Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1) in Overdue Podcast

Apr 28, 2013 Heather rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, classic, science-fiction, boarding-school, dystopian, adapted, space, military

I had been meaning to read this book for a while now and after getting a really great deal at bookoutlet.ca (see link below) I had no more excuses to not. I'm glad I did. I knew very little about this book other than many people loved it and it was better than the movie (which I haven't seen either).

The book follows Ender during his training, although from time to time diverts back to Earth and follows Valentine (Ender's sister). I enjoyed the break when it did happen. It never felt forced and y I had been meaning to read this book for a while now and after getting a really great deal at bookoutlet.ca (see link below) I had no more excuses to not. I'm glad I did. I knew very little about this book other than many people loved it and it was better than the movie (which I haven't seen either).

The book follows Ender during his training, although from time to time diverts back to Earth and follows Valentine (Ender's sister). I enjoyed the break when it did happen. It never felt forced and you didn't lose sight of the main object of the book (having Ender grow up and start the 3rd war). In these breaks you learned more about Valentine and her never ending love she has for Ender, despite feeling sidetracked and maybe even like a traitor. Ender is a 3rd in a world where a 3rd child is not an option. The government sanctioned him in order to create a perfect fighter/commander. My feelings towards Ender, as a character, varied. One minute I felt sorry for him, since he is only a child and was an outcast only for being born as a 3rd and very smart. The next minute I was wondering whether or not he is completely insane and maybe even a psychopath, specifically after a ruthless fight between him and a couple of bullies. There were many times throughout the book that I thought the adults were going too far, pushing Ender past his limits, but then he learns and succeeds and outsmarts them all. This book is an emotional ride, with ups and downs and surprises to no end. The two twists at the end were amazing and unexpected. I am hard pressed to find anything I didn't like about this book.

Near the end, I was hoping for more, but in this case it was just because it was a good book and not because the story was lacking any conclusions or felt rushed. I was suprised at how attached I became to this book and how quickly. Despite it being part of a quintet, I feel this can be a self-contained book. It had a begining and an ending. In a sense it does leave it open for the remainders of the books; however, it does not feel as open ended as more recent books do when they plan on continuing a series.

I was debating about what to rate it, going back and forth between 4.5 and 5 because I just hadn't obsorbed it all yet. In the end I did love this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who can handle violence between children (although I believe it had way less violence than the Hunger Games!). ...more

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