I recently finished reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card for the hundredth (give or take a few) time. There’s just something about the book that keeps drawing me back, compelling me to read it again and again.
It’s certainly well-known. It was originally published as a short story / novelette in 1977 and won the Hugo Award (in 1986) and the Nebula Award (in 1985). Of course, it’s been updated with numerous print versions since, many with commentary about it’s importance. (Side note: in an awesome and exciting new chapter of this story, Card is teaming up with Marvel Comics to release the Ender’s Game graphic novel in late 2008 / early 2009. Yay!)
But it’s more than just prestige. There are times when I’m reading and I forget it was written in the ’70′s because it feels so relevant. Even though Card was writing about a future that doesn’t exist (at least yet), his ideas about politics, philosophy, and the “nets” have a prescience that’s almost eerie. And then there’s the realness of the book. I never doubted for a minute when reading that any of this could be real: aliens, space travel, intergalactic wars, etc. Card writes with such earnestness that you don’t question it, you don’t worry about believability — it just is.
But I think the thing I like the best about Ender’s Game is that the story is different every time I read it. There’s always something new about it, always a new way to look at it and discover it. Card is a great writer because his work lets you bring your own experience to it. The first time I read the book, Ender’s Game was a science-fiction novel about buggers and space wars and battles. Another time, it was about power and leadership. After taking several theology and philosophy classes in college, I re-read the book and saw the philosophical and religious aspects of it. And this last time, with an important election coming up, I re-read the book and was fascinated with the political maneuvering that takes place.
Each time, it’s like I’m reading a whole new book. That’s where Card’s true story lies – not in the words on the page, but in the minds of the readers as their own experiences, thoughts and ideas breathe new life into an old story.
Fans of Ender’s Game will also love the rest of the series, especially Speaker for the Dead, the first sequel and Ender’s Shadow, a retelling of Ender’s Game from a different character’s point of view.
