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

by Orson Scott Card

4.19 · rating details · 215,115 ratings · 11,645 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 Va...more

Paperback, 324 pages

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

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Aug 25, 2007

Charly rated it

· 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 b...moreSpoiler 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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Mello Synesthesia wrote: "he goes on and on about how good the good guys are no matter what they do."

Having read some of OSC's other sto...more
updated Nov 16, 2011 08:47pm

Conor I apologize in advance for not having anything to say about Ender's Game, I enjoyed it thoroughly and much of what I would say has already been said i...more
Nov 23, 2011 05:16pm

Aug 31, 2007

Keely rated it

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 made you think about books, be sure to stop by and spew some incoherent vitriol--my reviews are now a socially acceptable source 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 version...moreI 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 made you think about books, be sure to stop by and spew some incoherent vitriol--my reviews are now a socially acceptable source 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 Brave New World, or whatever dystopian book).

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.

Despite being a great book for children (for the same reason as Romeo & Juliet is for high schoolers, mind you), it's really a pretty good book in general, so I guess I don't have to bother defining it as dumbed-down, or children's literature. 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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Nov 29, 2011

John Wiswell rated it

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...more

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Jul 26, 2007

Hollie rated it

Recommends it for: precocious children, smart kids, clever adults

Shelves: classics, favorites

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 child...more

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Jan 31, 2008

Matt rated it

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 'ende...morei 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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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/20...

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 "...more

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Jan 11, 2008

Alexander rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Last year, I had a student who was so trenchantly unteachable that sometimes after reading his science fiction novel manuscript, I would be prostrate on the floor of my office. I would look at the carpet and think, it's so soft, isn't it? And then lay myself down and wait until I felt calm, and then get up. Ender's Game is one of his favorite novels.

Reading it now, it's clear that part of why he would never listen to me was built into this novel's ethos---adults are evil but teacher...moreLast year, I had a student who was so trenchantly unteachable that sometimes after reading his science fiction novel manuscript, I would be prostrate on the floor of my office. I would look at the carpet and think, it's so soft, isn't it? And then lay myself down and wait until I felt calm, and then get up. Ender's Game is one of his favorite novels.

Reading it now, it's clear that part of why he would never listen to me was built into this novel's ethos---adults are evil but teachers especially. But then so are children, but children are excellent? And so they are needed? In any case, 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. Or 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.

Also, the writing is terrible---far too much happens internally, 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. For a convincing child soldier, I recommend Chris Abani's novella, Song For Night, of a child soldier in Africa whose throat has been cut so he can't scream and distract his fellow soldiers. There are many points in the battle scenes where it is impossible to understand what's happening. I have to say, my unteachable student did write better battle scenes than this, and may yet have a future, if he'll ever listen to someone tell him that his writing isn't intelligible as a story. 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 was another homoerotic moment as well: Spartan, through and through. But it only 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. I didn't see them as the innocent victims, at all.

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Mar 11, 2008

Kyle Nakamura rated it

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 chil...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

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...more

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Jul 16, 2008

Martine rated it

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...moreEvery 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

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 f...more

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May 10, 2008

Shannon rated it

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 hi...more

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Mar 14, 2011

Wealhtheow rated it

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...more

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May 10, 2007

Ellie rated it

· 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...moreA 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)

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Sep 26, 2009

Kathryn rated it

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

· review of another edition

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

Shelves: nebula, hugo, rc-back-to-school, 2010, sci-fi, why-the-hype, series-dropped-or-bad

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 ...moreHmmm, 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 EVERYTHING, and not because he works hard to achieve his greatness, but because he was genetically engineered to be the best? Where is the conflict and character growth here I wonder? And then the kids. I wish even one of the characters actually acted like a kid, or a human being at least. I personally only saw cardboard in every direction.

I suppose there are some interesting ideas about military training, manipulation, and leadership, but I admit, I mostly found myself bored to death by numerous battles, which I couldn't visualize, and it's-so-hard-to-be-the-bestest-ever-genius whining.

