4 ms·

Remarkable book. I remember coming across the book as a teenager, having vaguely heard of it as 'good', and then staying up until 5 AM reading it. I can think

Remarkable book. I remember coming across the book as a teenager, having vaguely heard of it as 'good', and then staying up until 5 AM reading it. I can think of no more than a couple other books that had this effect on me.

mathattack 13y ago
It's definitely a 1-sitting book. Don't pick it up if you have any responsibilities the next day.
- jazzyb 13y ago
  Wow. How true. I started reading this book in college one night right before bed (~8 or 9). I finished it at 4am. I had no idea this book had a similar effect on others.
gambiting 13y ago
I perceive it as one of the worst Sci-Fi books that I have ever read. It's not a very popular opinion though, with the book being widely regarded as classic.
- theorique 13y ago
  I don't know that it's "great SF literature" in the sense of a Lord of The Rings or a Neuromancer, but it seems to hit people of a certain age in a certain emotional place. OSC managed to capture something about that experience that resonates with people. I'm curious to know, what did you dislike about the book?
  - gambiting 13y ago
    It maybe that I have read it as an adult for the first time,so I could neither sympathize,not find the idea of a brilliant 11 year old running an army particularly believable. I hated the idea of polarizing the world between the "good" US and the "bad" countries of the Warsaw Pact, even though I can see that it was a popular sentiment at the time. I did not like the dialogues, did not like any of the characters(maybe apart from Ender's sister,but even she was annoying at times). I could not sympathize with any of the issues in that book,nor stand for any of its ideas. I really wanted to stop reading halfway through, but forced myself to finish it to have a full picture of it. Having said that, I can still see why someone who read it as a child would like it - but it does not make it good overall. Just because I've read and loved the first Harry Potter book when it came out,does not mean it's a brilliantly written story, because it's not - it's interesting,but it's not well written. And I feel like this is the same issue with this book.

mathattack 13y ago

It's definitely a 1-sitting book. Don't pick it up if you have any responsibilities the next day.

jazzyb 13y ago
Wow. How true. I started reading this book in college one night right before bed (~8 or 9). I finished it at 4am. I had no idea this book had a similar effect on others.

gambiting 13y ago

I perceive it as one of the worst Sci-Fi books that I have ever read. It's not a very popular opinion though, with the book being widely regarded as classic.

theorique 13y ago
I don't know that it's "great SF literature" in the sense of a Lord of The Rings or a Neuromancer, but it seems to hit people of a certain age in a certain emotional place. OSC managed to capture something about that experience that resonates with people. I'm curious to know, what did you dislike about the book?
- gambiting 13y ago
  It maybe that I have read it as an adult for the first time,so I could neither sympathize,not find the idea of a brilliant 11 year old running an army particularly believable. I hated the idea of polarizing the world between the "good" US and the "bad" countries of the Warsaw Pact, even though I can see that it was a popular sentiment at the time. I did not like the dialogues, did not like any of the characters(maybe apart from Ender's sister,but even she was annoying at times). I could not sympathize with any of the issues in that book,nor stand for any of its ideas. I really wanted to stop reading halfway through, but forced myself to finish it to have a full picture of it. Having said that, I can still see why someone who read it as a child would like it - but it does not make it good overall. Just because I've read and loved the first Harry Potter book when it came out,does not mean it's a brilliantly written story, because it's not - it's interesting,but it's not well written. And I feel like this is the same issue with this book.