Ender's Game

Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

 

Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

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"Ender's Game" not only manages to have a strong message, but it is also a joy to read. The plot is enthralling, the characters are complex and realistic, and the descriptions of the battleroom fill your head with fantastic images that make you wish your school had been like this, without the burden of saving humanity. The subplot involving Valentine and Peter is superb and cannot fail to inflame every reader's megalomaniacal side. Though the book is about children, it never condescends and gives kids the credit for the intelligent creatures they are (a big plus for teenage readers). The characters are exceptionally bright, but they are still identified as five- to twelve-year olds, not as mini-adults. It's no wonder that so many gifted young readers have made the statement, "I am Ender." I hope "Ender's Game" is able to make the rare crossover from lowly sci-fi to recognized, so-called "legitimate" literature.

Not only will you not be able to put the book down, you won't be able to read this book just once.

136 of 151 found the following review helpful:

The Epitome of Science FictionMar 06, 2002
By Alvin Tanhehco "kerki"
This was a book recommended to me by a friend who also happened to tell me the ending before I read it. Remind me to give him a nasty stare!

Anyway, this book starts off with a rather long introduction which the author wrote himself about his influences and motivation for writing Ender's Game. The author has had the idea of a Battle Room since he was sixteen. Only much later did he piece together the story of Ender and his mission to save the earth.

Ender Wiggin is a special boy. He is the youngest (6 yrs old when the story starts) of a family of child geniuses (Peter being the eldest, then Valentine). This story is set in the future where aliens (called Buggers because of their physical and mental traits) have tried to invade the earth twice. Twice the Earth defeated them, but at great cost. The government is scrambling to make sure this never happens again by training the next set of star fleet commanders from childhood.

In this futuristic world, only the government could sanction the birth of a third child (for population control reasons). In a way, Ender was born for a purpose. Peter and Valentine were both tested for giftedness and they both possessed it; however, he was ruthless and evil, and she was too soft and kind. Ender was a perfect balance of decisiveness and innocence, and so chosen from the beginning to go through Battle School. It is in Battle School that Ender learns military strategy and the history of wars between the Earth and the Buggers. It is also in Battle School that Ender makes friends and molds the perfect platoon leaders.

What's really unique about this story is that Ender is forced to grow up so quickly by the "adults." The teachers of the school and high government officials all have one thought in their minds. And that is to eliminate the alien threat at all costs. Even if it means sacrificing the health and sanity of a child. Ender is subjected to so much isolation and abuse throughout the story, that I felt really bad for him. He has to learn to think like an adult through the eyes of a child. His biggest fear is becoming like his brother Peter (who, in Ender's eyes, is a cold blooded killer -- keep in mind that we're talking about the thoughts of a child who hasn't even reached puberty) is slowly becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy as he matures. The ending of this story is just amazing. I will not give it away!

I recommended this book to a 13 year old boy before having finished the book. Now I'm thinking twice about my recommendation. Although this book's main characters are children and centers around the premise that child geniuses will save the world, there are a lot of adult themes and references to ancient history that probably only an adult would appreciate. I believe references to the Warsaw Pact, the League of Nations, Locke and Demosthenes will confuse the younger readers. Also the themes of murder, deception, isolation, rules of engagement in battle might be viewed as inappropriate by parents for their kids. With this in mind, I urge the reader to consider the maturity of the intended audience before recommending this book even though this is a terrific story.

29 of 32 found the following review helpful:

THE PRECURSOR TO THE HARRY POTTERS OF THE WORLD..Feb 11, 2004
By Shashank Tripathi
...the best book on leadership, the best book on strategy, and possibly the best sci-fi story I have ever heard.

I am not even much into science fiction, not in reading at least. But I devoured this brilliant debut novel from Scott Card (1985) from cover to cover. It's intoxicating, educational and very, very gripping.

We follow the life of our young protagonist Ender (nickname for Andrew) who is billed as a dynamic potential leader to save the Earth from "buggers" (malicious aliens). Reviewers lament that it potrays children as saviours of the earth from but this is not exactly an impossibility -- kids today are already a lot sharper than they used to be 20 years ago. It's a fascinating testament to the adaptability of human beings -- you impose demands, we will rise to the task. Come to think of it, the book does frequently bring up the inhumane element of pushing kids to the limit as Ender gets disillusioned about the mission that was forced on him several times during the course of the story.

