Tag: Ender

Ender’s Game ON

Friday, 16 September, 2016 at 1:20 am

Okay, I know I made myself not update my blog in all this time because, well, I borked it always trying to clear out revisions and whatnot from the MySQL database (yeah, don’t do that DELETE a,b,c thing, although I don’t know if that’s what caused my comments to stop working on my custom theme), and I was trying to motivate myself to move it over to jeidai.com and clean everything up, but I really had to write this down somewhere. Nostalgia, oh hey, re-meet my blog.

Holy shnikt, holy shnikt, I finally saw Ender’s Game! After all these years! (Okay, the movie is not even three years old, but I first read the book in 2002/2003.) I loved most of it. Just seeing the story on the screen. Like, it just looks so good! Not what I saw in my mind reading the book, but it kept me watching. (Yes I have a bad habit of playing my iPad games while watching tv, missing a lot of nuances of movies and tv shows. But…it keeps away that braindead feeling after sitting for hours just…watching.)

My adrenaline was even going at the final battle scene. Although I recorded the movie on a channel with commercial interruptions, so gah, the impact may have been lessened by me having to focus on forwarding through commercials. (So many commercials.) Ugh.

But I can see how the movie wasn’t that great and how it didn’t do well. I liked it because I read the book and could fill in the whole (or most of the) story. It was a bit rushed, skipped over a lot of stuff (only two Battle Room scenes? *tear*), and they dropped the whole Valentine/Peter and Locke/Demosthenes storyline. (Sorry, I don’t know if I matched the writers’ names up correctly, haven’t read the books in years.)

Probably a lot of my complaints and questions can be answered with, “it wouldn’t have worked in a movie format,” but I will still complain and question.

  • Did they switch around the game storyline? Ender beat the giant the first time he played in the movie. He just…went straight to killing. Did not like. I want more psychology, more with the Formics.
  • Ender’s first Battle Room game under his command, they already had the rope with them. Buh. Not logical!
  • Petra wasn’t as brash and hard and, well, rock-like, as I remembered. She seemed more like… just a face, just a placeholder. And they slimmed down the storyline in Command School where it was so grueling that Petra fell asleep and had to be taken out, and how Ender relied on her too much.
  • I don’t know why, but I really wanted to see the little storyline about Graff becoming a nobody once they got to Command School. It would have served no purpose in the movie, but it kind of hinted at the whole conspiracy of what was going on, the head of Battle School going off with a kid (The Kid) to Command School just to become an old, unimportant man?
  • I liked how they designed the Formics in the movie. In my head they’re really creepy, huge ant-things. But in the movie the queen is almost…pretty? Like she’s not a completely scary alien we have to wipe off the face of the…universe.
  • Mazer Rackam was…Maori? (I can’t remember the book.)
  • Okay, why was there a dying queen there on the asteroid at the end of the movie? Booooring. There’s no way she could have stayed hidden with humans scurrying all over it anyway. I wish they’d focused a bit on Ender’s communication with the Formics too.
  • I saw the little nods to potential future sequels. I’m kind of sad we won’t see them. I’m partial to Bean anyway, having read his story first. ;P And I really like Speaker for the Dead. (Not that I’m saying they should make it into a movie.)
  • Who the heck was Bernard? (Not a complaint about the movie, I just can’t remember this character in the book.) They kept mentioning him…

In the end, I think this just means I need to reread the whole series again. I haven’t read Ender’s Game/Shadow since 2009, and I haven’t read the whole series since 2005. I think this time I’ll read them in chronological order. (Last time was Ender-focused, EG/ES/Ender series/Bean series.) (And whaaaat there’s a new Ender book and a new Shadow book? Must investigate if these are worth paying for…)

(Also, hah, this took me over an hour to write. Oh blogging, never change.)

edit: I wrote this little paragraph while trying to fall asleep after publishing this post. I never added it though because I didn’t think it quite fit. Maybe it goes after my Locke/Demosthenes comment? But… I can’t just erase it. So, here it is, a random paragraph:

I mean, in the book didn’t he mentally give up in the final battle, and his big innovative move was almost a ragequit? But in the movie it seemed as if he was facing the challenge, ready to not be a “failure” as they kept pushing, willing to go on to the next level the adults moved him to. Which kind of weakened the plot twist. “F—— all y’all, I ain’t playing. Destroyed your game. I quit.” “Uhh, Ender…”

the Real Ender Wiggin

Saturday, 10 January, 2009 at 8:46 pm

I started reading Ender’s Game a while ago. Haven’t read Ender since 2005 (almost three years!) so I’ve got most of my mind clear and am now ready to meet the real Ender Wiggin.

Background: I first read Ender’s Shadow (for an English class) then read Ender’s Game. So yes, I have Ender completely backwards in my mind. Or as a reviewer on Amazon said, “Bean is smart, clever and clearheaded ‘always’ whereas Ender looks hesitant and overwrought…”

I don’t remember my original thoughts when I went from Shadow to Game and am too lazy to search through my journal archives, but generally I think I would have agreed with that reviewer’s sentiments. I was probably confused as to why people liked Ender so much.

