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Ender's Game (Ender's Saga #1)

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 419,176 ratings · 19,073 reviews

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...more

Paperback, 324 pages

Published July 15th 1994 by Tor Science Fiction (first published January 1985)

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by Orson Scott Card

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Aug 31, 2007 Keely rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, novel, reviewed, american, space-opera

I was savaged by a miniature poodle the other day--wait--no, someone protested my review of The Giver the other day. If you have any pent-up rage from that college lit teacher who forced you to think about books, be sure to stop by and spew some incoherent vitriol--my reviews are now a socially acceptable site of catharsis for the insecure.

In any case, one of them made the argument that children need new versions of great books that are stupider, because children are just stupid versions of norm...more I was savaged by a miniature poodle the other day--wait--no, someone protested my review of The Giver the other day. If you have any pent-up rage from that college lit teacher who forced you to think about books, be sure to stop by and spew some incoherent vitriol--my reviews are now a socially acceptable site of catharsis for the insecure.

In any case, one of them made the argument that children need new versions of great books that are stupider, because children are just stupid versions of normal people. Happily-enough, The Giver is a totally stupid version of A Clockwork Orange or whatever Dystopian book (actually, it's a rewrite of Ayn Rand's Anthem).

Coincidentally, in my review of Alice In Wonderland, I happen to put forth my own philosophy regarding children's books. In short: they should present a complex, strange, many-faceted, and never dumbed-down world, because presenting a simple, one-sided, dumbed-down world both insults and stultifies a child's mind.

However, if someone were to say that this book were a childrenized version of Starship Troopers, I wouldn't sic a poodle on them. Both present a human/bug war, deal with the issues of death, war, the military complex, human interaction, personal growth, and all that good stuff.

Also, both authors have their heads up their asses and there must be a pretty good echo in there since they keep yelling their hearts out about one personal opinion or another. However, Orson Scott Card doesn't get into his pointless author surrogate diatribes until the second book in this series, so we may enjoy the first one uninterrupted.

So it's a pretty good book for children, and like romeo and Juliet, it's easy to see the appeal: kid defeats bullies and plays videogames to save the world(in one of the sequels, they save the world by making angry comments on the internet--surprising that one isn't more popular here). But more than that, it's not a bad book in general, so I guess I don't have to bother defining it as dumbed-down, or 'for kids'. Then again, a lot of grown-ups seem like they need their books dumbed-down. Just look at The Da Vinci Code compared to The Satanic Verses, or Foucault's Pendulum; or all three compared to The Illuminatus Trilogy. I'm pretty sure when it comes to stupid versions of things, adults have the monopoly.(less)

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Sabrina Zearott I have read both Ender's Game and Starship Troopers and while the former takes place from a child's perspective, I would definitely classify it as an...more
Jun 07, 2013 12:32pm

Keely It's true, there is other stuff going on in Ender's Game--namely the fact that it's a 'bildungsroman' or a book that tells the story of a child coming...more
Jun 07, 2013 02:27pm

Aug 27, 2012 Alexander rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I read this novel because it was often the favorite novel of students of mine, and I wanted to understand why. I should mention that I love science fiction, and have read it avidly since I was barely more than a child. I'm not by any means some kind of anti-sci-fi snob.

The first thing that bothered me is that the novel sets adults against gifted children in a way that strikes me as bizarre. Adults are essentially evil but teachers especially. The children are inherently excellent, capable of hel...more I read this novel because it was often the favorite novel of students of mine, and I wanted to understand why. I should mention that I love science fiction, and have read it avidly since I was barely more than a child. I'm not by any means some kind of anti-sci-fi snob.

The first thing that bothered me is that the novel sets adults against gifted children in a way that strikes me as bizarre. Adults are essentially evil but teachers especially. The children are inherently excellent, capable of helping each other in trying to figure out just what the adults are hiding, which is, in this case, a vast and secret war they are tricking the children into fighting for them. This was perhaps the hardest to believe of all the things thrown at the reader, and interestingly, it is hidden from you until the very end, though you can guess at it before then.

What disturbed me the most is that the writing is terrible---far too much happens internally, inside the character's head--it's an emo space opera, basically--and one of the most interesting events of the book is nearly buried and the presentation of it is rushed, because it is near the end. There are many points in the battle scenes where it is impossible to understand what's happening. And the penultimate plot event, where it's revealed all of the games were not..games...could have been handled more interestingly. But the novel was overdetermined, as Charles Baxter says, and too many of the arrows point in the same direction. By the time Ender meets Mazer, his final teacher, my eyes rolled back into my head at the implausibility of it all. And it's worth mentioning the thing no one prepared me for was the bizarre homoerotic subtext built into the book as well, that is sometimes just a plain old supertext, on display, right beside how women in this novel are to be loved distantly and kept from real knowledge, and turned against themselves, so they can then be used to compel others.

It creeped me out and I'm gay.

I'm also a former 'gifted child', and was tested and poked and pushed, all of these things, made to study computer programming when I didn't want to, and I made myself fail out of their program to get away from them. But I found no commonality with the gifted children here, not as I have in other stories about gifted children, say, like Salinger's Glass family. These kids aren't likable, really. They're all jerks.

I do hand it to Card for the ideas in the novel: blogging? Yes. It's in here, well before anyone was doing it, and it ...matters a lot, and in the ways blogging matters. Also the idea of an institution that runs on the manipulation of its populace into a distant war with an implacable foe, as a way of controlling people. And a society that has no privacy at all, not even in dreams. This novel does offer a dark picture of what life is like under these terms. Also, the idea of how a hive-mind would think differently, without language, and the complications of communicating with someone like that, that's brilliant also.