Listening to the author's speech at the end of my audio book didn't endear me to him personally either. He is just not a very sophisticated person, but he surely knows his audience of prepubescent boys and gamers well. Plus I have very little respect for writers who create not because they have something important to say about our society and human condition, but because they are paid 5 cents per word to do it.

I think I will stick with Ursula K. Le Guin for now, whenever I am in a mood for some alien action, and resign myself to the fact that Ender's Game's cult classic status is something I will never be able to understand.

P.S. I did have a blast reading reviews about the author's obsession with naked, soap-lathered little boys. How they came up with this pedohomoerotic BS, I have no idea. Did we read the same book?

P.P.S. I also had a blast reading Card's raging homophobic "essays."(less)

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Dec 08, 2008

Jon rated it

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

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I like everything about this book, except perhaps the ending. And I can't even say that I particularly disliked the ending; it just made my soul ache with remorse and regret - for Ender, for humanity, for the buggers.

Ender is six years old when we meet him. He is the third son of the Wiggins and a child genius. Not surprising, consider both of his older siblings are both child prodigies, but with vastly different temperaments. The Wiggins were allowed to have a third child as p...moreI like everything about this book, except perhaps the ending. And I can't even say that I particularly disliked the ending; it just made my soul ache with remorse and regret - for Ender, for humanity, for the buggers.

Ender is six years old when we meet him. He is the third son of the Wiggins and a child genius. Not surprising, consider both of his older siblings are both child prodigies, but with vastly different temperaments. The Wiggins were allowed to have a third child as part of an experiment; an effort to create the best of both of the other siblings and something to could be molded into a perfect military savior.

The world is desperate. Humanity was nearly exterminated by the First Invasion of the buggers. The only reason the Second Invasion failed was do to the quick thinking of one man who realized the essence of bugger strategy and communication. Once he realized the fundamental differences between humans and buggers, his single squadron was able to take down the entire Second Invasion.

But little Ender does not know of the dire peril to the world. His concerns involve school yard bullies, psychotic older brothers and the stigma of being a "Third" child in a two child only society.

The military places Ender in Battle School, where he is trained, isolated and pushed to and beyond breaking. He lives up to his potential and is transferred to Command School two or four years early (I can't remember which - sorry my memory is faulty today). In Command School, he learns the art of fleet command and is goaded by a nemesis-like teacher - an old man who just happens to be the one who stopped with Second Invasion seventy years earlier.

Ender and his commanders (from Battle School) fight battle after battle against the buggers in a simulator, ultimately culminating in his "final examination" when his fleet reaches the bugger home world. Facing odds wherein his fleet is outnumber a thousand to one, Ender makes the decision to destroy the bugger home world with a nuclear device that causes a chain reaction from the planet to the enemy fleet. Unknown to Ender and his squad commanders at the Command School, the simulator was actually a real time connection to the human fleet enroute and in orbit around the bugger home planet. The buggers are completely annihilated - xenocide.

So, Ender made the choice that saved humanity. But at a huge cost to himself.

Back on Earth, his siblings have been busy (for years) stirring up trouble and gaining political clout via pseudonyms in cyberspace. Peter, Ender's older brother, is poised to become a world leader. Valentine, Ender's sister, wants to escape her brother and also save Ender, so she manages to convince Peter to let Ender be the governor of the first human colony sent out from Earth to occupy one of the former bugger worlds. He agrees, after some convincing by Valentine.

Ender eventually discovers that the nightmares he used to experience back at Battle School and Command School were actually attempts by the buggers to communicate with him, or at least learn enough about Ender to leave him a message. He reads the message and discovers a package left behind for him - the larvae of a bugger queen. The message included the apology from the buggers for they were aghast at what they had done, once they discovered that humans were not a hive, but each individual was a unique being, completely separate from the host consciousness. The buggers communicate mind-to-mind instantaneously across even the vastness of space. They had no vocal cords and no communication equipment aboard their ships. No way to contact or communicate with the humans to discover that they were much more alike than they were different.

