In One Line: Fun follow-on to the legendary Ender’s Game that doesn’t require you to have read the first or any other’s in the saga; character development and relational ties make this one a gem.
- A broken clock is right 2x/day (ch5)
- One of the laws of strategy: until you know you’re stronger, you maneuver until you commit to battle (ch5)
- Knowing things in your mind isn’t half as valuable as knowing it in your body (ch5)
- Last in line is the best place from which to observe (ch6)
- Trust your own appetite, let your hunger be your guide, your nutritionist to stay sharp and quick — if you overeat it will be harder to sleep, harder to stay awake, you will be sluggish (ch6)
- Much of human behavior is acting out our responses to dangers since long past – Sister Carlata (ch6)
- You think that when you start a political snowball rolling it will always go where you want it to go. You’re smart, but your naïve. Give the universe a push, and you don’t know which dominoes will fall. There are always a few that you never thought were connected. Someone will always push back a little harder than you expected (ch 22)
- Winning depends on being able to forget everything except what you’re doing in that exact moment. You need to be able to forget about the misses, the mistakes, the things that went wrong–block them out completely. (Ch22)
- What would a worldwide Russian empire be like? It would not last. Along with their vigor, the Russians have nurtured their astonishing talent for misgovernment. Their sense of personal entitlement that made corruption a way of life. The institutional edition of competence that would be essential for a successful world government was non-existent. (ch22)
- It slows us down to have our own thoughts move around in circles. Without outside stimulation, it’s hard to break free of our own assumptions. One mind can think only of its own questions. It rarely surprises itself. (ch21)
- Some day, you’ll need friends the way they need you. And you better hope they’ll be there. Being a friend means that we need to see each others needs, even when we’re asking for something of them and they say no to what we’re requesting. (Ch21)
- The thing with brothers is you’re supposed to take turns being the keeper. Sometimes you get to sit down and be the brother who was kept. (ch18)
- “The only thing a commander ever truly controls is his own army. Training, morale, trust, initiative, command, and to a lesser degree, supply, placement, movement, loyalty, and courage in battle. What the enemy will do and what chance will bring, those defy all planning. The commander must be able to change his plans abruptly when obstacles or opportunities appear. If his army isn’t ready and willing to respond to his will, his cleverness comes to nothing.” – Napoleon (ch16)
- Everyone has limits. We need time to re-lubricate and refuel. It is one thing to train aggressively and another to wear yourself out. (ch16)
- Do you know why Satan is so angry all the time? Because whenever he works a particularly clever bit of mischief, God uses it to serve his own righteous purposes. God gives us the freedom to do great evil if we choose. Then, he uses his own freedom to create goodness out of that evil, for that is what he chooses. (Ch16)
- Everyone is naked. Everyone wants to hide. But life is still sweet. Let it go on. (ch16)
- Think. Choose. Do
- Character matters more than intelligence
- Obedience is voluntary and ultimately depends on the free choice of those receiving the orders.
- Christians have been expecting the end of the world for millennia and it keeps not ending
Philoso-Feed 