I wish it had been revised--that the battle scenes were clearer, that the movement of the novel's action, the way the 'buggers' are in a race to try and communicate with Ender before he kills them, that this were more obvious to the reader, and not a surprise whipped out at the end, so that it could have lent tension to the scenes of the games and manipulation, which were only boring. And Ender's decision, to be the Speaker for the Dead, that struck me cold, because in the end, the buggers were only trying to do what everyone else in his life were doing to him: poring over what makes him tick and trying to get him to do their bidding.

The novel contains a rant against style at the beginning, added by Card, called 'literary tricks' by him. I think the most interesting thing about it is that given the millions sold, it is proof that story matters more than style, even as convoluted and badly formed as this one is. In the end what matters is the questions the novel raises and the implications of the questions, and that the novel really is about something at its core, behind all of the badly rendered fight scenes. I admire style, don't get me wrong. I love it. But it would appear you can get by without it.

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Aug 25, 2007 Charly rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Spoiler Alert***

God damn did I hate Ender’s Game. I checked out Amazon and can surely see why I wanted to give it a shot. Talk about a cult following of people absolutely smitten with it. I even read some where that it’s on the required reading list at Quantico. I suppose this book could be some kind of manifesto for misfit nerds who waste their life playing video games or a source of legitimacy for motivating tired Marines sick of drilling (The book rambles on infinitely about the boy genius En...more Spoiler Alert***

God damn did I hate Ender’s Game. I checked out Amazon and can surely see why I wanted to give it a shot. Talk about a cult following of people absolutely smitten with it. I even read some where that it’s on the required reading list at Quantico. I suppose this book could be some kind of manifesto for misfit nerds who waste their life playing video games or a source of legitimacy for motivating tired Marines sick of drilling (The book rambles on infinitely about the boy genius Ender and his laser tag in a zero gravity vacuum.) I also suppose we could kid ourselves into thinking the novel brings to light the necessity of Machiavellianism in conflict or maybe we could discuss the pathetic New Age garbage the book ended with as our annoying protagonist spreads some half crocked neo-religion amongst space colonies in which you love the enemy you are forced to annihilate. Some sort of cryptic Latter Day Saints plug by the Mormon author?

There were several other things I couldn’t stand about it. First of all, like even the best science fiction, the characters were one dimensional card board cut outs. This starts with the dorky, self absorbed protagonist Ender himself. I can deal with this problem if the plot is cool enough (ala Dune). Dune, too, often times dealt with children geniuses, however it was explained and made sense in the story. We have no idea why Ender and the other children (of which 99.9% were male) are so smart. Speaking of children, did any of you guys pick up any sort of creepy pedophile vibe in this book? How many times were we told of naked little boys? Why were there references to their tiny patches of pubic hair? Why did Ender have to have his big fight naked while lathered with soap in the shower? And the corny Ebonics that the children randomly spoke in? WTF?

The third rate and minuscule insight we were given about the geopolitical conditions on Earth were terribly dated. The Warsaw Pact dominated by Russia? What a cheap rip of Orwell. Lame! The side story about Ender’s genius two siblings also using Machiavellian tactics to achieve their political goals (instead of Ender’s military ones) by blogging on the internet really didn’t add up to beans in plot development if you ask me. Of course, Ender is never beaten at anything he does. I suppose we are to be awed by his victories but, strangely, his greatest triumph was his stoic willingness to use some sort of super weapon to destroy an enemy wholesale via exploding an entire planet. On the cover of my book, it suggests this book is appropriate for 10 year olds. What could a child get out this book? Boo to Ender’s Game!!!!!
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Feb 24, 2012 John Wiswell rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hardcore sci fi fans

This is a novel that blows past conventional ideas like "disbelief." Apparently humanity, a species whose only real claim to fame is war, now stinks at war, and can only be saved by a child genius who is one part prophecy, one part bad science, and one part wish-fulfillment. Thanks to this plan, we are treated to a gaggle of super-intelligent children who seldom appear particularly clever (in fact many behave with adult maturity rather than abnormal intellect) and achieve greatness not through a...more

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John Wiswell Susannah wrote: "I'm looking for a good chapter book for my nephew, in 5th grade. He likes Star Wars, Percy Jackson mythology, and "who dun its" with...more
Sep 26, 2012 09:43am

Kristy Thank you! I had a hard time with the book. I kept picking it up and putting it down and finally just needed to force my way through it. Finally, afte...more
Jan 20, 2013 06:28pm

Feb 16, 2012 Lithium rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction

I wanted to like Ender's Game. I really did. It's a wonder that even after more than halfway into the book, I still clung on to the foolishly optimistic notion that the book would somehow redeem itself. That it would end up justifying the tedious, repetitive, drearily dull chapters I trundled through over the course of several days (which is unusual, since I'm generally a fast reader).

It pains me to say it, as a hardcore fangirl of science fiction, that one of sci-fi's most beloved and highly re...more

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Jul 26, 2007 Hollie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: precocious children, smart kids, clever adults

Shelves: classics, favorites, sci-fi-fantasy

This was the first book I picked up and read all the way through in one sitting. Technically, it's not a difficult read but conceptually it's rich and engaging.

"They have a word for people our age. They call us children and they treat us like mice."

If you can't understand that statement, you probably won't like this book. It's about intelligent children. Not miniature adults- their motivations, understanding, and some-times naivete clearly mark them as children. But at the same time their intell...more

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Jan 16, 2013 On vacation - Stella ☢FAYZ☢ Chen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites

If I fail my exams this week, I blame this book.

Ah Ender's Game, how you have sat on my bookshelf for over a year before I got to you. You have been so nicely received by the sci-fi community so why did I put you off? BECAUSE I WAS STUPID, THAT IS WHY.

My stupidity aside, I hope you guys will still consider this 5-star review to be credible and valid. I'll list off the pros and cons to this novel and you can decide.

