Seventh Son: Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card has a knack for writing about different planes of time. Most known for his Ender’s Game series, Card writes about a differently imagined future or past in an accessible way that feels less like sci-fi, more like philosophy.

Seventh Son is an alternate historical fiction, meaning it’s written about an imagined history. One in which the folk magic of early settlers of America is widely popular. Families protect their homes with hexes and some individuals are believed to have special gifts. It is also a time when the seventh son of a seventh son is believed to hold great power and is revered for his status in the family. Alvin Junior is such a son.

Al Junior was born to the Miller family, and at the moment of his birth, it is obvious that he is a special child. His family dotes on him and respects his natural abilities. However, there is a dark force hovering at the edges of Al Junior’s life, waiting for the opportunity to take the child out of the world where he will do so much good. It is a traveling story teller named Taleswapper who helps Al Junior understand what he is and what his purpose will be. He is the sole Maker who can battle the Unmaker and help move a new country into the future.

Card has presented a story that is mystical and magical, but also theological. There is an inherent battle of good and evil at play in this novel that the reader will unwittingly take part in. Al Junior is a vulnerable character that instantly earns sympathy, and it his protection at the center of this novel.

Ender's Game: Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game is one of the Modern Library Reader's List Top 100 Novels; a list which I am trying to read through. It is also a novel I thought I had read in middle school or high school, but after reading it, I know this is my first read. I have heard of young adults reading this book, but I now think that the themes of warfare and psychological manipulation may be too advanced for some younger readers. I don't know that I would present this book to just any group of 8th graders--they would have to be mature and intelligent enough to comprehend the gravity of the story.

Imagine a world in which alien lifeforms have presented themselves as our enemy. There have been two previous wars with these aliens, and our world as we know it has changed completely. For one thing, space travel has become common and "big brother" monitors us by controlling our households. Families apply to have children, and at any moment a promising child may be taken away for government purposes. Ender is just such a child. He is the third child, which is a rare occurrence in itself. He is chosen by the government at the age of 6 to be groomed as a warfare commander. He is taken off Earth and put into the Battle school where he first learns how to fight, and then how to lead. He is a only a child, but the future of Earth and all mankind is put into his hands. The trick of it is, he has no idea. To Ender, it's just a big game that he excels at. He is aware that at some point in the distant future, as an adult, he may be chosen to be a commander, but he has no idea that he will fulfill that mission long before he is 16 years old.

Ender is a brilliant child who has equal parts aggression and compassion, making him the perfect candidate to lead an army. He can not only predict how the alien species will act, but he is strong enough to oppose them as well. He has quick thinking and is able to keep his army out of danger. He is also emotionally immature, frustrated by manipulating teachers, and heartbroken by a family that is never quite what he wants them to be.

Ender's Game has been heralded as "a scathing indictment of the military mind" (Library Journal). I read the military mind as malleable and gullible. Ender was an exception because he was aware of how he was being tested at every turn. He knew he was being manipulated and he used that knowledge to his own advantage. It is the other students at the battle school who illustrate perfectly the competitive and brainless spirit of military pawns. They act without question and have only success in mind. It is Ender who has to be reminded of how wonderful Earth is and that its human connections are worth fighting for. He simply doesn't have enough competitive spirit to keep him fighting without question.

To analyze this entire novel and discuss the many layers and themes would take at least an 8 page essay, so I'll leave the analyzing to someone else. I will state that I enjoyed the reading of Ender's Game and think it is an important novel. The most important aspect of the novel is in the last chapter. I believe it's true that compassion and understanding may well be the key to survival of our species.