Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus--9.0
Great book, but you could say it has a pro-Christian bias. The idea that the Mesoamerican Indians had to give up their religions and adopt monotheism to succeed is highly debatable.
Treason--8.5
Ender's Game--9.0
Another great book, but I'm not sure it or all the sequels gave enough attention to the issue of genocide. The idea that humans had to exterminate the Buggers is uncomfortably similar to the idea that Euro-Americans had to exterminate the world's uncivilized races to "succeed."
Seventh Son--7.5
I didn't notice any bad stereotypes in this book, the first of the Alvin Maker series, but Indians have only a small presence in it. RED PROPHET, the comic-book version of the Alvin Maker series, was good. Until it started becoming a little tedious, that is.
I think it characterized Ta-Kumsaw (Tecumseh) and his brother Lolla-Wossiky well. But there's the uncomfortable issue of the white boy who's superior to the adult Indians. I don't know how the Alvin character develops, but it seems he may become a Jesus-like messiah for Indians and Anglos alike.
Magic Street--7.5
One probably could write something about how Card connects black culture to black magic in this book. I'm not sure if there's anything stereotypical there or not.
Ender's Shadow--8.5
The Bean books are full of geopolitical plotting, which is interesting if you're a political junkie like me. A lot of the action takes place in India, Thailand, and China. I'm not sure if Card was saying something about the superiority of Western cultures to Eastern cultures, but again, maybe.
Shadow of the Hegemon--8.0
The Memory of Earth--8.0
The "Homecoming Saga" features a decent take on a tribal culture. But the characters' names feel Hebraic or Arabic, as does the long pilgrimage through the desert on camels. Moreover, the point of the books is that the Oversoul (a godlike computer) is leading the tribal refugees to a "promised land." This Oversoul communicates with people through the Index (think Bible or Book of Mormon). This seems like a not-too-subtle analogue to Christianity lifting Jews and Arabs out of barbarism.
The Call of Earth--8.0
Shadow Puppets--7.5
Empire--7.5
Although the storytelling in this book is decent, this is possibly the worst right-wing propaganda I've ever read in fiction. I was tempted to invent an Indian connection so I could lambaste the book's presumption that conservatives are brave and noble while liberals are weak and self-interested.
Not coincidentally, Card is a huge defender of the US war on Iraq. I believe he's stuck by the claim that it was necessary long after it proved to be unnecessary, unjustified, and immoral. I leave it to others to connect the dots between his Mormonism and his warmongering.
Shadow of the Giant--8.0
Overall, I'd say Card is a fine writer. Not many writers average more than an 8.0 in my ratings.
As with the stereotypes in Dances with Wolves or Disney's Pocahontas, though, I take Card's artistry with a grain of salt. His writing would be (even) better without the problems I mentioned.
For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Books.
3 comments:
A case against Ender's Game:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/~tenshi/Killer_000.htm
Personally I think Ender's Game is overrated; it's an average book but not exactly a masterpiece. Also I don't think it's suitable for children; genocide, an 'odd' relationship with his sister, disturbing scenes of abuse, not exactly something I'd like a child to read. Also I've become convinced that the man's incapable of writing a book without a mary sue; a lot of his characters are one big snore.
"Not coincidentally, Card is a huge defender of the US war on Iraq. I believe he's stuck by the claim that it was necessary long after it proved to be unnecessary, unjustified, and immoral. I leave it to others to connect the dots between his Mormonism and his warmongering."
Oh that's nothing; he also supports the patriot act but says we should overthrow the government if gay marriage becomes legal. In other words he has no problem with his rights being taken away but god forbid if them gays marry. Now normally I don't give a f*ck about a writer's beliefs if I like that creator; I'm a huge fan of Dave Sim and I'm willing to turn a blind eye his view points because I love most of his work, but when it comes to Card it's just one more thing to dislike about the man.
"I think it characterized Ta-Kumsaw (Tecumseh) and his brother Lolla-Wossiky well. But there's the uncomfortable issue of the white boy who's superior to the adult Indians. I don't know how the Alvin character develops, but it seems he may become a Jesus-like messiah for Indians and Anglos alike."
Alvin is an obvious stand in for Joseph Smith (as evidenced by the surnames) so it's more Mor(m)on propaganda and in the later books we get stereotypical Indians as well as a standard glorification of Abe Lincoln. Oh and the 'slavery is bad' stuff is really tedious, as if we need to be told how bad slavery is in this day and age.
"The Bean books are full of geopolitical plotting, which is interesting if you're a political junkie like me."
In that case you might (assuming you haven't read it) enjoy Cerebus.
I don't think of Ender's Game as a children's book even though it stars children. I think of it as an adult or young adult book that happens to be about children.
I wouldn't say the characterization in Ender's Game is the best. It's the innovative premise and plotting that make it work.
Since it won the 1985 Nebula Award and the 1986 Hugo Award for best novel, how "average" could it be? The critics and I agree that it's great, so that pretty much settles that. ;-)
You can read more about Card's political beliefs here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Scott_Card#Personal_views
He considers himself a Democrat, but he doesn't sound like any Democrat I know. What he calls a Democrat is what I call a middle-of-the-road Republican.
As for Cerebus, I may have read one Cerebus story somewhere. It wasn't enough to entice me.
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