If latter-day Heinlein is considered to be the dirty old man of SF, then latter-day Orson Scott Card must be the anti-Heinlein. The characters in “Ender in Exile” spend an awful lot of time preachily suppressing their libidos for the good of the community. It makes me wonder if there is any personal frustration reflected in his writing (just as, presumably, Heinlein’s personal satisfaction was reflected in his). Personally, as far as community welfare goes, I have more trust in the guy who is regularly getting some to not start wars or promulgate dangerously misogynistic belief systems.
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Well, I mean, he IS mormon. I love both authors, but OSC can be SO formulaic. He’s branched out more in recent years, but there is almost always some brilliant or special child burdened with some kind of extraordinary responsibility. It gets tedious if you don’t space out the reading. And it makes me think that maybe he isn’t wholly confident exploring healthy interaction between adults (i.e. all the messed up relationships in the first Ender series).
Between the two, I think Heinlein is much more insightful about humanity on both the micro- and macrocosmic levels. Plus, you know, it’s way sexier.
Man, Ender in Exile isn’t nearly as bad as some of his other work. I am pretty sure that after reading all of the Alvin Maker shit + Folk of the Fringe, I can qualify for my Outer Cloister Mormon Day Pass now.
*shudder*
I loved Ender’s Game… And pretty much the entire Enderverse series. Bean? Awesome. Jane? Supergreen! Enderverse FTL? Holy shit, time to TRIP THE LIGHT FANTASTIC.
But everything else of his I’ve tried to read…. *shudder*
I met the man in person a few years ago when he gave a speech at our local library. Cool dude, VERY PREACHY
My ex-boyfriend left the mormon church for the main reason that they denied him being a sexual being in any way. Masturbation even is a nono. Guess they want everybody to get married at age 20 – after they’re missionaries.
Yeah, I hate to judge another culture, but I can’t see how that can be healthy.
Heinlein modeled a large number of his heroines after Ginnie, if you read his descriptions of them, it is clear the man thought very highly of strong women (who were usually gorgeous redheads). Even his old ladies were all personality, confident, and self-assured.