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Recently I reread a book I first enjoyed while attending college. I have encouraged all four of my children to read this book and they have all enjoyed it and others by this author very much. So, recently when I was searching for something to read, I thought I would try “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card again.
Only this time, I first read a parallel book “Ender’s Shadow,” which Orson Scott Card wrote from the viewpoint of one of the other characters in “Ender’s Game” called Bean. “Ender’s Shadow” was written 14 years after Card wrote “Ender’s Game” so it didn’t exist when I first read Card.
On the surface, these books are about little boys who have been chosen to be trained at Battleschool to fight the Buggers, a hostile alien race. I have to say, this premise doesn’t sound very interesting to me. But the stories have so many layers and are such rich, fantastically told, amazingly creative books that they are thoroughly enjoyable to read.
They are also a bit disturbing with very ruthless choices being made by both children and adults. As with many other authors, I am amazed and in awe of the mind that can create these characters and situations. In these books, the children are, of course, geniuses and the mind that created them and how they function in their world must be as complex and intelligent as they are.
Interestingly, the books are in the adult and teen sections of the library.
One of the reviews found on the back of “Ender’s Game” by Gene Wolfe says it all: “‘Ender’s Game’ will still be finding new readers when 99 percent of the books published this year are completely forgotten.”
That is certainly true. Not only has my family enjoyed these books, but I have seen many teens and adults alike checking these books out, some for repeated readings. I hope you will give these books a try and have them join your list of instant classics.
Stacy Beatse is a La Crosse County Library System staff member in the Onalaska branch.
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