Ender's Game

Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card

Ender Wiggins may be the only hope for humanity. In an effort prevent the destruction of humanity, government agencies are taking some of the smartest children that walk the Earth, and try their best to turn them into solders and battle tacticians. Ender is a Third, a derogatory word referencing his family's shame at having more than the allotted children, due to overpopulation. The government approved Ender's conception because his brother, Peter, and his sister, Valentine, showed immense potential, but were ultimately ruled out because of their unfit dispositions. Peter is abusive and violent, while Valentine does cares greatly and does her best to protect Ender from their brother's abuse. After being monitored for several years, Ender is chosen for Battle School. In Battle School Ender excels but quickly becomes an enemy amongst many of the children. The space fleet needs Ender because they fear another invasion from the "buggers" and Ender is the last one t hey will attempt to train before it is to late. Will Ender be able to become the hero Earth needs? Does he want to? Ender's Game is a very fast paced read and I enjoyed the speed at which it progressed. The ideas presented are very intriguing and the concepts well done. Ender is a very hard character to connect with however, and throughout maintained a coldness and aloofness and I couldn't help but find his superiority complex to be bothersome and felt quite narcissistic. I felt that the ending, the last ten percent or so, was totally disjointed and came quickly and anticlimactically, though it did have one of the greatest twists in science fiction. I give credit to Card for the technology he introduces, which at the time would have been quite futuristic and now seems very in place. I am very interested in reading more of the Ender Saga books and I am very interested in seeing how Card will continue. -- recommended by Wyatt P. - Gere Branch Library

[Also available in book-on-cd format.]

[ official Ender's Game page on the official Orson Scott Card web site ]

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