It’s (almost the end of) Banned Books Week, so I thought it might be cool to review a ‘banned book’ here on the blog. Considering the number of books banned each year is rising exponentially, I had a plethora of titles to choose from. However, the book that caught my eye was one I had read early on in that fateful science fiction course my senior year of high school which I feel essentially activated me as a fan of the genre.

That book was Ender’s Game.

Back in 2007/2008 when I initially read this book, I’m sure I was mostly concerned with its most obvious themes and whatever issues within the text I would need to discuss the next day in class. Still, I remember enjoying the book quite a bit and thinking that reading it hardly felt like homework at all.

I’m sure there was some hero-worship happening. Ender Wiggin is probably not in bad shape, but athleticism is not the answer to most problems within the book. Intelligence, strategy, and (importantly) empathy are the keys to his success. He’s not popular, but he is respected, and amongst his closest friends, loved. And perhaps Ender’s most valuable skill is original thought. He sees the world around him in a different way than everyone else and while he feels supremely lonely through most of the story, he ultimately thrives because of it. Gee I can’t think of anything a high school boy might identify with in any of that hahah.

But perhaps the thing that stayed with me the most was not Ender’s trials at battle school or even against Mazer Rackham and The Buggers later on, it was Ender’s desk game. Of course I was into video games at that age (I still am at my current age), and some of what I thought were the coolest, most advanced games I’d ever seen where coming out during this period of my life. But none were anywhere close to the game Ender played. I used to try to imagine how you might even play such a game. Clearly not with a controller, because that would limit your moves, and Ender’s ability to engage with the game seemed limitless.

This was the type of game I always hoped that video games could be. The vision of video games that I still wish we could have (side note: I think we are WAY closer to this now that generative AI exists. It seems like it’s still being trialed in modern game dev, but I think once the workflow gets locked in, games are gonna EXPLODE!)

Fast forward to 2024 and there is quite a bit of context which I feel shaped my reread of this “modern” classic, though I think my opinion is largely unchanged. Let’s dig in.

First, I never realized before how old this story actually is. A short story entitled Ender’s Game appeared in an issue Analog Science Fiction and Fact all the way back in August of 1977. Of course the novel length adaptation came out in 1985, and then another version of the novel was released in 1991 though apparently this version only had minor edits (I believe this is the version I read both in 07/08 and today). Orson Scott Card’s conception of a computer game is even more fascinating in light of this revelation.

Second, it’s worth considering this book’s prominence in the genre of Science Fiction, and its importance in the world beyond. The novel took a Nebula award the year it came out, and Hugo Award in 1986. It appears on many “best novel” lists especially those centered around books for teens and young adults. It is also required reading for several ranks within the U.S. Marine Corps including Candidate/Midshipman.

Finally, we can begin to address what caused me to write this post in the first place: why was Ender’s Game banned? From the introduction written by the author in the 1991 edition, it seems that the book has been divisive from the start. Card writes:

“For one thing, the people that hated it really hated it. The attacks on the novel — and on me — were astonishing . . . Thus I began to realize that, as it is, Ender’s Game disturbs some people because it challenges their assumptions about reality . . . It is important to her {a particular critic} , and to others, to believe that children don’t actually think or speak the way children in Ender’s Game think and speak.” pg 19-20

He also writes:

“Yet I knew — I knew — that this was one of the truest things about Ender’s Game . . . Because never in my entire childhood did I feel like a child. I felt like a person all along — the same person that I am today. I never felt like I spoke childishly. I never felt that my emotions and desires were somehow less real than adult emotions and desires. And in writing Ender’s Game, I forced the audience to experience the lives of these children from that perspective — the perspective in which their feelings and decisions are just as real and important as any adult’s.” pg 20-21.

Despite such clearly strong reactions from certain readers, I wasn’t able to find much in the way of bans until 2012 (note: 4 years after I had initially read it in high school), when a middle school teacher got suspended in South Carolina for reading the book to his class. An aggrieved parent complained that the book was “pornographic” (one scene takes place in a male shower but nothing is described in a sexual manner). Ultimately, it was decided that the book would continue to be taught and the teacher received a slap on the wrist for not following proper procedure in getting the material approved ahead of time.

A second challenge came in 2014 at a middle school in Mesa County Colorado. This time, the offended parent reasoned that the material was not suitable for six-graders because it contained “swear words and passages about characters renouncing religion and killing each other.”

It is true. The kids swear, and Ender essentially murders at least two children (I’m not even sure where to start on religion in this book). However, I never felt as if the text glorifies this behavior (or violence in general). One of the primary antagonists, Ender’s brother Peter, exemplifies this type of glorification and it seems clear that readers are supposed to revile it as they do Peter. Ender’s whole arc centers around his empathy and his efforts to avoid violence. That he is unable to do so does raise questions about whether or not the novel actually condones violence (my take is that it does not), but whatever the answer is, it is more important that the question is raised.

There is one final bit of context that I could not wholly separate myself from during this reread, one which will require separation of art and artist in order to favor this book with a wholly positive review. Of course, I’m speaking of Orson Scott Card’s essay (published in 1990), The Hypocrites of Homosexuality originally published in Sunstone Magazine.

Ender’s Game does not deal with this subject matter, or exemplify Card’s opinions, in any way (directly or indirectly) that I could detect, and actually feels somewhat progressive, with a diverse cast of characters and its focus on empathy, and (towards the end) redemption.

But I think Duncan Sligh over at The George-Anne Media Group expresses my exact thoughts on the matter when they write:

“It’s difficult to accept that a novel focused so narrowly on the value of life could be written by someone who is unable to accept the sexual identity of millions of humans. It does not seem to add up mathematically, but that is the reality of this situation.” – Banned Books Week: “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card Review

So, Give Ender’s Game a Read?

If you do, I don’t think you’ll regret it. The novel is quite successful in depicting children saving the universe, in getting the reader into their perspective, and showing them — apparently to the chagrin of many — as complicated personalities with desires and agency. There is an undeniable allure to Ender Wiggin, one which is obviously appealing to younger audiences who finally get to read a story about someone like themselves, but also for adults in that every adult was once a child, and never had a chance to read a book like this in their childhood.

Of course the novel’s themes surrounding empathy, war, violence and bullying are critical to its success, and Ender’s ability to out-think his enemies with both ruthless cunning and caring heart are qualities so worth emulating that the US Military looks to this book as a course in ethics.

Where the book may flag is perhaps that it commits too much to giving equal weight to each side of its argument, and may lead some to believe that it condones violence in a way which I never personally felt it did, but can see how you might get there.

That it has such mature subject matter, but is targeted towards a younger audience, seems to have people up in arms, as evidenced by the attempts at banning in 2012 and 2014.

There is a lot to unpack on this one, and it has as many thorns as roses. Personally, I feel that reading the book and formulating an opinion on said thorns is a worthwhile experience, even if that opinion is negative.

However, I also feel that life is too short to spend on bigots, so if the separation of this work from the opinion’s of its author in other arenas is not possible, I get it. Probably give this one a pass.

That’s all I have for this week! Has anyone read this one before? Does any of the added context I’ve provided change your thoughts on the book? Is children killing children a bridge too far? In what contexts might it be more palatable?

I think there’s a lot to unpack with this one. I hope you all will leave your thoughts and feelings in the comments. Looking forward to discussing this!

Until next time!