Ender writes the buggers' history and publishes under the name "Speaker of the Dead" and makes it his life mission to find a world where he can deposit the larvae and resurrect the species he was instrumental in destroying.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I loved all of this story. It was fast paced and easy to identify with Ender. Or at least easy for me as a former gifted child myself. For the most part, speaking for myself, I don't remember being or thinking like a child. For as long as I can remember I have thought as I do now. So it wasn't unbelievable to me that Ender would think and act the way he did and respond to the situations he was placed in as he did.

The ending just left me feeling extremely sad for all the characters in this story. I shouldn't be shocked, though, as all conflict could be avoided with open and honest communication. The level of sacrifice evidence in Ender's story illustrates the pointlessness of our endeavors when communication is not possible. (less)

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Aug 27, 2008

Kristjan rated it

Recommends it for: Young Adults; Veterans

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

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

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 traini...moreI 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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Mar 28, 2008

Meg rated it

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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Feb 15, 2011

Rollie rated it

Shelves: favorites, perfectly-rated-books

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 turne...moreGod, 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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Mar 11, 2009

Lucy rated it

Ender's Game. Good? Yes. Great? I don't know. It's supposed to be. Goodness knows I had a hard enough time getting a copy from my library, which, considering how old this book is (24 years!) is its own high praise for the book.

Ender is a 6 year-old genius referred to as a Third, because he is an uncommon third child. Third children are extremely looked down upon (I suppose because of their carbon footprint - man Orson Scott Card was WAY ahead of the game there) and the book begins wi...moreEnder's Game. Good? Yes. Great? I don't know. It's supposed to be. Goodness knows I had a hard enough time getting a copy from my library, which, considering how old this book is (24 years!) is its own high praise for the book.

Ender is a 6 year-old genius referred to as a Third, because he is an uncommon third child. Third children are extremely looked down upon (I suppose because of their carbon footprint - man Orson Scott Card was WAY ahead of the game there) and the book begins with the decision of whether or not he'll be placed in the military training school. They only accept the brightest to train to fight the Buggers (aliens who look and act like bugs and have already attacked Earth once) and both of Ender's older siblings had been tested and rejected. Ender is eventually accepted and the book follows the physical, mental and emotional toll placed on this young prodigy.

I found the robotic prose strangely fascinating. Even all the details about legs tucking and zero gravity. That's not to say I followed it. No, I had no idea which way was up or down, even though I read enough times that "the enemy's gate is down." I'm not sure it mattered. I think the point was that it was confusing, most people struggled to understand it, however, Ender not only understood but mastered any environment he was placed in quickly. O.K. Good enough for me.

I know this is a series, whose other books I have not yet read, but I'm trying to decide if this book is beloved on its own merits or if people gush because the rest of the story clears so many things up. Because, truthfully, there are a lot of holes as a stand alone story.

Much time and space in the book is lent to Ender's equally brilliant brother and sister's intellectual war waging. As willing as I was to let my confusion about gravity and the battle box descriptions slide, I was much more frustrated about the poorly explained government situation. What were they trying to change? For what purpose? Because they could? Because brother Peter was so bad? Because sister Valentine was so good? I found this entire sub-plot poorly explained and distracting. Perhaps it's necessary later on in the series.

Still, I was thoroughly entertained. As frequent as the battle scenes occurred, I surprisingly enjoyed all of the details - who was doing what and who was moving where. Of course, I loved the morality questions too. Was any of this fair? No, but did that matter if their actions saved mankind? All sorts of "The End justifies the means" situations and arguments.

I should probably feel embarrassed that I didn't see the end coming. With that kind of naivety I'm not sure if I'm an ideal science fiction reader or should stay away because I don't have the kind of mental acumen to keep up. I'll give the next book in the series a go to find out.(less)

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Jul 23, 2010

Scott rated it

Shelves: sci-fi

I can see why so many people like this book. I've read that it is very popular with teens and tweens, as well as adults. In reviewing this book, there's very little to say about the writing style, because nothing in the author's style detracts from the telling of the story.

