Rating
8
INFO
Plot
可怕的外星怪物――虫族越来越严惩地威胁着地球，可是地球各国却把大量金钱和物资花在为小孩子在太空修建游戏基地上，并不断挑选年幼在孩子前往其中进行各种对抗游戏。游戏的难度不断被加大，不断有人被淘汰，教官有意孤立成绩突出的人，优秀的学员不择手段、拼命竞争……这一切的最终目的就是挑选出一个心理状态最稳定、神经最强悍的孩子。地球当局将赌注押在了这个最终的游戏天才身上，此人将获得地球远征舰队的指挥权，与虫族展开决战。 安德・维京成为了这个游戏天才，但是，大决战以他完全没有想到的方式开始了……
Review
This novel played around a cool idea and it kept being entertaining most of the time. But I don’t think it is great literature.
Because the world in the novel did not come alive. The characters were dull, similar and mechanical. The author wrote in a similar way as Cixin Liu, using characters only as story-moving tools.
The biggest theme is: when unprecedented pressure presents, can we break a few rules to win? Is it right to exterminate the buggers without announcement? Is it ethical to employ children like Ender in the military program? Is it acceptable to disguise the war as a game to the child genius commander?
I think many people would have no problem with those ideas. Cixin Liu is an example. He even suggested that aliens would do the same thing: win at all cost. Orson Scott is in the same camp. However, as this book progressed, or as his editor went through the book, he gradually shifted a little bit to the left. Hence the last chapter, which is all about reconciliation.
Babbling
Another topic that attracted my attention is the use of agent. Adults use Ender as an agent to kill, also used the game as another agent to hide the actual killing. Agent is useful, but sometimes, its main purpose is to lessen the unpleasant feeling, which is a bad idea, just like overusing painkillers. I think AI (LLM) is on track to become our next do-it-all agent. So we should also be alarmed of bad consequences the AI may cause, by us, ultimately.
Notes
- 看的英文版的，有声书版的不行，听不进去。
- 看完头三章觉得作者的文笔挺一般，但反而让我更感兴趣了。因为这书的评价非常高，比 The Moon is a Harsh Mistress 还高。说明科幻创意非常强，才能弥补文笔的短板
- 没想到视角还会回到地球上，讲 Ender 的哥姐的事。这一段涉及到美俄关系，匿名网络喷子等，还挺有现实影响的。在80年代又足够科幻。可能还能给续作铺垫。
- 第12章 Bonzo 的最后突然转到 Bean 的视角，很奇怪，读起来有点不舒服，这可能就是为什么小说都要限定视角的技术原因。
- Ansible 这个系统的名字不错，竟然还是 Ursula K. Le Guin 原创的
- 这本书里就没有提到长期低重力对人的影响，而在残月里这是一个重要的设定
- 不知道能不能解释一下为什么 Mazer 不能自己指挥舰队。他太老是不成立的，既然可以通过光速旅行延缓衰老40年，那自然也可以拖更久一点。
- 最后解释了，而且出乎了我的意料，作者真是够暗黑
- 所以 Ender 就是个工具。似乎也解释了为什么人们现在努力训练AI。因为有些事人不能自己做，需要一个代理，而用AI还是比用小孩儿要更经济一些，更少道德负债。