[the_monkey]

At the moment I am reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card,
It was highly recommended to me and I am about 120pages in,
Not really grabbing me so far, it's ok and has improved over the last while,

what are others opinion of it ? is Scott Card someone you love or hate ?

does it take a while to get going - since there is at least 5 "Ender" books...

cheers

[JohnK]

I found the series enjoyable enough when I read it so I'd stick with it if I were you. I wouldnt really have an opinion on OSC himself though and its only the Ender books and their various offshoots that I've read so I dont know what his other stuff is like.

[the_monkey]

Actually just reading chapter 9 there and it's picking up !

[Johnny Storm]

It started out as a short story which IMHO was excellent. Then he rewrote it into a novel and then it became a series of novels.
So I would say: great idea - pretty much flogged to death.

[Spunge]

I thought it was decent, kept me reading but im surprised its so highly rated. The Battle school stuff didnt really interest me much. Maybe its because of the rest of the books ?

[Corsendonk]

I thought it was great but I was 14-15 at the time so it grabbed me more. Reread the entire series earlier in the year and it was still good but the later books ramble at times.

[mikhail]

Originally Posted by the_monkey

At the moment I am reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card,
It was highly recommended to me and I am about 120pages in,
Not really grabbing me so far, it's ok and has improved over the last while,

what are others opinion of it ?

To be honest, I didn't think it lived up to its reputation. It has some novel ideas and a nice twist, but it didn't do it for me.

is Scott Card someone you love or hate ?

I guess you meant as an author, but it might be worth mentioning at this point that Orson Scott Card is openly homophobic and racist. He's a fundamentalist Mormon.

[Corsendonk]

Originally Posted by mikhail

I guess you meant as an author, but it might be worth mentioning at this point that Orson Scott Card is openly homophobic and racist. He's a fundamentalist Mormon.

I read a good bit of his work, I didn't notice the racism. I try not to let an authors religion/politics to interfer with my reading or you would read hell all.

[JohnK]

I'd be the same. So long as their work entertains me I don't care what they believe.

[Johnny Storm]

Originally Posted by Corsendonk

I read a good bit of his work, I didn't notice the racism....

+1

[Shryke]

The first book is fairly good but I never read any others. From what I hear the guy is a complete religious nut and it bleeds into his later writing. So **** that.

[Overature]

I listened to it on audio book, and quite liked it, he seemed to bring it to and end in the first book. and im wondering how he came to make so much more books out of it. but saying that i haven't read the other ones.
they seem to have writing a script, so hopefully we will have a film soon

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by Overature

[...]they seem to have writing a script, so hopefully we will have a film soon

Theres been talk about a movie for years but nothing ever came of it - I doubt it'll ever happen at this stage and honestly unless its an animated movie I doubt it'd work.

[Funglegunk]

I got it as a gift and had never heard of it before so had no expectations. I've read it and three of the subsequent sequels. The first is great, I absolutely loved it. The second and third books are readable, but the fourth is total bollocks if I remember correctly.

Like the commenter above I have also since learned that OSC is a total asshole, but I didn't notice any homophobia or racism in his writing.

[Sir Ophiuchus]

Originally Posted by Funglegunk

Like the commenter above I have also since learned that OSC is a total asshole, but I didn't notice any homophobia or racism in his writing.

I don't see any racism, but the homophobia is pretty evident. Presuming the name of the alien race being "Buggers" is just an unfortunate coincidence and not deliberate, that still leaves...

Spoiler for "Children of the Mind":

Spoiler: Ender's long filibusters on how having children and a faithful heterosexual marriage is the ultimate expression of a happy life and duty as a human being. His ultimate marriage to Novinha.

Spoiler for the "Shadow" series with Bean:

Spoiler: Anton the geneticist, who is self-described as interested in men, not women, deciding that ultimately he must find a woman and have a family as his duty as a human being. And he does, despite having no sexual interest in her. There's also a none-too-subtle affiliation of homosexuality with Soviet Russia - he notes that "those like myself" were encouraged to be gay as their duty to the State (population control).

In other words, being gay is alien/Other, traitorous to humanity, and Communist.

That being said, Ender's Game is a good book. Especially for gifted children to read.