Sunday 4 March, 2007
Obsessed, but having fun
I would like to say something interesting or profound, but nothing comes to mind.
...
Our house is a mess. My sewing is all over the place even though I try very much to keep it in one corner, but bits of thread and fabric dust and lint just gets everywhere. First it was just the box of fabrics and another one for threads and other accessories, then it was the ironing board, now it's my spanking new dress form - this hobby just keeps on getting more and more bloated. But it's so much fun. I love tinkering, I love making things, I love planning them, choosing fabrics, designing patterns, and seeing the finished thing ready (not necessarily in that order).
Today while sewing I've been listening to Orson Scott Card's latest book, Empire... and what I've long been afraid of has finally happened - he's let his personal political and religious opinions seep into his fictional work (he's a Republican and a Mormon). And when I say "seep", I mean "flood". Empire so far seems be to utter trash and propaganda... I think where I finally resigned was when (apparently Democratic) mechas attacked New York just when the two main characters, patriotic special ops officers on pilgrimage to Ground Zero were visiting Manhattan - now I'm just hanging on because of morbid curiosity as I want to see how bad it can possibly get. My only consolation is that it's not as bad as Eragon - that one was so bad I couldn't finish it, even as an audiobook.
Posted by kolibri at 4 March 22:07, 2007Uh... "Finally"?
Seriously, he's been feeding us Jesus and Hitler for a couple of decades, now.
(Also, for the record, Card actually claims to be a Democrat.)
# 2 - kolibri
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.dejahthoris.net/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
(on March 5, 2007 07:34 AM): Democrat? I thought he was a Bush supporter, but I must remember wrong then.
Sure, religion has always been a big theme in his books (and I haven't read that many) but it's often been more philosophical and always a choice... there have been always non-religious people who are just as smart and capable as the religious ones. Before, there were female characters that could think and have careers - now the only option is to give up everything for your husband, have tons of kids and go to church every Sunday.
As for Hitler - I might agree on a dictator, because just as common theme as a malevolent dictator has been a benevolent one. Now he's also added American patriotism and "dying for your country and freedom" to the mix.
It's possible there's an exciting twist in the end of this book, but I don't think so. Not further than Cole and Cessie getting married and having even more kids.
# 3 - Mikki (on March 5, 2007 11:55 AM):
Oh, he is a Bush supporter. But he's a self-proclaimed Democrat just the same, because he doesn't like the NRA, the Republican approach to handling the economy and believes that the Republicans condone racism down South.
But then again, he thinks Fox News is awesome, loves the war on terror, hates gay people, gets a boner at the mention of the PATRIOT Act -- and, as I said, loves Bush.
Why this obvious contradiction? To put it in simplest possible terms, because he's evil and bugfuck insane.
(As for the Hitler bit, I'm of course referring to the essay Ender and Hitler: Sympathy for the Superman by Elaine Radford.)
# 4 - kolibri
(on March 5, 2007 01:41 PM): Ah, I should probably check out the essay - comparing Ender to Hitler, right? Sounds... well, far fetched. The more I know about the man the less I want to.
The way I like to pick my books is by two ways: either someone recommends it to me, or I liked the author's previous books. I don't generally want to know anything more about them, I don't even like to read back covers because I want to discover them all by myself. It's about time it bites me in the ass, I guess.
# 5 - Mikki (on March 5, 2007 03:49 PM):
It's not all that far fetched. It's true that Hitler and Ender had awfully different circumstances, but once you start to compare specific events in their lives, the parallels are kind of disturbing. (I've read the essay on the internet, though it was originally published in Fantasy Review in 1987 -- but can't seem to find it now.) The more relevant question is whether or not these parallels were intentional. Card contends that they were not. Fine.
But along the same lines, there's an excellent essay by SF writer John Kessel, about Ender's Game and the moral world view it presents. His opinion of Card's little power fantasy isn't particularly high. (Neither, I'm sure you're shocked ot hear, is mine.)