Reading Orson Scott Card’s introduction to Game though, I picked up on this: “These readers found that Ender’s Game was not merely a ‘mythic’ story, dealing with general truths, but something much more personal…. They didn’t love Ender, or pity Ender (a frequent adult response); they were Ender, all of them.”

That explained a lot to me. I read Ender’s Game first when I was about 18, past the stage of outcast child. I pitied Ender. It explained why my feelings about Ender were different from my friends’. I was reading it from an adult’s perspective.

I was also reading from a perspective of someone who never felt like an outcast because of my intelligence. (No, I felt different because I’m a little weird. :P) There were lots of classmates smarter than I was. In fact, I felt stupid in elementary school and middle school … and high school … because those classmates excelled much more than I did. Sure, I didn’t struggle too much in school (except with writing), but that didn’t set me apart.

Knowing that, and not remembering Bean’s side of things, I can read the story with a clean slate. :3

One thing I’d like to comment on in that review; “Where does Bean get the experience to become Enders [sic] ‘supervisor?’ I don’t know but he is deemed fit enough with a couple months as a team leader to be fleet commander.”

Again, I don’t remember the specifics (and I’ve got horrible dizzying headache pressure and can’t think straight), but Bean was really smart, a super brain. He knew and understood a lot of things, practically everything. But he doesn’t have the “human” side to him that Ender does, which Bean knew. Wasn’t that also the reason why Bean knew Ender had to lead? Bean was more of a backup to Ender; if Ender failed, Bean would be there as one last chance to beat the Buggers.

But that thought doesn’t lead anywhere in this entry.

(Also, funny additional comment by the reviewer about Inda. XD)

Continue reading “the Real Ender Wiggin”

Inda and Ender

Tuesday, 6 May, 2008 at 1:35 am

I finished Inda a while ago. I was going to write an entry about it, but as always I kept building up the writing part of it, trying to make it all nice and a coherently written piece, so it never got out of my head. Now I am forcing it out so everything will be rambly. (Spoilers ahead probably.)

The first thing that struck me while reading was how similar the academy was to Battle School (in the Ender books). I don’t mean anything negative by the comparison. Of course two schools centered around command and winning wars will be similar. But I thought it was interesting, how the premise worked in both settings. One was outer space and all future-y, the other was on another planet entirely (more like another universe, not really an alien planet) and in medieval-like times. (Flying spacecraft versus swords and bows, woo!) Both would set up battles between students.

Gand actually reminded me of what’s-his-name in Ender (sorry can’t remember, haven’t read the books in a while, and they’re not handy at school either), although I didn’t realize it until he was talking to Brath (is that his name? argh I took Inda home over the weekend) about controlling the students. Brath reminded me of that other school head guy in Ender too.

I think Battle School factored more into Ender’s plot though. Or … at least it did in Ender’s Shadow. Sorry, haven’t read Ender’s Game in a while, and it tends to blend with Shadow for me anyway. In Inda it was more just a setting.

But that’s okay, I liked learning more about Sartorias-Deles (the world Inda takes place on) and the customs of that time and everything. (Crown Duel takes place on the same world, but many many years later.)

What else? Oh, when some of the characters died, I couldn’t believe it. Even nearing the end, I thought, Oh this character can’t die because such and such, then in the next scene or two, that person dies! Heartwrenching.

Oh yeah, you know how in Crown Duel I probably have weird associations with characters? Well it happened in Inda too. Firstly I was sort of comparing Inda and Ender while reading through the academy part, but Inda stood on his own personality in my mind. (They both got banished oh em gee el oh el!)

Then near the end I was shocked by this association I had: the Sierlaef looks like and is like Prince Zuko from Avatar: the Last Airbender, in my mind. O.o Except with blonde hair. It probably started with the “horsetail” hairdo. Then all of his throwing his royal weight around, his anger, or something in his personality cemented the connection in my mind.

I didn’t pick up on it until the Sierlaef was riding around patrolling the south though. It really shocked me. The Sierlaef doesn’t have a scar on his face in my mind … and he also has blonde hair (I have to force the blonde hair though—I always picture brown hair first, for anybody), but he still looks like Prince Zuko! Weird.

Now I need to buy The Fox. But it’s only in hardcover? And I am a poor, poor student with little expendable cash. :( (All my allowance goes toward cable and internet.)

Also, I would like to say, woot! My silly little post in the athanarel community on LJ may or may not have prompted Sherwood Smith to post the latest behind-the-scenes story, but either way it’s written and posted! XD Joy of joys! Now I have to print out all the stories and bind them in a nice book. Hmm, I have to shop for a nice paper. (I’m thinking of doing a Japanese link stitch binding, if I can get money for that book off Amazon.)

books about other books?

Saturday, 1 September, 2007 at 12:07 am

Hah! I knew I couldn’t be imagining things when I read about Neelgaimon in Children of the Jedi! (Although I didn’t catch the sandmine/sandman thing. Probably because I’m not a big fan of Barbara Hambly’s writing style. >_> It seems like not only is she telling too much, but she’s showing too much as well. [I don’t necessarily believe one should show over tell or vice versa, just whichever one works best for the situation.] No wonder it’s taking me so long to get through the book.)

