Orson Scott Card (born
24 August 1951) is a prolific and best-selling author of numerous genres. His initial launch in the publishing industry was with
science fiction (
Hot Sleep[?] and
Capitol) and later
fantasy (
Songmaster[?]). He became much more widely known with the publication of the seminal
Ender's Game in
1985. However, he has not limited himself to those genres. Stories of horror and suspense such as
Lost Boys and
Treasure Box[?] demonstrate his versatility.
His writing is dominated by detailed characterization and moral issues. As Card says, "We care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodness -- the issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction."
Some of his novels, for example Stone Tables[?], a novel about the life of Biblical Moses, have explicit religious themes. In his other writings, the influence of his Mormon beliefs is less obvious.
Card was born in Richland, Washington and raised in Utah. He lives now in Greensboro, North Carolina with his wife Kristine. They have five children: Geoffrey, Emily, Charlie Ben, Zina Margaret, and Erin Louisa. Geoffrey Card is now a published author in his own right.
Quotations
- "I wonder sometimes if the motivation for writers ought to be contempt, not admiration." (from the introduction to the story collection Future on Fire, where he discusses writers he considers to be hacks.)
- "If it isn't a wonderful story first, who cares how "important" it is?" (Ibid.)
Bibliography (incomplete)
- Character and Viewpoint
- How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
External Links
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