There's an excellent dissection of the ethics of Ender's Game here: [link]
As with Ender’s goodness, this is a case of the author insisting on a quality in the character that need not be demonstrated by action to be held as true. Goodness is not a matter of acts, but of intentions, an inherent quality independent of what one does. “I don’t really think it’s true that ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Card stated in a 2002 interview.9 “Good people trying to do good usually find a way to muddle through. What worries me is when you have bad people trying to do good. They’re not good at it, they don’t have any instinct for it, and they’re willing to do a lot of damage along the way.” The import of this statement is that there are some people who are good before they act, and some others who are bad before they act, and that goodness or badness is exhibited in their actions. These "bad" people can’t do good, and “good” people can’t do bad.
I knew there was a reason I didn't consider Orson Scott Card to be a reliable source of moral definitions.
My problem with Orson Scott Card was always that he had no idea what children really act like. The moral stuff was always vaguely present and irritating, but no moreso than the
Mormon! Ask me how!
subtext. Well, until the later books.
I think I ran away from Orson Scott Card when I realized that every. single. book. had child sexual abuse in it.
every. single. book. had child sexual abuse in it.
A little boy, lost because of his genius, is treated very badly by grownups. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I think I ran away from Orson Scott Card when I realized that every. single. book. had child sexual abuse in it.
One trick pony, plus y'know, disturbing subtext. It was a good trick the first couple of times, but after that I was like, "Hey, Scott, what else you got?"
I'm trying to recall if there was sexual abuse in the Alvin Maker novels. I forget.
I think there may not have been. I thought the first two or so were excellent, till it all turned into Joseph! Smith! Does! It! Right!
I liked the first 2, and then it went somewhere I didn't like, so I stopped reading.
I was in NC when Ender was winning every award in sight and Card, as a local author, was the toast of local fandom. He struck me as a good short story author (look at the original "Ender's Game" and the original Alvin Maker story) who suffered when he tried to stretch it out to a series of novels.
I can't say I saw anvilly Mormonism, but I never read too far into any of his series.
