First Thoughts on "First Meetings"

Just finished reading First Meetings by Orson Scott Card, a compilation of 4 short stories set in the Enderverse.  Technically, I skipped "Ender's Game" (the novella) because I've read it before.

I really enjoyed the first two stories, about Ender's father and mother.  I would actually love to read more about them, especially from their point of view from the period right before Ender's Game, when they get married and start having children.  I think this might have been addressed in some of the Bean books (is that called the Shadowverse, maybe?), but it would be interesting to hear thoughts about Peter, how much they knew about what he did, etc.

In "The Polish Boy," Ender's father, John Paul, the seventh son of "noncompliant" Polish parents (who have gone against the "two children only" rule), attracts the attention of Battle School teacher Colonel Graff.  Graff and John Paul then proceed in a chess game to see who can get what they want.

John Paul is on the verge of being maybe a little too precocious - and he reminds me, interestingly, more of Peter or of Bean than of Ender.  He just seems to have a little too strong of a grasp on what's going on around him.  As smart as Ender was, it didn't seem like he had that level of insight when he was the same age.  But I guess that was supposed to be the point about Ender.  Smart, but innocent, to a degree.  Insightful, able to evaluate the other children's abilities, but not quite questioning enough, critical enough, or curious enough as Bean, who figures out a vast amount of information that Graff never wanted the children to know.

I think what I enjoyed most about "The Polish Boy," actually, was witnessing the meeting of Graff and John Paul.  I don't know if it was ever alluded to within the Ender books - if it was, I never realized it - but it added a nice touch that Graff and John Paul's relationship goes back that far.  I did have trouble suspending disbelief about Graff's Rumpelstiltskin plan, but what was helpful there was that Card has done a pretty consistent job of showing just how good of a "chess" player Graff can be.  Had I only read Ender's Game and then "The Polish Boy," I'm not sure I would have bought that plot point.

Story wise, it was alright.  Sometimes I think character development is Card's strength, but (see below) other times I disagree with myself.  There was a lot of dialogue, not much description at all, and a lot of inner thought.  But it flowed well and was a fast read.

The same goes for the second story of the collection, "Teacher's Pest".  (Ohh, I see what they did there.  Pet. Pest. Ha.)  This story covers the meeting of John Paul and Theresa, and I just ate this story up.  The premise is John Paul is attending college and annoyingly gets put into a section of a class that "wasn't even his third choice."  Guess who's teaching the class!  You bet - Ender's future mother, Theresa.

I loved the dynamic between the two.  The "guy falls in love with girl and has to convince her to love him" plot is one that I often find contrived, and yet difficult to resist anyways (I still enjoy it).  Like I said, John Paul's arrogance makes him more likable as a character because it gives him a flaw, and well, flaws make more interesting characters.  Maybe part of me just also likes a touch of arrogance, for no discernible reason, in male characters.  As long as they are smart, charming, and ultimately a nice guy.  I probably watched too many smart-girl-gets-the-popular-boy movies as a teenager.  It's damaged my judgment.

Thus, I found the story incredibly entertaining, and would have gladly read more about them.  Did you hear that, Card?  (Of course not.)  I want more John Paul and Theresa stories!

I have to say the opposite for "Investment Counselor", the story about Ender.  I don't really know why, but I've disliked every story about Ender during his post adolescent years. As a character, I thought he was great in Ender's Game, but once he grows up, he becomes annoying.  I blame Card's writing.  I think Ender becomes too much of a know-it-all Gary Stu.  What makes his father interesting in "Teacher's Pest" is his attitude.  He's blatantly arrogant, it's his weakness and that makes him more likable.  Ender just is always calm and smart and knows the right answer and has the patience to manipulate people in a "nice" way that's for their own "good" and it just gets annoying.

Plus, I hated Novinha and thought Ender could do better.  I don't remember why I disliked her - it's been about 6 years at least since I read the books - but I remember being frustrated.

Maybe the problem is that I sense a certain lack of interest in Ender's character?  In Ender in Exile, nothing really happens, he walks around a spaceship meeting people and being the target of a marriage plot put together by an ambitious class climber.  In "Investment Counselor," Ender doesn't really do much at all.  He's not really a character with agency.  He screwed up and didn't figure out his taxes while on his journey; the only thing he did was convince the guy to let him go through customs.  Jane is the hero of the story, and yet she is not really the protagonist.  What would have been more interesting was when Jane reveals to Ender what she is exactly.  Not in replace of this story - the conversations between Ender and Jane are interesting - but as an addition to it.

How I would have pictured Benedetto,
if there weren't illustrated pictures

My real dislike for this story was the writing, actually.  It was mainly a summary, "Ender did this and then he did this and then Jane rescued him the end."  Furthermore, the development of the "villain," Benedetto, is non-existant.  He is a flat, scheming villain and as far as that class of character goes, all he is missing is the thin greasy mustache to tweak and a maniacal laugh.  Then, at the end, we are supposed to believe, "Oh well he is a good guy after all, he cared about providing for his family because he had nothing growing up."  That sort of ending is only believable if there are some hints to it earlier throughout the story.  We get a very close third person narrator for Benedetto, and yet we never get a glimpse that he's going to such illegal, extravagant means of obtaining money because he's worried about his family.  No, all we ever are hinted at is that this man is, plain and simple, greedy.  In fact he is greedy enough to rival Hoggish Greedly.

This was a story that Card clearly could have written better.

So while I didn't read "Ender's Game" (novella) this time around, I have read it.  Although it was several years ago, I remember enjoying it well enough.  I prefer the novel, but my dad said he liked the novella better, so I guess it's a toss up depending on your preferences in a story.  I like the additional character development in the novel, but my dad likes the more straightforward focus of the novella.

Obviously the theme in this collection is how important characters met each other.  With "The Polish Boy," it's how Graff met John Paul Wiggin.  With "Teacher's Pest," it's how John Paul met Theresa (Ender's parents).  With "Investment Counselor," it's how Ender met Jane.  A great idea for a short story collection, but I wish that it had more stories in it. Overall, First Meetings comes out ahead as a good read, although it does leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, since the worst story of the four is at the end.