I think one of the strengths of the book is the ambiguity of its characters. Ender is consistently spoken of as really, really good, but he commits a heinously evil act, the virtual extinction of an entire intellig...more

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Jun 26, 2011

Laurence rated it

· review of another edition

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

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Feb 27, 2011

Jane Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-science-fiction, 5-star-other

Boy outsmarts bullies and fellow soldiers in mock battle fights. Great character development and personality conflicts.

STORY BRIEF:
This is young adult science fiction. Eighty years ago the buggers attacked earth. Humans fear the buggers will attack again so they establish a Battle School and search for brilliant children in hopes of finding their next commander. Ender is selected to go to Battle School when he is six. He is one of the youngest. Most of the story takes pla...more

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Dec 25, 2010

Megatron rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, need-to-read-again

**EDIT**: I GOT THIS BOOK FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Wheee I'm so happy. :]

Yes, this was amazing.

I loved Ender's Game, but at times, I also hated it. How could I not? It was written with such a truthful brutality. I found myself being caught up into Ender's world immediately. Parts of this book even scared me.

But, like Card said in the introduction, "Why (else) do we read fiction, anyway? Not to be impressed by somebody's dazzling language - or at least I hope that's n...more

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Jul 25, 2007

Pwntalive rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Hugo award junkies

It seems that Enders Game is just one of those novels that everyone else has read accept me. At some point in my life i started to run across the seemingly endless list of books that were not "classics" but well read none the less. The first one of these that really struck me was The Hobbit. At some point in highschool someone recited that first line about Bilbo's little house in the shire and i just looked at them blankly, never being a fantasy junkie i had missed the Tolkien bandw...moreIt seems that Enders Game is just one of those novels that everyone else has read accept me. At some point in my life i started to run across the seemingly endless list of books that were not "classics" but well read none the less. The first one of these that really struck me was The Hobbit. At some point in highschool someone recited that first line about Bilbo's little house in the shire and i just looked at them blankly, never being a fantasy junkie i had missed the Tolkien bandwagon.

I cant say ive ever expected to be the first person to discover some new work of fiction, but its really starting to grate how everyones already read all the good books before i get there. Winning the Hugo the year it was published probably dident help Enders Game slip quietly into obscurity, boohoo for me. Now onto the review.

The novel has obviously influenced many subsequent works, the most striking at the moment being Diamond Age for its use of computerized childrens game as a learning tool. After watching "Citizen Kane" i felt this same way about every movie i watched for the next six months. Meh.

Over all the books solid, i give it a 4/5 because i would actually recommend it to someone who was not a Card Junkie. If i find out everything else the mans ever written runs the same track, i will retroactivly drop this books score to 3/5. It good, but that extra points for being imaginative.

At 385 pages its by no means a doorstop, a few brisk afternoons would put you well into this one. Its fast paced, with good character development, its use of asides early on mix well with the idea of a future military super state eavesdropping on your every action/word. Some of the jumps in time are glossed over more then others, a few times i got caught off guard by something that was happening months later.

all and all i would regard this as a fine piece of literature that defis the genera by being a well crafted book and not just good science fiction.

edit: check out this fun web comic.
http://xkcd.com/241/(less)

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Jul 22, 2009

Karey rated it

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction

I just finished Ender's Game last night. I am not a science fiction fan. But I make exception to Orson Scott Card's work, because he delves so beautifully and skillfully into the human mind and what truly motivates a person to do what he/she does. I was surprised that I was enjoying reading about children dressed in space suits fighting it out in the battleroom, about video-like games. What astounds me is that back in 1977 when Card wrote Ender's game, there was no such thing as the world wi...more

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Dec 04, 2008

Ron rated it

Recommended to Ron by: Jon Moss

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Yes, it's a good book. Great pathos, but enormous improbabilities that kept knocking me out of the story. Yes, Ender's environment changed him from being a typical child, but we are more than the sum of our experiences. Our innate qualities and tendencies form us also. Not hard to believe a child might develop as Ender did, but unlikely that he'd be so introspective so soon.

