A War of Gifts

Set in the Ender universe, this is a quick read about gift giving around the "holiday" season. Despite his craven homophobia, Card can tell quite a story. By buying his stuff in the secondary market (read used), I sorta quell my moral quandary because any money I spend is not going directly to him.

The theme of this book revolves around the question, when is a gift a religious celebration and when is it not? If someone gives a gift to celebrate a non-religious figure during a time considered to be religious by others, is that gift religious? And, if it is (or isn't), how does a school with a diversity of students, some of whom observe religious rituals, square that into the overriding concept of "equality for all."

As always, Card show more fascinates with his discussion. I still get weirded out that the thoughtful dialogue comes from children, not adults. And I still hate that Card can be so thoughtful and yet be such a bigot. show less

This is little more than a short story really. 128 pages in hardback is somehow being stretched to over 200 pages in the forthcoming paperback version - I can only suppose by adding pictures, big fonts or lots of white space. I read through the book in one sitting yesterday afternoon.

Its not a bad story though. Zeck is raised in an abusive household where his father is some kind of freelance minister of religion who believes he is the only true pure person on earth. Zeck, being a small boy, internalises this philosophy despite his photographic memory and gift for reading people that would look like a savant tendency even in a mature adult.

And then he is taken away to battle school, where his religion is outlawed and where he refuses to show more co-operate.

The story is about coming of age, and healing of the past and of friendships too. And it is readable - good for anyone who has read all the Ender books. Probably not the place to start for anyone else, as too much of the scenario is undescribed. What and where is battle school? why can the IF steal children? who are the Formics? Who is Ender Wiggin? I think anyone who cannot answer these questions might be a little frustrated by this story. Thus a book for "Ender" series completists only.

The story is also problematic in other ways. Card rattles out these abusive church scenarios too commonly (for anyone who has read a lot of his work). Not that I think he should not do it. People often abuse positions of trust and have inflated opinions of themselves which they prey off, so why should he not write about such things? But I found Zeck's father to be too fantastic. He is too obvious, and I think a character with much more false humility would have been more believable. The line "we are puritans, not fundamentalists" seemed to suggest that there is some kind of fundamentalist orthdoxy that describes that group, which is not true. Moreover they did not sound like puritans.

Likewise these battle school kids are simply too deep! Geniuses they certainly are, but where did they get all that wisdom at the age of 8 or 9? The more I read of this series, the more poorly it reflects on some of the initial concepts - and I think Ender is a project that Card really should lay to rest, and move on to something new.

So in summary, if you want a short and fun read with nothing too deep, and if you already enjoy Ender Wiggin books, and don't mind the fact this one is so short - then you will enjoy this book. Otherwise you might want to move along to something else. show less

This short story from Battle School is a masterful piece of psychological drama. My daughter has been reading all the Ender books and picked this one up in the library - and told me to read it. I was kind of tired and figured I'd read a little and then go to sleep - but after reading the first couple pages I was reminded how great a writer Card was. I finished the book before bed. I was hooked the entire time.

This is a lovely little “gift” from Orson Scott Card for fans of the Ender series. The story is not so much about the interstellar war or even the Battle School in which promising young children are trained to be the future defenders of Earth. Instead, it is about the group dynamics back in the barracks. Dink Meeker, Ender Wiggin, and Colonel Graff all play major roles in this novella, as does a new character, Zeck Morgan. The main protagonist, however, is Saint Nick, in all his guises, from Santa Claus to Sinterklaas. This book takes only one evening’s investment to read, but it will be a lovely evening indeed.

(JAF)

Orson Scott Card is a decent enough writer and one of the few sci-fi writers still writing today that I read. BUT, enough is enough with the Ender series! Actually, I don't really mind sequels, but this retelling-from-a-different-perspective stuff just seems like a cash-in. The Battle School is an interesting setting and it's always stuck in my mind, but this story adds nothing to it that I didn't already get out of Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. So, I'm left wondering why I read this.

***WARNING -- SPOILERS AND RELIGIOUS OPINIONS***
A War of Gifts is a novella set mostly in Battle School which serves to give us another taste of some familiar characters and also to give Card a chance to pontificate about religion for a while.
Religion isn't allowed in Battle School, which is a good idea because so many cultures are represented there that someone would always be celebrating one religious holiday or another. However, one child is determined to keep his religion in his heart, even though it's totally an evil cult (unlike Card's Mormon religion), and has to be talked out of it by the god-like Ender.
It was nice to revisit the Battle School gang, but the message of this story is one I could have done without.

The Little Bookworm

A short novella from the Enderverse focuses on Dink Meeker and the small act of giving a Sinterklaas present to one of his friends. Little does he know that this is going to incite a war among the Battle School students. Zeke Morgan comes from a fundamentalist Christian family. His father preaches that everyone is full of sin and that is why they cannot hear the Lord's Word. He "purifies" Zeke, but knows nothing of Zeke's phenomental metal abilities until the Fleet come for Zeke to bring him to Battle School. There Zeke does his best to remain a pacifist, believing that God does not glory in war. But when Dink leaves his friend a Sinterklass present as a token of friendship, Zeke takes it upon himself to turn this show more simple act and turn it into something bigger. And Dink retaliates in return. But Ender Wiggin seeks to create an understanding in the Battle School between Dink and Zeke and the conflict they have bought to it.

One of my favorite books is Ender's Game. And I love reading stories set in this world and getting to know more of Ender's world and his time spent in Battle School. It's stories like this that add to the over-all story and later are alluded to in Ender in Exile. A War of Gifts presents an excellent commentary on the true nature of religion and the religion that children will create around their parents and for their parents. Zeke's struggle to become pure is interesting one since he was only taught he was impure by his father. This leads to an incident where Ender can show what a great leader he is becoming, helping Zeke without Zeke really understand what is happening. show less