posted
Mr. Card, After reviewing the "official website of Orson Scott Card" and finding no email adress, I decided to take advantage of your avid forum participation rather than trying to track down contact information loose on the internet or simply not bother at all. I'm not in the habit of trying to contact people I don't know personally. I hope to get a response, but don't expect one. But that's enough explanation of this post, I'll get into it's intended content now.
I read ender's game when I was young and amongst the cleverest people in my surroundings. It reached me in a way that many books don't - my appreciation came not from the epic story line, but from the often ironic perspective of human behavior stripped of all it's niceties.
Re-read Ender's game in college, when it was required reading for a system's engineering class I took. I believe that was the only time I've enjoyed mandatory reading - I seem to have a pathological problem with appreciating things I'm obligated to do, but your book was an exception to the rule. This second tryst with Ender's Game inspired me to pick up one of the other books, specifically Xenoside. It was well written, but it confused me a lot. Your characters lives spoke to the mystery of spiritual matters underying our percieved reality, and I lacked ears that could here at the time.
After experiencing a personal conversion, I began reading "Speaker for the Dead" (Speaker for the Dead) while at a friend's house. I then bought SftD two weeks ago, and pretty much haven't set your books since. I've only children of the mind to finish.
That's all background though, what I've wanted to say as a result of said background is this:
Life has always appeared to me as extremely paradoxical and confusing, in all aspects. You're one of the few writers who's book seems to address and acknowledge this, without retreating into extreme, absolute points of view for safety. I find that as humans all of us tend to encapsulate our world to make it digestable, to enable us to function in it. That's fine and practicale and unvoidable to an extent, but I think it's a pretty grave mistake to pretend like our models for life are the final word on things.
Ender's game was fantastic, but I believe I've come to appreciate the overarching story you've drawn even more. You've created these characters which we readers respond to on a gut level, but that's only the beginning. The easy way out would be to portray the negative characters as unknowable evil, but that's not what happens. You bring out their humanity, and expose them for the limited and diverse individuals that we tend to be, rather than the legends and symbols we impose on everyone. You don't stop there, either. You expose Peter's needs and Achilles slavery to his demons, but you don't try and make them martyrs, either. You simply remove the survival tools we all have that turn men into monsters and angels, forcing to look at reality for what it is.
They're great stories, and a lot of fun to read. Thank you very much for sharing them. It appears to me that a great deal of yourself was poured into these pieces, and I endevor to take some of that spirit with me in my own life, as best I'm able. -John
------------------------------------
That's all I meant to do, at present. If people other then OSC want to respond to this, I'll probably respond. I hope no one feels like they need to see and feel the same things as what I've posted here, because I'm pretty sure that's not the case.
Edit: My actual contact information has nothing to do with the information I use to register for bulletin boards. It's accessible on request.
Posts: 10 | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
OSC will probably see this thread, rendering this piece of advice redundant, but anywhere on the site you can email a question it will eventually make it back to the man. The OSC help desk form, for example, will work.
Not that there's any reason that this letter shouldn't be in the forum, after all, I don't think any of us would be here had we not experienced something similar to what you felt reading the Ender books.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I think Enders Game may have had a strong affect on me too, but before I was able to put it into words (as I'd planned here on the forum) I had a much greater experience reading the Book of Mormon.
But OSC got me interested in reading, and it's from him and from his writing workshop that I learnt most of my creative writing skills. I owe him a lot and I understand how you feel John.
Welcome to hatrack. Feel free to post more, and become part of this community. I've heard that OSC refers to it as "his living room", or to treat it like you were in his living room, or something like that.
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Responses occur in order of reply appearance.
El JT de Spang: Well, that would be convenient. As he has not, as of yet, acknowledge it, I appreciate your heartening response. Thank you for it! I saw the various site help forms. Their destinations, however, seemed questionable to me. It might be ironic, but I preferred presenting a private letter publicly where I can know the circumstances in which it's recieved then to have it privately passed through who knows how many hands and proceed unknowably to an unknowable fate.
cheiros do ender AND whom it may concern: Thank you for your kindness, you've made me feel very welcome. That's a charming anecdote.
I am not Mormon. I have no qualms with anyone who wants to be Mormon - God bless, insofar as I'm concerned. The relationship with God and Christ in my life is a relatively new one, and I am personally comitted to establish a foundation for that relationship before I start testing it. I mean no offense, but I am not open to dissenting points of view in this area at this time. This is a result of a shortcoming in myself, not anyone else. If knowing this and keeping my company at this forum makes anyone uncomfortable, let me know and I will leave. This is not, however, a point in my life that I'm willing to experiment with what little precious faith I have been blessed with. I explain this for overall clarity, not because it's warranted by your particular comment, Cheiros. I'm taking advantage of the opportunity. I just wanted to make the point in case it might save anyone some time or trouble. Having made it, I hope to leave it at that. Thank you for your consideration.
TheHumanTarget: Ah, the burden of fame :-)
Posts: 10 | Registered: Jan 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Welcome to the forum, JohnWithAnH. You strike me as someone who will fit in beautifully.
Proselytizeing is expressly forbidden here, so unless you decide to participate in threads in which religion is being discussed your faith is unlikely to come up at all.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
I no bet on dat, if I be you. Confucius he say : Troll who no can flame in completely unrelated thread, soon find goat tobacco in porridge.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
