Ender's Shadow: Scholar

Ok, so we're on week three, and along with Bean's social struggles at Battle School, we're hearing a lot back on earth about Sister Carlotta's search for his parentage. Bean is continuing to be a snoop, he's not playing the mind game, and he's planning to climb through the vents, and he's worrying his teachers, who are desperate enough to call the nun for help. What do you guys think of what Bean finds about the school and what Carlotta finds about Bean? What are your thoughts on the mind game? And what are your thoughts on the fact that Sister Carlotta is so insistent on finding out where Bean came from, and her findings? Once Bean learns of the teachers' mistrust and sets out to be a model student, we find how closely tied he really is to Ender's army and it's success, both as a soldier and as the one who chose his soldiers. Now Bean and Ender's worlds are about to mesh closely for the first time. Has Bean changed yet in his social skills as he strives to emulate Ender? What do you think of Bean's perception of Ender?

For next week, next section: Soldier.

Ender's Shadow: Launchy

Here we are on the second section, and now that Bean is in the same situation Ender once was, so that we can begin to compare and contrast more directly. How does Bean handle being singled out, how does he respond to all the new environments and experiences of the Battle School, and how does he respond to the other children? Most importantly, how does he respond to being compared to Ender, who has already set the stage for brilliance? Personally I find Bean much more engaging than Ender just because he's not quite so malleable and easy to manipulate. Bean stays a step ahead because, naturally, after the way he had to survive on the streets, he finds it difficult to trust anyone, especially adults. In fact, especially when it comes to the desks, he is several steps ahead even of Ender, and he's not afraid of getting in trouble or of being pressed into following the rules to find out what he wants to know. As always, anything anyone wants to mention outside this realm of discussion (I've found some inconsistencies between this and Ender's Game, which is unsurprising, given that there was a ten year gap between them that I like to niggle at) are welcome.

For next week, next section.

Ender's Shadow: Urchin

In the first section of Ender's Shadow, we are introduced to the street life of Rotterdam, the gangs of kids who band together for survival, and most importantly to little Bean, who remarkably has survived, and sees a way to make things better for everyone. We also learn of a very real division between children and adults in this world, the adults who know what's going on, that there are orphans running the streets, fighting for survival, dying, and how few of them, most notably people like the cops, who do so little about it. The prominent figures in Bean's life at the earliest point in the story will continue to affect him as it progresses, so I'd love to hear thoughts on Poke, Achilles, and especially Sister Carlotta. In comparison to Ender, what sort of skills does Bean learn, and how is he affected by events, that you think will contribute to his time in Battle School? And how do you feel thus far about what you've seen of Bean's incredible intellect and memory, how he acted to save his life, and how he views the world thus far? As always, any other thoughts and observations are welcome.

Section 2: Launchy, for next week, and please let me know if the schedule is too demanding for anyone, and we can space out the discussions a bit more.

Ender's Shadow Reading Schedule At Last!

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get this post up, I've had a really crazy couple of weeks and am still in the midst of another one. However, with no more ado, here we go.

I figure we can take Ender's Shadow in sections and compare each section with the relative one in Ender's Game, since Ender's Shadow, for those who don't know, is a parallel novel with Bean, one of the boys in Ender's Dragon Army, as the central character. There are six sections to the book, and each one seems to run anywhere between 40 and 70 pages. What I'm proposing is a section a week (or every two weeks, if people prefer) with discussion posts to be made on Friday evenings. So if that works for everyone, we can start on the first section this week, and maybe be close to ready to get initial discussion happening by this Friday, April 2nd, since the first section is one of the shorter ones. Let me know if this works, and if not I'll assume that discussion will go on as scheduled. On to section 1: Urchin.

Ender's Game Final Discussion

We've come to the end of Ender's Game (that is, if you've stuck with me despite the lack of posting discussions, etc), and in this final discussion, anything goes.

One of the things I wanted to discuss was the relationship between Ender and Peter. All throughout the novel, Ender is so afraid of becoming like Peter. And, ironically, Ender is the catalyst for the destruction of an entire race, whereas Peter brings peace to the human race. Do you think Ender becomes what he most fears throughout the novel? Angela brought up the theme of life and death in the last discussion, so we can expand on that here as we discuss the death of the Buggers.

A friend of mine intensely disliked this novel because it involved young children who were controlled, manipulated, and at times abused. I've thought a lot about these things, and it's true that they are disturbing elements in the book. Yet, without them, the book would not be as intense or as captivating as it is. It's because the hope for mankind is found in young children that makes the story so compelling. That the odds are often pitted against them ups the ante even more. But, there are valid points about when is it too far. Is it okay to break a person to save everyone else? What they did to Ender - was that okay? What are your thoughts on the methods used to train Ender, including tricking him into destroying the Buggers? Does the end ever justify the means?

Finally, was what humanity did okay? Was it okay to wipe the Buggers out. Of course, hind sight is 20/20, but did any of you ever question the morality of the decision to strike back when you were reading this novel for the first time? What are your thoughts about the Giant's Drink on the Bugger world and Ender finding the cocoon queen?

If you have any other topics that you wanted to discuss, feel free to add them in the comments section. I've enjoyed reading this book with you and look forward to reading Ender's Shadow next. Angela will be leading that discussion and posting a reading schedule/introduction/something about it in a few days. Thanks, again, for putting up with me. I would never have volunteered to lead the discussion if I had known I would have had such health problems. So, thank you for your patience!

Ender's Game Discussion #4

Hey Everyone!

I am so sorry to be out of action for so many weeks. I've been pretty sick for the past month, but I'm starting to feel better and get back to life.

Because of the length of time since we first started this book, let's go ahead and hold our final discussion for this novel this weekend. I'll put up a final discussion post on Friday and we can wrap up Ender's Game and start up Ender's Shadow.

Thanks for your patience ~

Kate

Ender's Game Discussion #3

Hope you guys don't mind, but since Kate is recovering from surgery (she wanted me to let you all know that it went well and she's alright and beginning the process of recovery)she asked me to get the next post started for discussion. No rush here, since I know there are people who are behind, and this discussion is really heavy.

We got a lot of new ground to cover with Ender's progress in the Battle School this time, and how he responds to leadership and life and death. He remembers his reason for coming to school with a message from Valentine, written at Graff's behalf, the life of the person he loves most back on earth, he trains a group to become unstoppable as a master leader, and he causes death. Then once again he is reminded of life and its beauty, when he goes back home and sees Valentine for the first time in years.

What I'd like to cover most is the contrasts between life and death that we see here, from the death of the Giant in the Giant's Drink game to the reminders of life on Earth, to the death of Bonzo in the bathroom, to Ender's own life or death struggles within the Fairyland realm of the mind game.

Also, on a separate note, let's compare Ender's methods of leadership to the leaders he's been exposed to since arriving at the school, such as Graff, Dap, Alai, Bonzo, and Rose the Nose, what he has learned from them, what he uses from them either consciously or unconsciously, and what the results end up being, particularly with Bean. Another factor here is how the game becomes skewed by the teachers as they strive to push Ender's capabilities, and how that affects him and his army.

As always, anything else you consider it pertinent to bring up is welcome. Kate requested that we cut the final section into two parts, so I'm thinking we should read through chapter 14, Ender's Teacher, and save the last chapter, Speaker for the Dead, for the finale. Discussion will open for this chapter next Saturday.