Pros:
An adorable main character.
Ender (Andrew) Wiggins was a breath of fresh air...more

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Jan 31, 2008 Matt rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone -- i'll even buy you a copy!

i think 'ender's game' is the only book i've read three times. for me books often don't have repeat reading value in the same way some movies have repeat viewing value. it's probably because a movie takes two hours of your time while a novel, for me, takes a week or longer. so for someone like to me read a novel twice, not to mention three times, is really saying something [and yes, i realize the inherent snobbery in that statement].

i've thought long and hard about what makes 'ender's game' so a...more i think 'ender's game' is the only book i've read three times. for me books often don't have repeat reading value in the same way some movies have repeat viewing value. it's probably because a movie takes two hours of your time while a novel, for me, takes a week or longer. so for someone like to me read a novel twice, not to mention three times, is really saying something [and yes, i realize the inherent snobbery in that statement].

i've thought long and hard about what makes 'ender's game' so appealing. it's got a sympathetic protagonist, lots of great action, lots of heart, and a plausible twist of an ending. on those merits only 'ender's game' works. it's a lot of fun to read and orson scott card manages to inject some really moral and ethical quandries without resorting to didactism or heavy-handedness. for example, the manipulations of the battle school powers-that-be are presented and inspected, but card never explicitly paints them as the enemy. they are who they are, for better or for worse, but it's up to the reader to for his or her own opinions. same for ender and his merry band of castoffs. card understands that good v. bad is never as simple as black v. white. the world and universe are, more often than not, varying shades of gray. and the folks who inhabit that gray universe, for better or for worse, are who they are. they all have a part, they all have a purpose--even if those parts and purposes contradict each other.

'ender's game' is also a great story of the value and importance of friendship. i choke up everytime ender's friends great him over the headset and the kids prepare for the final 'battle.' who wouldn't want friends like bean, petra, hot soup and the rest? i sure would.

but i think the real appeal for 'ender's game' comes from the belief that we all want to believe that there's something uniquely special about us. i think it's safe to assume that most of us have, at one point or another, felt like the underdog, the castoff, the misfit, the misunderstood, or the underappreciated, and that if people would just give us a chance, we'd shine. in that way ender is very much a universal character. he embodies a small part of each ous. yes, he is treated unfairly and manipulated, but he's also the smartest kid in the room. there's something very appealing about that. at least there is for me. whether or not i'm the smartest person in the room is irrelevant, but i want to believe it. and whenever i read 'ender's game' there's a small hope that it just might be true.(less)

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Feb 07, 2012 Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Science fiction readers

Recommended to Lady Danielle aka The Book Huntress by: Action/Adventure Aficionados Group Read

Shelves: owned-copy, middle-grade-juvenile, futuristic, science-fiction, read-the-season-geimhreadh, tortured-hero, nerd-prof-scientist-genius-geek, philosophical-meanderings, war, space-another-planet, children-s-classics, children-in-danger-harmed, yearly-reading-challenge, dangerous-hero-2012-general-reading, 2012-sky-s-the-limit-club, action-adventure-aficionados-2012-c, action-adventure-read-feb-2012, books-that-made-me-think, tough-as-nails-heroes, warrior, hero-i-loved, scientific-ethical-considerations

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Do the ends justify the means?

What if the only way to save your planet from certain annihilation is to ruthlessly manipulate a young child into becoming a solder who is skilled enough to destroy billions of your enemy, to make him into a killer?

With Ender's Game, the reader gets to ponder this question. I had many thoughts as I read this story. I didn't always understand what was going on. Like Ender, I questioned where the game ended and reality began. Children in the environment of this book d...more Do the ends justify the means?

What if the only way to save your planet from certain annihilation is to ruthlessly manipulate a young child into becoming a solder who is skilled enough to destroy billions of your enemy, to make him into a killer?

With Ender's Game, the reader gets to ponder this question. I had many thoughts as I read this story. I didn't always understand what was going on. Like Ender, I questioned where the game ended and reality began. Children in the environment of this book don't get to be kids for long at all, especially when they are genius children. Instead, they become soldiers, training day in and day out to be the best, to win, to conquer their enemies. All for the purpose of defeating the alien race that Earth views as a deadly enemy (called Buggers) in the coming war. I questioned how a six-year-old kid could even grasp this. Even a genius child. As I read, I questioned the ruthlessness of adults who would put a child through these experiences. It takes a certain personality, a particular mindset to able to justify one's actions. It's hard not to judge, but then, I'm not in the same situation. And I was grateful for that.

I just wanted Ender to have some peace and be able to just be a child. I cheered for him to find his way past the many mazes he was manipulated through. I didn't ever lose faith in him, because he had proven himself worthy of my faith. Even though I wondered what was the whole point of everything, I didn't stop believing in Ender. I was glad that Ender managed to find that light that kept him moving forward. Sometimes it was in the form of his beloved sister, Valentine, and other times, it was his fellow students, and sometimes it was the determination not to let them see him sweat. Whatever it was, this kid didn't break. I liked that about the book.