Then earlier, when reading InterWorld, I was reminded of Ender’s Game/Shadow. I don’t remember if it was the school, or the Nowhere-at-All and flying/falling (down). Then there’s also a character named Jai. heh.

/end dork

woozy, so woozy

Friday, 10 November, 2006 at 2:07 am

Well the little dog in the apartment upstairs is yapping his little head off and has been for quite a while now, so I might as well write here.

Umm, Tuesday wasn’t that interesting. Actually this whole week wasn’t really that interesting. Tuesday I took a quiz and spent an hour and fifteen minutes looking busy in art while I listened to classmates talk, since the project can be done on Illustrator and not everyone can bring their computers to class.

Wednesday I went to class then spent the rest of the day working on said art project. Or, well, I guess I kinda interspersed it with reading LJs and blogs and such, and also working on the new layout for the blog. *wry grin*

That dog sounds like it’s in a hamstertrail thing all over the apartment or something. I can hear its footsteps padding all over the floor/ceiling. x.x Annoying. I wish I could bang on the ceiling. But there’s some faux finish on it, and it’s already scraped off in the living room so I don’t want to chance damaging it here. Plus the ceiling’s too high, and I’m too short, even with a stepladder. XD

Umm lessee today is still Thursday. Well no technically it’s Friday. I have to remember that. I keep thinking it’s Friday (night) and that tomorrow (day) is Saturday.

I finished Carrie. I don’t remember what I thought. Er, I mean about what I read today. Earlier thoughts I’ve had (don’t remember typing them up here, correct me if I’m repeating myself): It’s an interesting format. The normal third person narrative interspersed with “articles” and characters’ accounts. It’s not so one-sided, I guess. Or maybe, with third person, unbiased-toward-any-character-at-all. (Unless of course there’s really cool characters that you just gotta love. *thinking of Ender and Bean*) I don’t know, it’s past 1am and I’m just kinda woo. People shouldn’t let me stay up this late. Yeah, where are you, people?! I’m saying weird totally unbased (is that a word?) stuff here.

It’s also interesting how the movie makes it all more horror movie-ish. Shock. Snap. That person’s dead. The book is more horrifying. That’s probably because you’ve got the narration there. Carrie thinks this, other people think that.

I started reading The Shining when I finished that. (Because it’s in the same book; it has four of Stephen King’s novels unabridged.) I read on Wikipedia that King didn’t like the movie. I haven’t seen the whole movie. But I pieced together the whole thing from parts I saw. And the Simpsons. *snerk* The Wikipedia entry didn’t hurt either.

I checked the school library catalog earlier this week and it said Cat’s Cradle is not checked out, but it wasn’t there this morning. grrr. There’s this option I have of asking the main desk to look through the whole library for it (like on desks and in cubicles) but that just seems like such a pain in the neck. I guess I’ll either wait for the library at home to get that book, or I’ll buy it and then donate it to the library. Or maybe just never finish it because ya know I do want to read the important books, but this book just isn’t The Count of Monte Cristo (i.e., really juicy and fun), and I’m just that lazy.

I wonder if the dog is yapping himself hoarse.

I finished Shadow of the Giant Tuesday night. Or was it Monday? Not quite sure. I can’t believe Card ended the book with Bean that way! XO I mean, sure maybe it’s interesting or whatever, but I don’t know, I just think it’s unresolved and lame. Oh well.

Now to go through the whole series (Ender and Shadow both) and write up little bios on all the characters, because fudge if I can remember all the little things, then it comes up from behind to re-enter the story and whaaa? I get confused. So I want to unconfuse myself. I’m debating whether to make a website out of it. It would be my first fansite/informational site. (The Ikyuusan one doesn’t count because uh I didn’t do anything with it. I don’t really count my guinea pig site either because there’s not much info there, just little random articles, and really bad writing on my part for the bios.) It might also be construed as copywrite infringement. :o Somehow. I don’t know. I don’t suppose so. I guess I’m just paranoid. Wow this is a huge paragraph. *cuts in half* … It’s still big.

There was a bug on my car this morning. I crawled in the passenger side because it wouldn’t get off the driver side. It looked like some sort of stinging wasp/hornet thing, so I didn’t want to make it angry. (I tried kicking it off with my foot, but he was pretty high up and I couldn’t hit him right, so he just lifted up his back leg to wave back at me. XD;;) The midsection, er the part connecting the thorax and the abdomen (I’m totally assuming that’s what they’re called; I haven’t had basic biology in a long time) was reeeeally thin, as thin as his legs, and I thought he was dying, but I don’t really know. (I actually said “WTF is that?” out loud. But not “duble-yoo tee eff is that” because that’s lame.) It didn’t have stripes like a bee or a wasp. I don’t know.

Enough of thinking about bugs. I guess the people upstairs decided 2 am was late and they wanted sleep, so they shut their dog up. Good night.