Welcome, Discerning Listeners, to our 50th episode — our Season 1 Finale (Note:  There will be a 2-week hiatus between seasons).  For this landmark episode, we’re reviewing both the book *and* movie of the sci-fi classic…”Ender’s Game.”  This is a story that has captivated three of us since high school, and now we’ve introduced it to Andruw as well.

Join as we discuss the strategy, psychology, story progression, and character development, that goes into a tale about the importance of the child Ender Wiggin in Earth’s alleged survival against an advanced, interstellar enemy.  We also discuss the political machinations of his slightly older siblings (at least as portrayed in the book, not the movie).

The protagonist Ender Wiggin is pretty much the superstar of his own book, so our review is mostly about Ender himself and how the book gets you inside his head so that you can feel his brilliance, his drive, his fear, his frustration, his stress, and his sense of honor.

But, we do also mention that part of the book is based in a city just one county east of us in real life.  We do a quick analysis of the book’s title — about the extra meaning behind those two simple words.  And, there’s also a discussion about the nature of the enemy, the insectoid Formics.

As for the movie, we discuss the usual topics like performances & production quality, but we mostly compare it to the book — the differences in the kids’ ages, the difference in the Battle Room, the shifting around of storylines, etc.

Grab your desk computer, your uniform, your flash suit, and an open mind for learning strategy as we get an education into…Ender’s Game.

And, following our main discussion, we briefly reminisce about our favorite episodes from Discerning Geeks Portal - Season 1.  If you’d like to catch up on what the four of us feel are our best episodes, here’s a handy compilation.

#001 - Movie Review - The Martian

#004 - Movie Review - Real Steel

#007 - Movie Review - Sneakers

#012 - Movie Review - Enemy Mine

#016 - Water Ya Doin'? - Ocean/Beach/Water Themed Episode

#020 - Movie Review - Killer Klowns From Outer Space

#023 - Movie Review - The Adjustment Bureau

#028 - Movie Review - Muppet Christmas Carol

#032 - Movie Review - The Lake House

#034 - Dungeons & Dragons One-Shot #01 - Part 1

#035 - Dungeons & Dragons One-Shot #01 - Part 2

#036 - Dungeons & Dragons One-Shot #01 - Part 3

#037 - Discussion Topic - Favorite Sci-Fi TV Characters - Part 1

#039 - Discussion Topic - Favorite Sci-Fi TV Characters - Part 2

#044 - TV Discussion - Best & Worst Series Finales - Part 1 (Best)

#045 - TV Discussion - Best & Worst Series Finales - Part 2 (Worst)

…And, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that #050 - Book & Movie Review - Ender’s Game will be among the best as well.  Listen now to see if you agree. :)

If you’ve enjoyed season 1 of Discerning Geeks Portal, tell a friend and stay tuned for season 2 coming soon.

*@*UPDATE*@*:  Well, life didn't exactly get in the way.  But, updating a few components of the podcast itself are taking a little while.  So, we did end up taking a hiatus for one week after all.  Our season 2 premiere will probably be out Sunday 30 May or Monday 31 May.

You can contact us at...

- E-Mail:  DiscerningGeeks@gmail.com

- Twitter:  @DiscerningGeeks

- Facebook:  Discerning Geeks Portal

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