Some things didn't sit well with me as I read. I couldn't always visualize the game setup at Battle School as clearly as I would have liked. Instead of letting this throw me out of the read, I just managed to fill in the blanks around my lack of understanding and keep reading. Maybe Card meant it that way, but it was interesting how warfare became an experience that felt more like playing a video game than a face to face meeting of enemies. I wondered where that was going, but I soon found out, and I was like, "Are you serious?" I don't care much for mind games and boy was there some serious mind-screwing going on in this book. Perhaps his point was that as technology advances, warfare becomes more and more dehumanized, and it takes away the immediacy of the moral questions of taking a life, and using soldiers like pawns on a board to do so. As above expressed, the ruthless treatment of children and its effects hit me hard. They did not make for easy reading for me. On one level, I understand that a lot of psychology goes into training soldiers, and I know that some of it is necessary. I just wonder where the line gets drawn. The aspects of Peter and Valentine's political experiment left me a bit cold. I wasn't sure what Card was trying to get across here. Is the political arena just a big elaborate game in and of itself, a game that has the potential to have very disastrous and wide-reaching effects? Or was he trying to say that age is just a number? Kids aren't really kids, depending on the society and the situation that the child inhabits. Still not sure about either of those conclusions I drew. As close as I can get, anyway. Lastly, the ending got a bit strange. While I appreciated the aspects about Ender gaining an appreciation for the mind (the human-like aspects) of the Bugger civilizations, things got a bit weird and abstract when Ender's empathy with the Buggers became a philosophy that turned into a religion. It felt disconnected from the story to me, and added to a certain lack of satisfaction I felt overall. I appreciate the fact that he examined how war, differing philosophies, external differences, what have you, can separate entities in a way that if we strip down all the differences, there is a lot more alike than we think.

Final Thoughts:

Ender's Game is a well-written work of science fiction that has a lot to say about subjects that can make for hairy discussion. Subjects that I tend to avoid discussing with a ten-foot pole. War is as old as mankind. Literature is a good sounding board to explore those questions of war and humanity. Overall, I think that this novel does a good job of staying in the story and not just acting as a soundboard for the author's opinion. I am sure that others may disagree. For myself, I didn't necessarily feel that it was a preachy work. If it was, I think both sides of the questions were adequately presented in such a manner as for me to feel that this was a book with a story that had some themes that could get a reader thinking. Not mere propaganda for espousing one person's beliefs.

I liked this book a lot, but I felt the ending took it down from a five star rating for me. Also, my sense of disconnection at not quite getting some of the gaming aspects. I'm sure that others better versed in gaming or military strategy, or better read in science fiction might have visualized and understood those elements better than this reader. For what it was, this was a good book, and I can say that I gained a lot from reading it. I still have some philosophical questions running through my head now, and I feel that I have yet to make up my mind about those things, as there are always two sides to every story. So for me, that's a good experience, getting a good story and something to think about in the end.(less)

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Apr 14, 2013 Jon added it

Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, read-in-my-40s, award-winners, hugo-winner, nebula-winner, loved-it

4 stars

Due to the acquisition of GoodReads by Amazon on March 28, 2013 and my existing and continuing boycott of all things Amazon, the review I wrote after reading this book now resides, safe and secure, at my blog. You can read it by following this link: http://bit.ly/XL3it1

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Nov 14, 2011 Paul marked it as assorted-rants-about-stuff

Holy shit!

I'm usually really late in catching up with stuff. This time it's only taken me 7 years to find an article Orson Scott Card wrote about gay marriage :

http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch...

which - forgive me - is a subject I can't get excited about one way or the other, and we know OSC is a Mormon, so I figure he won't like gay marriage, but it was this bit that made my hair stand on end:

Now, there is a myth that homosexuals are "born that way," and we are pounded with this idea so...more

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May 20, 2013 Clouds - (¿head-in-the?) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hugo, years-of-my-life, science-fiction, science-fiction-series, reviewed, young-adult

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my HUGO WINNERS list.

This is the reading list that follows the old adage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I loved reading the Locus Sci-Fi Award winners so I'm going to crack on with the Hugo winners next (but only the post-1980 winners, I'll follow up with...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Marvin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

I believe it was A. E. Van Vogt who said, "The Golden Age of Science Fiction is 14." And in fact, much of the classic science fiction of Heinlein and others feed into the mind of the adolescent boy. The protagonist Ender is an adolescent's dream. He is alone, alienated and feels he is not appreciated for how special he is. In other words, he is the average teen male or at least how the average teen male sees himself. Add on the naive and egotistical worldview envisioned by Heinlein and it is no...more I believe it was A. E. Van Vogt who said, "The Golden Age of Science Fiction is 14." And in fact, much of the classic science fiction of Heinlein and others feed into the mind of the adolescent boy. The protagonist Ender is an adolescent's dream. He is alone, alienated and feels he is not appreciated for how special he is. In other words, he is the average teen male or at least how the average teen male sees himself. Add on the naive and egotistical worldview envisioned by Heinlein and it is no wonder why adolescents flocked to the science fiction pulps of the 50s. In fact it can be argued that the teen sci-fi fan of the 50s was not all that different from the Emos of our generation.

Ender's Game was written in 1986. Yet it reads very much like a Heinlein novel and the plot and themes are not all that different from Starship Troopers. Card was smart enough to add in video games and the internet as waves of the future but the old Cold War mentality and the "might is right" philosophy hangs on. This is why this somewhat sadistic journey of a six year old child to his role as sci-fi messiah is so disturbing. Ender is brilliant but it is his habit of extreme violence that attracts him to his superiors. This appears to be a virtue in the author's eyes. In fact, one of Ender's teachers spell it out in no uncertain terms.

"The power to cause pain is the only power that matters, the power to kill and destroy, because if you can't kill then you are subject to those who can, and nothing and no one will ever save you."

Keep in mind this is being said to a six year old boy.

This is the basic theme of the novel. Violence is never extreme enough if it is for a good cause. This idea is never really questioned by Ender or anyone. At the end there is a twist that appears to lay doubt. However is not the basic moral issue in question but the assumption that sets the means to the end in play

This is why I cannot give this novel anything more than two stars. Card isn't a bad writer although some of his action scenes are muddled and he had an annoying habit of changing to third to first person and back for no reason. This was his first novel but I've never read anything else by him so I don't know if he developed any better habits. But this kind of philosophy in any story, especially one that appeals to teens, is disturbing to me. I'm OK with the idea of a young boy with talent being challenged and persecuted. It is a stalwart of YA literature. Harry Potter is an excellent example. But Card seems to preach "If you can't beat them, join them but just be a better fascist than they are."

