New poster and fairly new reader to OSC works. I really like your books here but had a "quick" question. (I've read all of ender's series and shadow series, just finished Shadow of The giant).
*** SPOILER DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE ABOUT SHADOW OF THE GIANT ***
Okay now that I've hopefully given sufficient warning let me ask my question. The question would be, near the end of the Giant, you decided (if that is the right word) to marry Peter to Petra. If I remember correctly, and please do correct me if I'm wrong, but in Children of the Mind, when Ender conjured Peter from his imagination, that they said something about Peter dying young and never marrying or knowing love. Yet in the end to this book you had him dying of old age and marrying and finding love. Heck they even had 5 more kids, which is just crazy to think of 10 kids in a house for me...(haha).
Anyways, I am curious if I remember correctly or not. Also curious as to why you decided to do that (marry Peter and Petra)? there are LOTS of things that I notice while reading your books that you end up doing that I would either never think of doing, or would never do myself, however you always seem to make it work well. And even with this question it seems to work out just as well and you wrap it up nicely, but it was definately a 'shock' or suprise to find that out.
Oh..speaking of which, I found another thing that doesn't 'sit' well with me. And I'm not trying to be a critique here, just something I thought I would mention. I really really liked how at end of the Giant, where Peter and Ender are talking to each other, and Peter basically asked for forgiveness for what he did, and Ender seems to get to know the 'real' Peter, that why in the Children of the Mind would he conjure up such a 'monster' of a person? I mean..I guess you wrote Children way before this one, so you were able to give more detailed insight on Peter himself, but it just seems a little far fetched now after reading the shadow series that Ender would still have such an 'opinion' of his brother Peter (after writing the Hegemon and after talking to him and listening to everything he did, etc).
Oh well..just an observation..I still really really liked the books both series. I can't really say I like one more then the other, as they are different in a lot of ways, and they both appeal to me in every way. So please don't take this the wrong way, but more like an inquiry as I'm curious about a few things
Thanks for your time and all your writings you do.
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
I'm not Mr. Card, but I can answer one of your questions (is that all right?)
At the very end of EG (When Ender has the conversation with Peter that is elaborated upon in SotG) it is mentioned that Peter was died later in life:
quote:When Valentine was twenty-five years old, she finished the last volume of her history of the bugger wars. She included at the end the complete text of Ender's little book, but did not say that Ender wrote it.
By ansible she got an answer from the ancient hegemon, Peter Wiggin, seventy-seven years old with a failing heart.
--j_k
Posted by Chris Kidd (Member # 2646) on :
If i remember correctly when ender created peter while outside. it was the peter he remembered from his childhood.
Posted by Moofrog (Member # 8293) on :
quote:Originally posted by James Tiberius Kirk: I'm not Mr. Card, but I can answer one of your questions (is that all right?)
At the very end of EG (When Ender has the conversation with Peter that is elaborated upon in SotG) it is mentioned that Peter was died later in life:
quote:When Valentine was twenty-five years old, she finished the last volume of her history of the bugger wars. She included at the end the complete text of Ender's little book, but did not say that Ender wrote it.
By ansible she got an answer from the ancient hegemon, Peter Wiggin, seventy-seven years old with a failing heart.
--j_k
Ok so I was wrong..that's cool. I just don't remember it saying that.
Also, yeah I do remember it saying he created Peter from his childhood memory, but it just seems a little weird. Mind you, I've only read the books once, but it was pretty recent (in the past 3-4 weeks I'd say).
I just found it a bit weird after reading the shadow books and 'getting to know' Peter more, and then reading that it sounded like Peter and ENder actually talked for quite some time (meaning days or weeks), that why would he conjure up something so unlike Peter. Although, he was more like the Peter we knew in the first series, but the Peter we got to know in the shadow series seemed way different.
Oh well..just having a discussion here, hopefully nothing is taken as critique by any means Posted by Angiomorphism (Member # 8184) on :
when Ender wrote the hegemon, he was writing about Peter's entire life, including how he was when he was a child. even though Ender knows that Peter turned out to be a good person, there is still a subconscious part of Ender that only remembers how Peter was when he was younger. When Ender was outside, he did not create a logically thought out Peter, based on all the information he knows is true, he inadvertantly created the Peter that still lurks in his subconscious (or maybe even conscious) memory. I'm sure that if Ender had had any control in the outside creation, Peter would be more like the one we all learned to love in the Shadow series, but it wasn't a controlled thing, it was a manifestation of Ender's deepest thoughts (and fears maybe).
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
You can know something as much as you want, but your conscious can never convince your subconscious once it's made up its mind.
For example - I'm not afraid of snakes. I don't think they're cuddly, but they don't bother me that much. However, if I step outside and almost step on one, I just nine feet in the air and shriek like a little girl. Then I land, and if it's not poisonous I ignore it. If it's poisonous I run it off. But before I process it, I have a real and visceral reaction.
The same with Ender. He knows Peter grew to be a good man, maybe even a great man. But a part of him will always be the child that was terrified of his older brother, for good reason.
Posted by Moofrog (Member # 8293) on :
Yeah those are some good points. I just really like all of these books, and hope to see a continuation of what happens in space with Bean and his kids, and the woman that stole one into space.
I just read that OSC is going to write a novel now (or the possibility of it) about that woman and Bean's kid and meeting up with Ender/Val. That's great, but I hope he also includes some about Bean and his kids and what happens with them too Posted by Dog Walker (Member # 8301) on :
I think OSC is going to write about Bean and his kids in Shadows in Flight.
Posted by CRash (Member # 7754) on :
And about Ender, Val, and Randall in Ender in Exile.
Posted by musyklvr (Member # 8279) on :
oh, happy day to think of two new books in the ender/bean series!
i seriously never get tired of any of these books. my fiance gets mad when i get a new one, because OF COURSE i have to reread all of them. he claims i don't pay him any attention at all.
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