Greatpilgrim's Full Review: Orson Scott Card - A War of Gifts: An Ender Story
Ever felt like gift-giving was an exercise in benevolent futility, in which the desire to show affection (or exchange expected tokens) by shopping for the perfect gift yielded migraine-like levels of frustration? Then you may sympathize with the plight of the young know-it-alls at Battle School in Orson Scott Card’s 2007 novelette set in the sci-fi Ender universe, A War of Gifts.
But we begin neither at Christmas or in the far reaches of space, but in a little country churche, where seven-year-old Zeck Morgan tries not to move a muscle lest his preacher father find impurity in him and call wrath and judgment down on the boy. With the weight of a guilty conscious over hiding his remarkable mental accuity, Zeck is convinced of his father’s right and duty to beat the filth of sin out of him…but the scouts for the interstellar Battle School aren’t. Oblivious to the indignation of Reverand Morgan and the stoic rebellion of Zeck himself, agents induct him into the ranks of talented young kids whose genius is being honed for battle against the Earth-destroying Buggers.
Dink is one such kid, the leader of Rat Army; Ender Wiggin, the all-gifted young upstart who swept Salamander Army by storm, is another. In an unexpectedly kind moment, Dink responds to his roommate’s leaving out shoes for “Sinterklaas” to fill, and his humorous attention kicks off a tidal wave of Santa Clause fervor and “gifts” throughout the school, even though the kids have no possessions to call their own. The tongue-in-cheek barrage of holiday spirit, however, sets off the religious dogmatism of Zeck, who leads a silent counterattack of isolation and opposition to any holiday observances. Is his rebellion a true expression of his faith or merely a ploy to get sent home?
Christmas stories seem to be inherently sappy and sentimental, and A War of Gifts is not exactly the antidote to this sugar overload. Card makes some obvious choices in the development of this short little tale and its outcome is not exceedingly surprisingly; Dink even foretells it a couple chapters before the end. And occasionally Card’s sermonizing is a little heavy-handed, as in Ender’s interjection into a heated discussion of permitting holiday celebrations at the school: “Isn’t this exactly what the rules are supposed to prevent? People sniping at each other because of religion or nationality?” I felt that such obvious spelling-out of the story’s message was unnecessary, because the events of the story did such a great job of showing it in action.
Thankfully, this is not your typical eye-rollingly cheesy holiday smarm, but a smartly written, economical (in both words and price) addition to the Ender series. A War of Gifts’s brief 126 pages contain snapshots of the characters you’ll remember from the different sequels in the series, peppered with unexpected glimpses of hidden personality traits that Card so loves to surprise us with. I was surprised to find that the short story had charm and feel-good conclusions as well as characteristically Card elements of sniping wit and troubling themes tucked into the cozy gift-giving plot. Somehow, he executes this in a satirical, I-know-this-is-ridiculous-but-hang-with-me kind of way that is totally endearing and made me want to find out the results of this wacky space holiday exchange.
Essentially character driven, the story alternates between Zeck’s and Dink’s viewpoints with compact insights into their motivations and interpretations of the other characters. I loved how Card poked fun at the very pillars of the series, Battle School and Ender, by having Dink point out how much of a Mary-Sue Ender is and calling the school a “waste of time.” We even get to glimpse a chapter of the Wiggin household sans golden boy Ender, where siblings Peter and Valentine’s gifts take second place to their mother’s pining over the absence of their brother. Scenes like these are brief and understated but pointedly appurtenant to driving home Card’s secondary themes of unresolved wishes and the cry of the human heart for attention and recognition, be it good or bad.
After reading a full-fledged collaborative novel by Orson Scott Card, I found it soothing to follow that up with both the short length and flavorful solo style of A War of Gifts. Card’s direct narration sidesteps banality to target critical human emotions and desires through compact wording and believable dialogue, especially from the boys at the school. There’s no denying his gift at putting messages and philosophies – in this case, grace and redemption – into action in a powerful manner. The ending left me with a smile on my face (good) but on the way there I had to stop and think about the implications A War of Gifts made about religious indoctrination (even better).
Card, a member of the LDS church himself, is clearly no stranger to the dark side of blind spiritual fervor, and his brutal portrayals of perverted forms of truth is painfully vivid. He makes it emotional because this is a little kid, not a ranting adult easily mocked and ignored but an “innocent” new life brought up knowing only this truth and rejecting all others. The shades of drawing the line, the edges where truth begins and offense to other religions ends, are nudged and prodded in A War of Gifts with few conclusions save that of peace; yet the reader pointed in the right direction when it no longer seems so critical to establish where these lines are, as to rescue the poor wanderers who are bound by their own minds.
By writing a Christmas story that need not be read at Christmas (I read it in February) and an Ender story that need not be read with the series to be appreciated (it’s been a long time since I’ve read Ender’s Game), Orson Scott Card took a risk that pays rich dividends to the open-minded reader. He seems to invite you to decide for yourself whether Dink’s and Ender’s approaches to religious recognition jibe with their acknowledgement of a person’s essential soul, with only a dull roar of authorial imput to guide the way.
A War of Gifts: An Ender Story]
Author: Orson Scott Card
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (October 30, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0765312824
ISBN-13: 978-0765312822
Card offers a Christmas gift to his millions of fans with this novella set during Enders first years at Battle School, where it is forbidden to celebr...More at Buy.com
Card offers a Christmas gift to his millions of fans with this novella set during Ender s first years at Battle School, where it is forbidden to celeb...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.