While we are on the subject, Orson Scott Card is also known for his rather conservative social and religious viewpoints. One of those is his opposition to gay marriage and his basic revulsion to homosexuals in general. So why does his book have so many scenes of young boys running around and wrestling in the nude? Not to mention that the aliens are nicknamed "Buggers". I see some major issues here. Mr. Card, please seek help.

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Mar 11, 2008 Kyle Nakamura rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: just about anyone

Recommended to Kyle by: found by chance in a library when i was a kid

This has to be, hands down, one of the best science fiction books written. Ender's Game is set in a disarmingly straightfoward sci-fi setting: a near future earth threatened by a hostile alien species with superior technology that seems determined to destroy the human race. The story centers on a young boy who is drafted into an all-consuming military training program at the age of 6. The program he's inducted into seeks to forge a new generation of military commanders out of gifted children, a...more This has to be, hands down, one of the best science fiction books written. Ender's Game is set in a disarmingly straightfoward sci-fi setting: a near future earth threatened by a hostile alien species with superior technology that seems determined to destroy the human race. The story centers on a young boy who is drafted into an all-consuming military training program at the age of 6. The program he's inducted into seeks to forge a new generation of military commanders out of gifted children, and it's sole purpose is to break them at any cost, until they finally discover someone who can't be broken. What follows is an emotionally complex and at times painfully familiar story of children struggling to accept their inner demons. Ender in particular is cursed with a brutal combination of profound empathy for others, and an overwhelming survival instinct that drives him to win no matter what the cost. It is this combination of gifts that may make him the commander the fleet needs in it's war against the alien invaders, but only if Ender can find a way to survive the burden of understanding his enemy so thoroughly that he can no longer see them as "the other," but as a reflection of himself.
The story is fast-paced, and Card's signature style of simple, plain language and streamlined descriptiveness serves to bring the characters front and center at all times. This book is infused with a very real sense of psychological and spiritual dislocation, and treats it's young protagonists as fully realized, intelligent, 3 dimensional characters struggling with very adult questions. Card's other signature: creating drama through ethical dilemmas, is also a central element of the story, and he does a very good job of challenging the reader to find some semblance of moral high ground anywhere. The conflicts between characters are made all the more powerful by the almost total lack of mystery: motivations and intent are laid out very clearly in most cases, and it is the reader's ability to empathize with everyone's point of view that makes the story less about winning and loosing and more about living with the consequences of either.
This book is thought provoking, emotionally complex, and ethically challenging. It's a powerful examination of conflict and violence, military necessity, family roles, and the ways in which we use the idea of "the other" to justify all manner of savagery.
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Nov 30, 2010 Joel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, favorites, ya, series, 2010, re-reads, book-club, 52-in-2010, kindle, wssfbc

Lots of people have already read this book, and it's pretty much universally acclaimed, so it probably doesn't really need another review. So I just want to point out one thing that bothered me both times I read it (with a decade at least in-between at that):

Isn't it weird how much time the kids in this book spend naked? The entire time Ender is at Battle School, Card constantly tells us how everyone is always sleeping naked, or walking around the barracks naked or jogging naked. And one of the...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Martine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: film, modern-fiction, north-american, science-fiction, psychological-drama

Every now and then you come across a book whose prose is thoroughly unimpressive but whose premise and sheer bravado manage to suck you in nonetheless, to the point where you end up enjoying it an awful lot. Ender's Game falls into that category for me. The first few chapters feature some of the choppiest prose I've come across in a published book -- sentences so short and dull that I seriously wondered how the book had ever got published. However, the writing gradually gets better, and as for t...more Every now and then you come across a book whose prose is thoroughly unimpressive but whose premise and sheer bravado manage to suck you in nonetheless, to the point where you end up enjoying it an awful lot. Ender's Game falls into that category for me. The first few chapters feature some of the choppiest prose I've come across in a published book -- sentences so short and dull that I seriously wondered how the book had ever got published. However, the writing gradually gets better, and as for the story itself, well, it's simply compelling. It kept me up for the better part of two nights and had me doing some serious thinking afterwards. Not bad for a young-adult-cum-science-fiction novel.

Ender's Game centres on Andrew 'Ender' Wiggin, a precocious six-year-old who is selected for the inter-planetary Battle School, where children are trained to become commanders for the International Fleet (a space agency which is supposed to keep alien threats at bay). Ender's teachers suspect he is a strategic genius, so in order to nurture his talent and see what he is capable of, they subject him to an increasingly gruelling training programme in which he has to lead much older kids into mock battles. It soon becomes apparent why: the teachers believe that Ender may be the only person capable of beating the Buggers, a technologically advanced race from outer space who may or may not have evil designs on planet Earth. So they push young Ender to his very limits, only to realise much later that they may have pushed him too far. Is Ender up to the challenge? And what exactly does this challenge entail, and what does it mean in terms of right and wrong? These are just some of the questions raised in Ender's Game, a page-turner if ever I read one. While overall characterisation is shoddy (Ender himself remains a two-dimensional character, and the other characters never make it past 1.4-dimensional), there can be no doubt that Ender is a great protagonist. It's simply riveting to watch him overcome his own fears, outwit his enemies, win the respect and support of those who matter and prove himself worthy of the big task ahead of him. Reading about his game tactics is like watching a strategy book come to life, and I for one really enjoyed that experience (I guess I should be reading Machiavelli and Sun Tzu next). But Ender's Game is more than an exciting tale about a child prodigy overcoming tremendous odds to find the meaning of his life. It also deals with fairly fundamental ethical issues. Once the final battle is over, you are left with a lot of questions -- about the legitimacy of manipulation and using children as a means to an end, and about the ethics of war and colonisation. You are given an insight into how lonely life can be at the top, and how hard it can be to live with yourself after you've done something terrible (even if you were tricked into doing it). You are left feeling not just for Ender, who pays a heavy price for the games others play on him, but for his victims, who may not quite deserve the treatment they get. So what if the writing is sketchy and the characters are cardboard cut-outs? It's still a gripping read which makes some worthy points. A deserved classic, in my opinion.(less)

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Feb 26, 2008 Adam rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: badbooks

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. After finishing this "classic" of science fiction, I find myself most intrigued by the large following it seems to inspire. My next step in regards to Ender's Game is not to read the next installation, but to explore the favorable reviews.

