ender / books
Nov. 22nd, 2006 03:50 pmCreating the Innocent Killer: "God, how I would have loved this book in seventh grade! It’s almost as good as having a nuclear device." A disturbing analysis of _Ender's Game_. One of the problems I've always had with the book was Graff's reliance on I did it, and it worked as a justification for what he and Ender do. "The ends justify the means" is nothing more than an attempt to avoid the consequences of one's actions, and one that should be easily swatted down by any serious moral/ethical thinker. (For the record, I /did/ love both _Ender's Game_ and _Speaker for the Dead_ in seventh grade.)
The above came out of the comments to Authors I've Given Up On, featuring such once-considered-greats as David Eddings, Robert Heinlein, the aforementioned Orson Scott Card, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Most of the authors I've given up on were those whose work I adored in high school and have since moved past: Eddings and Card, of course, but also Piers Anthony, Mercedes Lackey, Spider Robinson . . . my library will attest to my difficulty in Giving Up on an author. Stephen R. Lawhead, after being sorely disappointed by his additions to the wonderful Pendragon trilogy; Robin Hobb, for going from "here is this awesome world with awesome things in it" (the Farseer trilogy) to "here are some awesome things that don't necessarily fit well into the world but dammit they're in there anyway" (Liveship Traders); doubtless someone will remind me of others in the comments. (And Le Guin's short stories, YA books, and essays are, in general, superior to her "adult" novels. I'm just saying.)
Speaking of books, The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair is worth drooling over. "Tolkien's hand has the beautiful italic swoopings of Elvish, which led me both to the obvious but never-considered knowledge that when we see Elvish in the books we are looking at Tolkien's handwriting and the less-obvious pondering of what influence Tolkien's handwriting had on the shape and contours and production of his letters."
Galactus Is Coming!: "Son, the law of averages and the sheer number of giant space men who want to kill you means probably one will get through at some point." Jack Chick meets Marvel. Priceless.
Currently it looks like I'll be spending Thursday evening and much of Friday doing nothing at all. Downtime good, but other people also good. So, let me know if something cool happens.
The above came out of the comments to Authors I've Given Up On, featuring such once-considered-greats as David Eddings, Robert Heinlein, the aforementioned Orson Scott Card, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Most of the authors I've given up on were those whose work I adored in high school and have since moved past: Eddings and Card, of course, but also Piers Anthony, Mercedes Lackey, Spider Robinson . . . my library will attest to my difficulty in Giving Up on an author. Stephen R. Lawhead, after being sorely disappointed by his additions to the wonderful Pendragon trilogy; Robin Hobb, for going from "here is this awesome world with awesome things in it" (the Farseer trilogy) to "here are some awesome things that don't necessarily fit well into the world but dammit they're in there anyway" (Liveship Traders); doubtless someone will remind me of others in the comments. (And Le Guin's short stories, YA books, and essays are, in general, superior to her "adult" novels. I'm just saying.)
Speaking of books, The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair is worth drooling over. "Tolkien's hand has the beautiful italic swoopings of Elvish, which led me both to the obvious but never-considered knowledge that when we see Elvish in the books we are looking at Tolkien's handwriting and the less-obvious pondering of what influence Tolkien's handwriting had on the shape and contours and production of his letters."
Galactus Is Coming!: "Son, the law of averages and the sheer number of giant space men who want to kill you means probably one will get through at some point." Jack Chick meets Marvel. Priceless.
Currently it looks like I'll be spending Thursday evening and much of Friday doing nothing at all. Downtime good, but other people also good. So, let me know if something cool happens.