Speaker for the Dead – Orson S. Card

“Speaker for the Dead” is the sequel to “Ender’s Game”, though it can be read as a stand-alone novel. According to Card’s introduction in “Speaker…” he intended it to be the one and only book about Ender Wiggin. While planning his writing however, he figured that writing “Ender’s Game” first would make Speaker for the Dead more complete and also easier to write.

“Speaker…” introduces a whole lot of new characters who inhabit the planet Lusitania. A human colony was sent there to study the Pequininos, a newly discovered alien race. It all starts with a girl named Novinha. Tragic events in her life make her call for a speaker. The speaker who answers the call is Ender Wiggin. Having traveled for 30 years Ender arrives in Lusitania to find a troubled family. He not only has to find a way to help Novinha and her children but also the Pequininos. The humans are getting suspicious and afraid of their strange behavior. So, Ender has to try to unravel their secrets.

In general, the book is a combination of dramatic detective story,  anthropological science fiction, and philosophy.I think it is an intelligent but also entertaining read. It kept me guessing about the piggies. But overall, it made me question humankind’s attitude of feeling superior to all other living beings.

Ship of Dreams – Stephen King’s Tommyknockers

The book “The Tommyknockers” had a strong impact on me. I thought the ending was heartbreaking and I was pretty much sobbing. Shortly after reading I heard the song “Ship of Dreams” from a 60s band called Quiet Jungle. Oh man, this song totally took me right back to the last chapter of “The Tommyknockers”. To me it captured the mood perfectly.

What do you think of it?
You know,  even if your experience with the book was different or you haven’t read it yet, the song is awesome, either way.

In “The Tommyknockers” strange things are happening in the small town of Haven. People are changing and it has to do with an object in Bobbi Anderson’s backyard. She feels the urge to dig it out. The purpose is not clear until later. Her friend Gard tries to protect her from the changes but is soon affected by the strange phenomenon, as well.

It is here, Gard! Finally, here!
He had joined her before he realized that she hadn’t  spoken  the conclusion of her thoughts aloud; Gardener had heard her in his head.

(Stephen Kind: The Tommyknockers; Signet 1988 pg.555)

Master of the short story: Bradbury’s Illustrated Man

Ray Bradbury is undeniably my favorite author of short stories. I had never been very crazy about short stories until I read “The Illustrated Man”. I was hooked. Bradbury has the rare talent to capture the reader right from the start. His stories are entertaining especially if you like science fiction. They are about futuristic technologies, travels to other planets, as well as settling on planets other than Earth. But besides all the entertainment they make you think about social and political injustice, tolerance, and philosophies about life and death.

“The Long Rain” for example, tells the story of a crew trapped on Venus.  Their rocket crashed. So, they are desperately trying to find a sun dome, the only means of protection from the persistent rain. The constant dripping of rain drops on their soaked skins drives them insane. The tragic events in the story made me wonder if the outcome should be interpreted literally or figuratively.

Have you read “The Long Rain”? What do you make of the ending?

Please, share what you think of Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man.

Azzie’s other sense in Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep

I’m a little biased when it comes to King books. He’s been my all time favorite, go to author since forever.

Doctor Sleep is the sequel to “The Shining”. If you haven’t read the shining you have probably watched the movie. That should be enough. “Doctor Sleep” could be a stand-alone novel anyway.

Doctor Sleep is Danny, the little boy from the Shining who is grown-up now. He has this job in a hospice, where he helps dying people cross over. He connects with a girl through his shining abilities. Both of them have to find a way to fight off the so called “True Knot”. They are immortals who torment and kill children with the shining in order to survive. That makes the book a bit vampire-esk.

Here are some thoughts about the illustration. Having read the book like two years ago I still remembered the cat Azreel, because I found it fascinating how this cat (and perhaps many other cats) have this other sense. In this case it’s sensing the approach of death.

“She snorted ‘Doctor Sleep, indeed.’ ‘I’m not the doctor,’ Dan said mildly. (…) Azzie’s the doctor. I’m just his assistant.'”

Stephen King: Dr. Sleep, Scribner 2013, pg.118

“The End of World” – Orson S. Card’s Ender’s Game

This is about the first book “Ender’s Game” from 1977. I am also going to write posts about the other books in the series because I think the sequels give Ender’s Game the depth that it deserves.

First up, I have seen the movie after I read Ender’s Game. Mostly, because I was curious. So, what I would like to say is: please, read the book. The movie just can’t reach you on this deep philosophical level. What makes the book more than just an entertaining sci-fi novel are the political interludes, practices of mind control, and the meaning of war.

The book covers the emotional and social struggles of Ender Wiggin, the “third” (due to the overpopulation of Earth, only 2 children are allowed). He is an exception because his logical and strategic abilities are needed to fight the enemy, the buggers.