But first I have to get my own frustration off my chest...
The writing is atrocious and heavy handed. Apparently, in the future, the earth is threatened by bug like aliens who are going to kill all the humans, so the international federation, for some reason n...more

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May 10, 2008 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, 2008

I rarely really enjoy reading science fiction (the movies are another matter), but - most likely because of the refreshingly unpretentious and clear prose, which did take me by surprise - this book was almost a joy to read. I say "almost" purely because it's still science fiction, and for many reasons that are too long-winded to go into here, I prefer fantasy.

It's nice, though, to have Card (in his 1991 introduction) refer to this clarity of style, and actually encourage his readers to read Ende...more

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Mar 14, 2011 Wealhtheow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

I read this book in 7th grade. I remember it so exactly because still, to this day, I distinctly remember sprinting up the stairs to get to the bookshelf to read the next chapter. It is an absolutely engrossing tale of a small boy involved in a big war, filled with heartache and camaraderie and betrayal and cleverness.

The problem is that Orson Scott Card hates queer people and liberals so much that he's written a number of novels entirely about how awful they are. He posts screeds about how gay...more

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view all 10 comments

Stephen Batuk I have a problem with levying ostracism on anyone that feels strongly about controversial issues. For example you obviously feel strongly about LGB in...more
Apr 18, 2013 10:06pm

Wealhtheow Hi Stephen,

OSC clearly wants to share his opinions (hence his polemic blog posts, newspaper articles, homophobic rewrite of Hamlet, etc), so I don't t...more
Apr 19, 2013 09:39am

May 10, 2007 Ellie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A really great book about Ender Wiggins, who is taken at the age of six to live in a military training institute where he is trained to be a great commander. He rises much more quickly than the average child because he is being groomed to be the commander of the entire international fleet against the buggers (what a horrible name Card picked for his aliens!). In the end he thinks he is still training but he’s really fighting the battle, and he destroys the entire bugger race. I kept thinking abo...more A really great book about Ender Wiggins, who is taken at the age of six to live in a military training institute where he is trained to be a great commander. He rises much more quickly than the average child because he is being groomed to be the commander of the entire international fleet against the buggers (what a horrible name Card picked for his aliens!). In the end he thinks he is still training but he’s really fighting the battle, and he destroys the entire bugger race. I kept thinking about the issue of child soldiers in the world today. I think the psychological aspects of the book are very interesting, with the relationships between Ender and his siblings, Ender and the other children, Ender and the instructors, and Ender with himself. Some of Orson Scott Card's typical themes come through, but less so than in the other books and series I've read by him. And after the twist in the story, I was thinking to myself that it ought to have been predictable, but I was so caught up in the telling that I wasn't thinking ahead to predict. One thing that Card tends to do which I sort of don't like is at some point later on in a book when he wants to advance the story quite a bit he has the characters go through years and years of their lives without really saying much about them. So by the end of the book, Ender is what, 20? 21? and I still felt like he was 11. Actually quite a bit of the end felt like it had just been tacked on to the book and wasn’t nearly as good as the rest. I didn’t really like the bit where Ender was receiving psychic messages from the dead bugger queen, or that she had somehow gotten into his head and recreated parts of his dreams. And the computer program at the battle school that somehow got Peter’s picture and created new things just for Ender was never explained. In any case I think this is the best book by Card I’ve read so far, and I could even see myself re-reading it at some point. There’s a lot to think about in it, and it’s also an engrossing story. [It’s very unfortunate that Orson Scott Card, a writer with such great imagination and ability, also happens to be a crazy right-wing weirdo. It’s not just the Mormon preaching he does in his books, but apparently he also posts on right wing web sites all sorts of nonsense and rubbish, including stuff about John Kerry being hostile to the military that he posted prior to the election. I wish he wouldn’t use his books to promote his right wing ideals, but at least I can just read them for the stories and try to ignore the rest.](less)

9 likes · like · see review

Sep 26, 2009 Kathryn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, audiobook, war, aliens

Not my cup of tea. Considering that the author probably intended the reader to sympathize with the main character, I disliked the main character way too much, right from the start. Also, many people will probably disagree with me but I think this book is rife with the author’s personal prejudices. Off handed comments about women and different nationalities just threw me for a loop, left me wondering why they were included when they offered absolutely nothing towards the story. Additionally, I di...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Tatiana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Tatiana by: thousands of the book's fans

Shelves: nebula, hugo, 2010, sci-fi, why-the-hype

Hmmm, I find it hard to understand the level of following this particular book gets.

