Ender's Game
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Child-hero Ender Wiggin must fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race if mankind is to survive.
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Summary
Add a SummaryAfter being attacked by aliens for the second time, Earth’s government is preparing for a third encounter with the creatures known as the ‘buggers’. Six-year-old Ender Wiggin, the youngest of three brilliant children, has been monitored by the military for his suitability as a potential commander in the upcoming war. Surpassing expectations, Ender is taken to interstellar Battle School where he learns the arts of military strategy and leadership, practicing his skills in simulated war games while leading an isolated and lonely existence of his instructors’ design. Readers will quickly come to sympathize with Ender; he misses his family, wishes for friendship and acceptance, doesn't want to hurt anyone, and above all wants to be a good person. Ender's deepest fear is not of the buggers or death in battle, but of seeing his sadistic brother's tendencies in himself, a dread triggered by Ender's strong survival instincts and calculated acts of self-preservation. As Ender is forced to defend himself, and his brother Peter struggles to master his own violent impulses, their sister Valentine observes that the brothers are “Two sides of the same coin, but which side is which?” (p. 238) Ender's Game raises the question of what makes killing a crime: the act itself, or the motivation behind it? Good fiction refrains from delivering a moral lecture, instead leading readers to ask themselves difficult questions, and teens will appreciate the absence of pat answers in this novel as they work out their own views. Ender's genius is evident in his unusually independent and innovative thinking, and his ability to adapt to new situations. He is creative and elastic, pushing beyond perceptual barriers to find original ways of solving problems. As a leader, Ender wisely trusts his soldiers to develop winning strategies through play and experimentation. It soon becomes apparent to the reader why risk-taking children, not yet entrenched in restrictive patterns of thinking, are the government's hope to save the human race from destruction. The novel touches on a plethora of topics ranging from religious oppression to colonisation. The importance of communication, perspective and understanding are underscored with the revelation that the entire bugger war is due to the failure of the two sides on these counts. Trust, deception and manipulation run through the adult/child relationships in the book. The Battle School trains students to be weapons in a war for the common good, and treats them accordingly without indulging individual desires. Teen readers will relate as adults in their lives enforce decisions about school and socializing that are more in line with long-term societal values and expectations than the immediate wishes of the teens themselves. Ender's Game balances the inherent excitement and action of battle with psychology and politics, exploring diverse, complex characters and the relationships between them. Set largely in outer space with gifted protagonists aged six to sixteen, this lengthy and multilayered tale will appeal to strong readers of all genders, especially those with an interest in war, computer games, outer space, or fiction involving moral dilemmas. The final part of the book is a moving meditation on guilt and forgiveness, with a surprising and complicated chance at redemption. Teens entering the age of independence and deliberation will take heart from the novel’s message that whatever mistakes they have made in the past, be they crimes or ignorant acts of recklessness, the future is still theirs to shape.
Enderverse Bk1
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Add a CommentThis books is perfection, even for those who are hesitant to try sci-fi. I have nothing else to add, but to encourage you to give it a try, regardless of your reading tastes. OSC is a master of his craft, and any one who doesn't fall for Ender is a bugger. And don't forget, the enemy's gate is down.
Really, really good. Interesting how old everyone is, great concept, awesome characters, okay action. Over all, a really good book, especially for something written in the 80s. Even now, it's really good.
This book is beautiful. Full of anguish, internal conflict, innocence and determination, it is one of my favourite novels. If I could give it 100 stars out of 10, I would. And Orson Scott Card's other books are amazing as well.
The amount of tactics and mind-games in this book is amazing! This is one of my favourite books of all time.
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card was a novel that I initially had my suspicions of but grew to love as the story unfolded. Set in an unspecified future where space travel and colonization are unremarkably part of human achievement, in the world of Ender's Game, Earth has already repelled two alien invasions and is expecting a third. In preparation, the worldwide government seeks a great military strategist and tactician. A highly specialized selection and education system is established. The military monitors potential children for their first few years and send the most promising to 'Battle School' at about the age of six. Andrew 'Ender' Wiggins is one of those selected. A third child allowed to be born - in a world where strict population control restricts families to two children - because his two older siblings also showed promise, Ender meets all the intellectual and psychological requirements. He is sent to an orbiting space station with other young candidates and begins a training regimen that will last for years. While a story of much action, twist, turns and physicality, Ender's Game also confronts a number of themes. Ender is tormented about doing harm to others, about being passive in the control of authority figures, and about being driven to win above all else. However, there are a few things that distracted me. First and foremost was the naked boys. I found this detail to be creepy. Why did they have to be naked? Why mention it? Second, the dialogue disappointed me. The short prologues of Col. Graff's conversations in front of most chapters were stilted. The tone and style of the dialogue of the young children were off-kilter. And, the slang of the young children seemed badly rendered: was it supposed to be a parody of 'Ebonics'? Third, the novel seemed to suggest a philosophy where killing without being personally aware was excusable. As long Ender was kept from knowing, then he was beyond guilt. Was he? A short novel, Ender's Game nonetheless stays with you after the last page: a very good read.
You can't have a good story without personal conflict, and this book is full of it. Great read.
This book can do no wrong. My writing teacher told us that it was an example of perfect writing. Well, except for that ending, he was right.
Orson Scott Card is GOD! He understands the innocence and the mind of a young child and not only that, shows a child would react. Orson Scott magnificently integrated Sc-fi with a bit of child psychology making it a very interesting read.
One of the best sci-fic stories that makes you look at war in a whole new light. And there are sequels too.
This book was amazing. I cried at the end. I am definitely getting the second one. I recommend this book for anyone who likes reading, period. Enjoy!