My illustration refers to the fantasy game, an intelligent program that leads Ender through difficult task until he gets to a place called “The End of the World”. “I’m trapped here, Ender thought, trapped at the End of the World with no way out.” (Tor 1991, p141). The fantasy game is probably the most important part in the novel, not only for the sake of the ending, but also for the continuation of the series. A deeper meaning of the fantasy game is revealed in “Xenocide”.

Obviously, I am pretty much an advocate of the Ender’s series as a whole. So, please stick with me for future posts.

Until then, leave comments.

“Operation Hard Rock” – Robert A. Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966)

I stumbled across this book just recently. It is strange that I did not find it earlier, especially since I basically grew up with Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick. “The Moon…” definitely reminded me of Bradbury.

I loved the book from the start. I loved the character Mannie. And I loved how Heinlein made the computer Mike so loveable as well. Now, here is the thing. about computers with self-awareness: You become attached. Needless to say how I felt reading the end chapter. “He works just fine …as a computer.”

Orson Scott Card’s “Xenocide” and “Children of the Mind” involve a quite similar computer personality named Jane. Those books raise the question, if Jane is more than a computer with self-awareness just like Heinlein seems to suggest about Mike in “The Moon…”.

It is a fascinating exile story about sociopolitical injustice. Whereas it is Mars in many Bradbury stories, the preferred place of exile here is the Moon. Obviously, the right choice of setting. The relationship of Earth and Moon reflects the interrelation of Luna’s population and the Earth’s government. They are both dependent on each other. Hence, Earth’s dependence is a major factor aiding the liberation of Luna.

I am glad that the futurism portrayed in this book is dark and dusty rather than clean and shiny. In my opinion, it is to show the pretty much forever stagnating social maturation of humanity even in a highly technologically advanced society. This is where I should mention my illustration which shows the “operation hard rock”. I was fascinated by the thought of a huge futuristic catapult throwing crazy-big dirty rocks through space.

The Lost Gate – Orson S. Card

Having read a few of Card’s science fiction stories, I was glad I came across The Lost Gate. This is the first book in a trilogy published in 2011.

I love the way medieval mythology is combined with modern society. Who didn’t ever want the old mythological gods become reality? Among others, the “gods” in this book are Odin, Thor, and Loki. They are part of the Norse mythology (Scandinavian/ German). The gods in this book are actually called mages. They have certain magical talents. The common people though are not supposed to know about the magery. That’s how the myths around the gods derived among the common people.

The protagonist Danny North is a young boy at the beginning. He develops into a multifaceted adolescent. Some moments into the book I was wondering if Card wanted to turn Danny into the anti-hero, not quite likeable but fascinating. I debated with myself if I liked him or not a few times. In this sense, Card achieved a wonderfully whole character. Danny is battling his good and bad sides. The story flourishes because of Danny’s impulsiveness and inexperience with magery. Eventually, he becomes a quite loveable character, who at times I worry about to walk down the wrong path.

“Potestas Magnum Universum” – Stephen King’s Revival

Stephen King’s Revival is a relatively new book, published in 2014.
The book has a continuous gloominess, which I like about Stephen King’s writing. It made me want to go on reading. Much of the beginning and middle of the story reminded me of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.The heartbroken Reverent in “Revival” experiments with electricity to aid him in his transformative endeavors. Stephen King leads the reader along a dark path towards a place where science and spiritualism merge. It is life-changing for the protagonists. And perhaps also for the reader?

Particularly the last chapters had a big impact on me and haunted me for a couple of days. My husband had to listen to my not so very captivating summery of chapter 13, because I felt the need to discuss its philosophy. We really like discussing all these philosophic and spiritual questions. Life and death? Death and afterlife? Who is responsible for living? Are there forces that drive us in life or death?

Obviously, my drawing is about the chapter that haunted me for a while mostly because it made life seem so desperate. Here are some quotes:

“They marched beneath the howling stars, they fell, they were punished and chivvied to their feet with gaping but bloodless bite wounds on their arms and legs and abdomens. Bloodless because they were dead.”

“…instead of heaven,…”

“The ant-things served the great entities, just as the marching, naked dead served the ant-things.”

(Stephen King: Revival, Scribner 2014, pg. 380)

Actually, the most haunting thing was something else in the chapter, no not “mother”. But I would rather not reveal here because I don’t want to spoil the reading fun.

Please, share your thoughts.

Potestas magnum universum = the force that powers the universe.

The more books you read, the bigger the philotic net gets

I love to get lost in fantasy and science fiction books. Some of my favorite authors are Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, Orson Scott Card, Robert A. Heinlein. and many more.

What I would like to share on this site is the book effect. How does a story effect your inner thoughts and feelings?  Besides that, I am going to share drawings I made about certain books.

Very often I have a feeling of a global connection existing between stories that were written by different authors. It is like the “philotes” that Orson Scott Card described in his books “Xenocide” and “Children of the Mind”. The way everything has this invisible bond. In this case it’s a philote spun from the story’s words to the reader’s mind and from there to the books read in the past. The more books you read, the bigger the philotic net gets.