Ender's Game is the type of sci-fi that doesn't interest me much. 225 pages about a boy playing video games, battling in zero gravity, and learning about how military works? I can work up some interest for these things, but there has to be some characters I care about. However, how exactly am I supposed to find compassion for a boy who goes from one task to another never failing and always being the best at EVER...more

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Aug 27, 2008 Kristjan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Adults; Veterans

Recommended to Kristjan by: GR Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Club

Shelves: science-fiction, book-club-selection, reviewed, favorites

I first read Ender's Game the same year it was published; I was a marginally successful junior in a US Service Academy at the time, and well on my way to forming my current negative opinion about how such works. What ever other critiques readers might have about Card's story here, IMHO he nailed the military training environment, complete with psychological manipulation and Machiavellian intrigue. I am not surprised to hear rumors that Ender's Game might even be promoted by the military training...more I first read Ender's Game the same year it was published; I was a marginally successful junior in a US Service Academy at the time, and well on my way to forming my current negative opinion about how such works. What ever other critiques readers might have about Card's story here, IMHO he nailed the military training environment, complete with psychological manipulation and Machiavellian intrigue. I am not surprised to hear rumors that Ender's Game might even be promoted by the military training establishment. Even before this book was published, my training cadre made no secret of how they were using 'significant emotional events' to reshape our personalities to conform to the expected standard ... Much like Graft attempts to manipulate encounters for Ender at the Battle School. This was made slightly more difficult after hazing became illegal; it didn't actually eliminate it, just moved it into the shadows. Needless to say, my first encounter with the book evoked a very strong affinity with the protagonist. First cut gets 5 stars.

Another significant concept Card presented in the story was that such a system inevitably fails ... As in it doesn't predictably (limited correlation) create your top military commanders during war time and can in fact hinder their development. Unfortunately I don't believe Card's solution is very realistic. Throwing away the rulebook in order to foster social isolation and constant exposure to violence at an early age does not create individuals who are strong, independent leaders ... It creates sociopaths. Fortunately Card seems to have a knack for knowing when he may have pushed too hard, as Ender immediately becomes overwhelmed with angst about his actions. About the only benefit I get from these rather irritating episodes is an opportunity to expose ethical talking points (which I took advantage of when I re-read the book with my preteen). Several critics seem to believe that they know which side Card comes down on these issues (e.g. Is Xenocide always evil? ... Is it ever necessary?) ... Strangely enough, there is little unanimity among them (I actually think Card leaves it up in the air for each reader to think about). There are other areas in the story that I could pick apart, in fact an army of critics have already done so (and to some extent they have valid points); however, I still find the over all story to be an excellent starting point for talking about how we go about determining ethical behavior, both within our society and in response to a potential foreign encounter.(less)

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Feb 15, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-alicious, kat-s-book-reviews

Ender's Game is a Difficult book to review. It has no romantic plot and the book is based primarily on prepubescent and barely pubescent children. This makes it and odd read for people over the age of fifteen.

Yet I found the characters to have great depth and likability. I found that the book paced well and the plot was interesting. The military focus of the book was engaging and fascinating.

I've read this book many times and each time I take away something new but older readers may find themsel...more

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May 07, 2013 Katya rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, classic, holy-hell, library-first, oh-come-on, sci-fi, teen-lit, seriously-disturbing, wtf

Ender’s game… Holy shit!

Like many other books that are advertised as “must reads” and “milestones in insert-genre-here”, I am veeeeery late for the party. You might say that it’s a good thing, since I’m neither viewing this book through the nostalgia goggles, nor am I personally conflicted about OSC and his… ahem… equality issues. In fact, my biggest concern going into this, was that I might enjoy it so much that I’d have another Brandon Sanderson on my hands.

Obviously, that was not the case. Do...more Ender’s game… Holy shit!

Like many other books that are advertised as “must reads” and “milestones in insert-genre-here”, I am veeeeery late for the party. You might say that it’s a good thing, since I’m neither viewing this book through the nostalgia goggles, nor am I personally conflicted about OSC and his… ahem… equality issues. In fact, my biggest concern going into this, was that I might enjoy it so much that I’d have another Brandon Sanderson on my hands.

Obviously, that was not the case. Dodged that bullet!

Fair warning: what’s going to follow is a spoilerific review of the first book in the Ender cycle. If you haven’t read it and would rather go in blind (although, personally, I didn’t care if the ending was spoiled for me,) then click off. If you just want the cliffnotes - it sucks. Kinda telling from the one-star rating. If you’re a fan and think I deserve to be pelted with rotten tomatoes for daring to dislike this work - well, I can’t really say anything about that, can I?

Anyway, got all that? Let’s get nit-picky!

(view spoiler)(less)

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Mar 28, 2008 Meg rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: humans

I didn't think I liked Sci Fi. Maybe I still don't... but you have to be on mind-altering drugs not to LOVE this book. Actually, mind-altering drugs might make it better. Hmm.

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May 09, 2012 Stefan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Young Adult Science Fiction just doesn't get any better this. From the first chapter on, Ender's Game grabbed my interest and didn't let me go until the end. What a well-though-out, well written, thoughtful and entertaining novel this turned out to be.

I think that one thing that I really liked about this book is that it takes us through Ender's schooling and training in one fell swoop instead of spreading it out over several books. Yes, I know that this is a series, but this book feels like it i...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Jonathan rated it 3 of 5 stars

I read this a while ago - as in a year to two years.

If I could I'd rate it three and a half stars. I enjoyed the unique ideas and science fiction elements of the story. I did not like the writing as much as with other science fiction I have read. I didn't mind the messages and themes about war behind the novel, I felt the ending was abrupt and to be honest this novel gives me mixed emotions. I like it many ways and there are others I just have the strangest feeling about it. Some of it by far s...more
I read this a while ago - as in a year to two years.

If I could I'd rate it three and a half stars. I enjoyed the unique ideas and science fiction elements of the story. I did not like the writing as much as with other science fiction I have read. I didn't mind the messages and themes about war behind the novel, I felt the ending was abrupt and to be honest this novel gives me mixed emotions. I like it many ways and there are others I just have the strangest feeling about it. Some of it by far simply seemed too weird for my taste (much like Kurt Vonnegut). When going for the weird sci-fi I prefer Douglas Adams who I believe achieved what he set out to do with his style all up. Ender's Game however had mixed styles and tones which made it awkward for me.

