Ethically speaking

How many of you made it all the way through Ender’s Saga, by Orson Scott Card? I’m working my way through it right now (third time trying to get through Xenocide, and I’m finally nearing the end… finally), and it occurred to me that it would be the perfect example for this series, partially because of how long it’s taken me to get through them.

As you’ll know if you’ve been following me on Goodreads, I’m currently reading two series’ at a time. I’m going to talk about both of them this month, but today we’re focused on Ender—and I’ll tell you right now, I don’t think I would’ve made it this far through the series if it wasn’t for the other series I’m reading. I need something between books, something to get my mind off everything to do with Ender and the gang.

But you know what? I have learned something from reading this book, and the ones before it. And even though the series is one of the hardest I’ve ever picked up, including what is probably the only book I’ve picked up that’s taken me this many tries to get all the way through, there’s something in it that we all could stand to learn.

Orson Scott Card — Ender’s Saga

(Since I’ve only read that far, I’ll be referring to Ender’s Game, Ender in Exile, Speaker for the Dead, & Xenocide—no spoilers included, of course)

If there’s one thing that Card does better than anyone else (as far as I’ve read), it’s ethical dilemmas.

I know, that doesn’t sound like something that would be interesting to read, and I just told you that I’ve been struggling to get through Xenocide, but Card has a way of writing these dilemmas, these struggles, that is simply superb.

Within the Ender’s Saga, ethics were always a background issue. The ethics of using children as weapons, the ethics of war against an alien species, and situations far beyond those. But as the story developed, more ethical questions popped up, to the point that they became one of the biggest and most central issues of the entire series.

And I’m not saying that you should all be writing books like that. In fact, they’re so hard to read (and write, if I’m being honest) that unless it’s what you really want to do, I’d advise against it. But ethics is something that we all deal with, in the majority of our stories. It’s something that is always in the background, and something we need to know how to talk about.

That right there, is why you should read Ender’s Saga.

The series, from the very beginning, molds ethics into every fabric of the story, from the characters to the plots, from setting to struggles. It’s everywhere within the series, which makes this series an excellent study in ways to include ethics without boring your readers.

See, Card’s characters are so well written, his settings so richly detailed, that the ethics, the main discussions of the story, read as naturally as standard exposition. It’s not until you get a ways in that you realize how much you’ve struggled to get through these words, how strongly you feel about these dilemmas faced by people who aren’t even real.

That’s why you need to read Orson Scott Card, and why you need to read Ender.

Even if you only make it through the first two books (because Speaker is better with ethics than Ender’s Game), you’ll have made it far enough to know what I mean.

Remember, it’s an investment in yourself, as a writer. Put in some time, do some research via reading. Find out how to blend your moral dilemmas into your thrilling plots—because ethics will always be there, and it really is a theme that a lot of readers are looking for, whether they realize it or not.

[love]

{Rani Divine}