And, in a way, isn't that what good literature is about: creating characters who--at some level--are us? Not s...more

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Dec 13, 2010

Jacqui rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: military

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Ender's Game, a novel written by Orson Scott Card decades ago remains popular today due to the ability of the author and the fact that it addresses several issues that are relevant today. It focuses on the evolution of a small boy (we first meet him when he is 6 years old) Andrew Wiggin, though he is almost always referred to by his nickname, Ender. In a world where overpopulation forced the world government (more of a confederation under a single entity known as the Hegemony) to restrict fam...moreEnder's Game, a novel written by Orson Scott Card decades ago remains popular today due to the ability of the author and the fact that it addresses several issues that are relevant today. It focuses on the evolution of a small boy (we first meet him when he is 6 years old) Andrew Wiggin, though he is almost always referred to by his nickname, Ender. In a world where overpopulation forced the world government (more of a confederation under a single entity known as the Hegemony) to restrict families to only 2 children. The governments we know now still exist, mainly America and the USSR, with its Warsaw pact (still around and powerful at time when book was written) . However, the main antagonist of this book is not opposing governments but an alien race that has twice ravaged the world population and instilled so much fear in the world that it came together to oppose and will accept any cost to win and survive.

One of the issues that come up almost immediately that is becoming increasingly hard today is population control. The world in Ender's Game lives under it, each family restricted to two children and to go over it is a crime unless specifically requested by the government (like Ender was). Civil Liberties in this world do not seem to be the primary concern, nor to have the same amount of power that it does in our world, the overall drive for survival proves primary as people accept whatever is necessary. Ender grew up with a watcher, which is some sort of technology that allows someone else to 'live' through Ender, feeling his emotions and reading his thoughts...obviously privacy is not a major issue. The treatment of children is drastically different, at 6-7 years old the elites are separated from their families and sent to school in space to learn warfare in order to prepare them to be the captains of the ships of the future that will defend the human race. The way Ender is treated throughout the novel is horrible, set against his fellow students, constantly moved around so he doesn't get comfortable in any situation, forced to fight (killing one of them inadvertently), given command of forty other kids in mock battles and pressuring him to overcome situations considered by all his fellow students (even the ones he has to face in battle) unfair in the extreme. As a result he gets burned out twice, once during school and the other right after it, at which point the military uses the one person that Ender actually loves, his sister, to get him back to fighting...to growing...to getting smarter so he can save the world.

This book constantly questions the whole Bismarkian idea of is just accomplishing the goal the only priority. Ender's Game portrays this from both perspectives, we see the pain and torment Ender goes through on a daily basis in order to survive the odds that are placed against him, almost always unfairly, and Ender is shown as a sweet young kid that most of us would like, extremely smart, caring for his friends, but when necessary absolutely vicious to ensure both his present survival and future survival. But on the other hand, in order to survive, is there any limit? At the end of the book Ender wins, he destroys the aliens, beats all their fleets and saves the human race. Even this wasn't done normally, Ender believed he was playing a game, not actually fighting but playing against a computer...only at the end when he destroyed an entire world was he told that it was all real causing another mental break in the boy who is not even a teenager. This is particularly prescient now as the US is engaged in war against Muslim extremists and our military is fighting an enemy that hides in civilian populations and the questions comes up, how far can our troops go to win? Is destroying a building ok if there are innocents in it? How can we interrogate, can we use coercive methods when they are cutting off heads? Is the war just, or are we being manipulated like little Ender was throughout the novel? How important is victory to us? Are we willing to give up our self-imposed image to win the War on Terror, or is our reputation as a country that fights a 'clean' war more important than ensuring the safety of our citizens at the expense of the human rights of terrorists who plan suicide attacks specifically at the expense of innocents.
(less)

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Sep 29, 2009

Conrad rated it

Shelves: science-fiction, read-in-high-school, owned, in-storage

This right here sums up what is wrong with this book:

http://xkcd.com/635/

Be sure to mouse over the bottom frame. Hilarious.

Enjoy!

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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 ser...more

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“Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.” — 307 people liked it

“I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth: the mythic truth about human nature in general, the particular truth about those life-communities that define our own identity, and the most specific truth of all: our own self-story. Fiction, because it is not about someone who lived in the real world, always has the possibility of being about oneself. ” — 189 people liked it

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