remained a classic and favorite among science fiction readers. With talk of the movie coming out, I knew I should investigate this story to be able to recommend to readers of YA or adult fiction.

First, I loved this story in many ways. The action and military strategy were entertaining as well as the dynamics between Ender and his fellow students. The Battle School was especially interesting because even though all these kids are geniuses and are the best, they still had petty kid problems such as bullying and then bigger adult-like problems such as murder.

Also, I enjoyed the subplot on Earth with Peter and Valentine and their plan to take over the world. This subplot interested me because it demonstrated that even though our Earth had an alien enemy, of which we as human beings need to work together to destroy, there would always be imminent war among the Earthlings. Believe it or not, just because we are getting attacked by bug aliens does not mean everything will be “hunky-dorey” or “buddy-buddy.” It just means we will put aside our petty differences while we destroy this foe, but secretly plot to destroy one another once that task is complete. I do not know why I enjoyed that, but it is probably because that would be, let’s face it, realistic.

All that being said, I found the fact that little Ender was six years old when the military training began, quite disturbing.  All the terrible things the military personnel allowed to happen to him, the pressure of being the best, wanting him to break. This led to multiple times my shouting in my car, “He’s a KID!”. The fact that they were not at all fazed by Ender’s killings just made the circumstances even more off-putting. 

This book is a classic and you will inevitably get it for your collection, albeit probably the adult collection. I would recommend this book to young adult science fiction fans, but I never realized how young Ender was until listening to it. It has me thinking that Orson Scott Card is twisted some how.