Above all its interesting setups and games in a training camp in space, the book touches upon some out-of-box thinking by kids to win their games. For this reason, it makes for a FABULOUS strategy book. As Ender wins and develops into a leader of kids a lot older than he is, we are exposed to a lot of leadership situations that are so real in actual life it's almost eerie.

The book has a bunch of lessons about morality, good and bad, leadership, thinking, etc etc. Something I'd recommend in a blink to anyone I care about. Get this phenomenal novel even if you don't have a taste for science fiction. You'll love it.

19 of 20 found the following review helpful:

One of the Most Stunning Novels Ever WrittenNov 29, 2002
By CodeMaster Talon
I'm sure when it happened. Maybe it started as far back as when Jules Verne and H.G. Wells first began reflecting our society through the mirror of alien worlds, but at some point in the last century a surprising trend became evident: The most brilliant minds in the literary universe were writing science fiction. No book emphasizes this point more then Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game", one of the most chokingly powerful books I have ever read (and as a librarian, I've read quite a few).

"Ender" is comparatively underread, though, because its story of one boy's redemption in the face of unspeakable crimes is disguised as a rollicking space-story. So if you are one of those people who as a rule stick to just one genre (or as a buddy of mine told me the other day: "I'll read anything but science fiction") please, PLEASE don't let that stop you from reading this incredible book. And if you do give it a chance, please don't read anything further about the plot; the full impact of Scott's genius is best felt with no prior preperation (that's why I haven't given a plot summerary). When he finally pulls all the threads of the story together, you'll feel like you've just slammed into a brick wall.

This is a novel that stays with you forever, warning you of the ease of losing your soul , and filling you with hope if you're looking to regain it.

Absolutely not to be missed.

26 of 29 found the following review helpful:

Playing For Keeps!Sep 04, 2002
By Mel Odom
Ender Wiggin is one of the children chosen by the world government of Earth. For the last three years, from age three to six, he's worn a monitor-a device designed and used to watch him day and night, so finely tuned that he'd started to believe that it could read his thoughts. Then, when he was six, the device was removed. Ender's whole world changed. Hated by his brother Peter, loved by his sister Valentine, Ender suddenly became prey for the bigger boys at his school. After an altercation in school and a display of viciousness and cold cruelty on Ender's part, he's told he made the program for the International Fleet, the first line of defense against the Buggers, an alien enemy encountered nearly fifty years ago that came short of destroying the planet. Graff, the man from I.F., tells Ender that he qualified for the Battle School program, where Ender will learn how to fight Buggers. The downside is that he won't get to see his family for ten years. And Battle School doesn't turn out exactly the way Ender had envisioned it would.

Orson Scott Card is an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer. In addition to the Ender Wiggin series (ENDER'S GAME, SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, XENOCIDE, CHILDREN OF THE MIND, ENDER'S SHADOW, SHADOW OF THE HEGEMON, and SHADOW PUPPETS), Card has also written the Homecoming series (THE MEMORY OF EARTH, THE CALL OF EARTH, THE SHIPS OF EARTH, EARTHFALL, and EARTHBORN) and the Tales of Alvin Maker series (SEVENTH SON, RED PROPHET, PRENTICE ALVIN, ALVIN JOURNEYMAN, and HEARTFIRE). HOMEBODY, TREASUR BOX and LOST BOYS are three of his works that heavily involve the supernatural in today's world. He's also written two novels about women from the Bible (REBEKAH and SARAH), and several stand-alone novels and other trilogies.

ENDER'S GAME is a wonderful read for old-time science fiction fans that cut his or her teeth on Robert Heinlein. The same depth of character in a young protagonist that Heinlein was noted for is present, and the world-building skills are sharp. At the same time, Card embraces the younger readers of SF by laying much of Ender's story in action and gameplay. Every young reader out there is living in an SF world when he or she plugs into a PlayStation game, and Card entices those players by showing how much fun his vision of the future is with null-gravity and gameplay. Ender comes across always as a real person with real problems. The pacing is quick, always pulling the reader into the next situation, providing tidbits of information that locks in the bigger picture by the time the reader gets there. Card's creation of words, situations, and tech-and the ease with which his characters (and the readers!) interface with it-is amazing.

This book is heartily recommended for readers already familiar with SF through Heinlein and Asimov, and to new readers who want a deeper and more immersive experience than the world presented by the latest video game. Well-written books are the closest things to virtual reality that exist at this time, and ENDER'S GAME is one of the best.

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