After further thought I have realised that particularly the ending of this novel did not work for me. I found it unsubtle, a touch moralising and rather patronising to be honest. As I've debated before I do like morals in novels. However it is important to me how an author writes morals into their works. In this case I feel that Card tries too hard to impose his own views on impressionable readers rather than indicating a situation and suggesting and questioning whether what occurred was acceptable. Unfortunately many novels for children tend towards being slightly patronising, as if children are incapable of thinking for themselves and have to be guided into understanding. Whereas experience indicates to me that children are far more capable of working solutions and answers out for themselves and rather than being 'empty vessels' are more naive or impressionable. Being patronising therefore does little more than to irritate children as most readers can pick up when something has been 'dumbed down' for them

Despite my feelings, on the whole I have to admit this is a novel that deserves to be read. It is a intriguing piece of science fiction fantasy that is very readable even if - like me - you disagree with some ideas present or suggested by the text's didactic side. (less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Mith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, young-adult, post-apocalyptic, absolutely-spiffing, classics

My eyesight *may* be in danger after last night where I stayed up reading the book into the wee hours because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

What a fantastic ride!

Sure, I found it hard to digest that six year olds went around killing each other and planning battle strategies, ten year olds went around commanding entire battle fleets and thirteen year olds went around plotting to take over the world, but I cheated and made them age a little in my head while reading, so it's all good!

I confess I did NOT...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Rollie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, sff

God, please give me a brother like Ender Wiggin. I promise myself not to be Peter.

I’d been hearing a lot about this book since before I read Ender’s Shadow. And after reading the parallel book of this book, I knew then that it was wise plan to read this book. I wouldn’t have read this book if it wasn’t for my friend who gave me a copy of this book along with durian candies. Hands to Kwesi.

All because that he’s the third child, intelligent and young, the world seemed turned against Ender Wiggin....more God, please give me a brother like Ender Wiggin. I promise myself not to be Peter.

I’d been hearing a lot about this book since before I read Ender’s Shadow. And after reading the parallel book of this book, I knew then that it was wise plan to read this book. I wouldn’t have read this book if it wasn’t for my friend who gave me a copy of this book along with durian candies. Hands to Kwesi.

All because that he’s the third child, intelligent and young, the world seemed turned against Ender Wiggin. When he entered Battle School, he became a magnet of enviousness. He topped among the students of Battle School and had impressed his teachers. But behind his excellence, some of them are angry at him. Can he resist not hurting them if they are the ones offering already to be hurt?

Card has made an excellent work with this book. I’m truly impressed at how he made the character of Ender Wiggin. I’m even amazed at how he managed to smear this sci-fi book with politics. Ender Wiggin depicts the real stand of human hero. His intelligence is undeniably extraordinary, but the origin of it isn’t questionable since it was open that his siblings are genius as him. But the mere fact of his existence being a third child is one reason he is meant to be separated from his family and be a commander. And because of his mature knowledge, he indisputably fitted being a leader; knowledge in a way that even grown-ups would be outsmarted. Just imagine yourself as one who’d been outsmarted when you won’t still be impressed at the person who did it.

Beyond his physical appearance, a strong lion is alive. He was absolutely small but I suggest that it’s a bad idea to misjudge him just because of how or what he looks like. It’s still incredible to think that his body could kill bigger and older people who want to bring him down. But in spite of these killings, he himself meant not to hurt them. I liked how Card handles this: a hero who wants not to kill enemies but accidently killed them through a trick, if not, enemies are offering themselves to be killed. But then again, in that case, he killed them not because he meant to but because he had to defend himself from their dark motives.

I believe that Card made Ender a total or a complete package hero: genius, a fighter, an innocent and a light-hearted. Imagine, behind Ender’s performance, there’s only one thing he wants the most. Love of his brother. I was touched at how Ender craves for it. He insisted not to be a killer like his brother, but deep inside he was longing for Peter’s care.

However, since I started reading first the Ender’s shadow which, of course, a parallel book of this series and apparently a point of view of another character in this book—Bean. Once again I’d like to bring up my statement that says: I loved the story of Bean so much. Let us say, it would be unfair to choose Bean as the better character since Ender has made it first to impress other people. But let’s save the fact of publishing date and the sudden rise of Ender’s Shadow. Let us even say that you have read first the Ender’s Shadow than Ender’s game. The definite vote would arise to Bean as the more interesting character over Ender. Although I’ve enjoyed the Shadow, when I finished this book, I was bothered by how inconsistent the story of Shadow has become. There was rough connection between the two series that obviously led to inconsistency. From the idea here that Ender Wiggin topped among the other students suggests how wrong Bean is with what he believed being the top ranked student in Shadow. And it really implies how sudden Card decided to have a parallel book and basically, I guess, because Bean somehow made an impression in this book.

The conversation of officers about the students is even strong evidence that Card hadn’t think about making Bean’s book while making Ender’s Game. In Shadow, they were dismayed about Bean’s knowledge while they were impressed at Ender’s intelligence. But in this book, I haven’t even read the officers mentioned Bean’s name. Look, if Bean is really as great as Ender (in fact, in Shadow he was even better.) he might have had mentioned by the officers. But come on, I was disappointed at how this book lacks the existence of Bean. Somehow, Card puts Bean in a spot light in this book for the reader to know that there is still a student who is secretly genius. And one thing I’ll confess, I noticed these things because I was anticipating for Bean to show or even mentioned in this book.

Fans are torn between two characters of to whom they would raise their hands for. I’ve decided, yet they are both likable, to embrace the character of Bean over Ender. I highly recommend this book to people who are dying of sci-fi and looking for a truer form of hero. Whether you read first this or the Shadow, I can assure you that the two books won’t disappoint you. Love me or hate me, whether you swallow my preference or not, Card is on my top ten list of best authors. Salaam.

(less)

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About Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.
Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series Th...more

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“Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.” — 2,642 people liked it

“In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.” — 487 people liked it

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