Comments | postitnotejunky: cuckoo for cocoa puffs

postitnotejunky

cuckoo for cocoa puffs

Aug 07, 2010 20:16

So you know how I was re-reading Animorphs? Actually what happened was I got about 20 pages in and something reminded me of Ender's Game, so then I just had to read Ender's Game. Two hundred some pages into Ender's Game, just as Ender is leaving battle school, I'm thinking to myself, "This book is SO AWESOME! Why haven't I read the others in ( Read more... )

ender

Comments 8

The universe (Ender's) according to Robert anonymous August 8 2010, 03:33:50 UTC

Bean is more Ender than Ender is except in one area, people skills. Bean has better tactical skills than Ender and likely equivalent strategic skills but lacks the capability to motivate or befriend people like Ender does. (I have not reread the series, yet. But that is my recollection. Bean gets the same jealous treatment that Ender did but does not overcome it. This seems to be supported by Bean's musing on p. 346 (ES) right after the last battle school fight. People skills do not matter at the final real battle because by then it is the real army and they are just taking orders from a remote commander anyway. So Bean could conceivably take command without adverse effect.) And I think Ender got pushed harder by the Teachers so Bean was more rested by the time the final battle came about ( ... )

Re: The universe (Ender's) according to Robert postitnotejunky August 8 2010, 05:04:21 UTC

Okay, yes, in the beginning. But I got the impression that by the end of battle school, Bean was coming into his own on the people skills front. Someone was noting the effectiveness of Graff's training (manipulation?): Ender, who is naturally a team-builder, learned to defeat Bonzo all alone, and Bean, who is naturally a loner, learned to defeat Achilles by building a team. And of course, by the time the top students hit command school, Bean is the commander most of the time while they're (actually) training.

And part of what makes me so sad about this recasting of Bean's and Ender's relative abilities is: if Ender was so exhausted and Bean was more capable, why didn't they just leave Bean in command? Why did Ender have to go through all of that if Bean could have done it just as well? I'm aware I'm backseat-quarterbacking a fictitious war, but from what I remember, most of Command School thought Bean was the better choice, I think this includes even Graff, but I'll have to double check. Bean seemed pretty sure he could do as ( ... )

Re: The universe (Ender's) according to Robert anonymous August 8 2010, 07:06:23 UTC

I've also never heard of First Meetings in the Enderverse and A War of Gifts (apparently I'm not cool enough to do italics...). This is madness! How can I have missed so many book ( ... )

Re: The universe (Ender's) according to Robert anonymous August 8 2010, 07:07:26 UTC

I swear I hit enter while writing that...

Thread 6

wanwoodleafmeal August 11 2010, 02:34:58 UTC

I promise to post a coherent response in the next two weeks, but currently I am owned by the hospital. When I regain freedom, IT IS ON. We will discuss TO THE DEATH.

Also, Children of the Mind IS AWESOME. Deal with it. :)

postitnotejunky August 11 2010, 02:52:31 UTC

Coherence is highly overrated. I also accept flailing, you know. :D

But, BUT! HOOORAY DISCUSSION! I NEED discussion like a...thing I need a lot!

...I guess I'd better go back and read CotM for real so that I can respond to your arguments with something other than "Oh yeah? Well, so's your face!" then. I'm in the middle of re-reading Ender's Shadow for real right now though, and, dude. Four-year-old Bean is SCARY.