Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were … Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut–young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.
Ender’s skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.
Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.
Ender’s Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
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I downloaded this book a while ago and a few weeks ago I finally read it. I am relatively new to Science Fiction genre. I loved this book. You are immediately drawn into the character. The themes in the book are very relative to today. The book is very thought provoking as well. I also just finished Speaker for the Dead and loved it as well.
The plot, in broad terms, is very simple, the Earth has been attacked and must defend itself so, the best young minds are selected and trained to command space fleets in battle. Orson Scott Card has said that the story started with the idea of the Battle Room, a sphere where three-dimensional, zero gravity warfare is relentlessly practiced. That room remains the heart of the story.
The character of Ender seemed real to me, along with his sister, Valentine, and their close relationship. Perhaps I have been fortunate with my family and friends but I found the character of Peter, their brother, too evil and vicious for me to accept.
Computers have evolved so quickly that they have been a problem for Science fiction writers. How do you describe what a computer will be like in 100 years? Orson Scott Card, writing in 1985, has done well with his description of “desks” and the network at the battle school. However, his descriptions of other places in the book were often sketchy. Also, if you are not a fan of Science fiction or you have never tried to understand how things work in outer space the descriptions of war games at the battle school might be hard to visualize.
While Card is a Mormon, this is not a religious or Christian story. There is some profanity and a few religious references that some might find offensive. But, as a lifetime reader of Science fiction, I recommend Ender’s Game to fans of the genre. It is a thought-provoking and enjoyable read—and remember, “the enemy’s gate is down.”
This is the book that got me excited about reading. It is very well written. Great plot. Once I started, it was hard for me to put it down. It was like I was there as part of the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book of the series and highly recommend it to all sci-fi fans. It was one of those books that I had a hard time putting down and read it at every opportunity, which doesn’t happen often anymore. I very rarely make it more than a few pages into a book, but this one had me right from the beginning trying to figure out what was behind it all. A very good read.
I’m taking a bit of a different approach with this review. Partially, how do you review a book that millions of people have read and that won not only the Hugo, but also the Nebula award when it was released? I could go into the complexities of Ender Wiggin’s character, and how he is molded and shaped by the adults, tricked into committing genocide. There are themes about duty, trust, perseverance and winning the game at all costs. But that’s not what I want to talk about. This is the first time I have read Ender’s Game – I never read it as a teenager when it was first released, and never had time (or interest) to read it until now. I think having read it now (in my late 40s) the impression I have of Ender Wiggin and the story is different than had I read it as a teenager, or even in my 20s. I enjoyed the book, and recommend it to anybody who has an interest in science fiction. It is one of the pillars of the genre and should be on any reader’s list of books to have read, or to be read. There is a lot in the story that is still relevant today: the addiction the children have to playing the game, the violence they can inflict if not guided properly (or in the case of Col. Graff and Mazer Rackham, how a genocidal killer can be easily created), and the control and manipulation of facts and information (primarily from Peter and Valentine).
I listened to the 20th Anniversary edition of the book, produced by Macmillian back in 2002. What I liked most about this version of the novel was the extended author note that Orson Scott Card gives at the end of the novel. It was interesting to hear what his inspirations for the story that became Ender’s Game (first the short story, then the novel) were, and how he went about writing the story. Being able to hear the author’s own insights into the story was a nice addition to this audiobook version of the Ender’s Game, and if you are able to listen to this version I highly recommend it.
One of my all time favorite books. Ever. I’ve read it many times, and will read many more, with a tissue box near by because it always affects me. Strong characters, strong themes, and powerfully moving.
Ender’s Game is one of the great sci-fi classics, and perhaps my favorite novel of all time. I first read it after high school and have come back to re-read it again and again over the years. Unlike so many other stories I loved in high school and after, Ender’s Game has continued to delight and impress me with every single read.
What’s not to love about this story? It has a unique setting, a plot that builds to a cheer-worthy (and heartbreaking) conclusion, and unique characters who are achingly vulnerable, from the main character Ender to Alai to Petra to Bean to the cohort of other friends (and enemies) at the Battle School. It’s a reluctant hero’s story, taking a good little boy and transforming him into the juggernaut (perhaps monster…) humanity needs to survive.
As a writer, I unconsciously analyze the stories I read. Can’t help it. Flaws in pacing, incongruity in characters, a lack of writerly voice will all pop me out of a story. But I get sucked into Ender’s Game every time. Orson Scott Card is a master storyteller who absolutely nailed it with this novel.
My hat’s off to you sir, and always will be, for giving this gift to the world.
My parents were not the reading type. But in spite of that, they never refused buying a book for me or my brothers — indeed, they loved the idea of bringing up four bookworms into the world.
Nevertheless, I didn’t have any “north” in my childhood reading, no one to point to the good books, so I used to amble aimlessly through bookstores aisles in search for interesting covers or compelling titles. (My fellow countrymen don’t have much inclination for reading either; it wasn’t until very recently that bookstores added young-adult sections to their layout, and even so novels are roughly separated between “fiction” and “non-fiction” and that’s it). Stack that all up and you have an 11-year-old kid picking up «The Egypt», «Dune», «Brave New World», and «The Old Man and the Sea» instead of «Tom Sawyer», «Treasure Island», «The Hobbit», or «Ender’s Game».
I only started to make up for lost reading well into my 20’s, but by then the damage had already been done: many books weren’t interesting anymore, so I skipped most of the typical young-adult fiction I should’ve read — with the odd, extraordinary, and very occasional exception. Orson Scott Card’s «Ender’s Game» is one of those. Boy oh boy! Why haven’t I read it when I was a kid!? I’d surely be way into Ender’s Universe right now, having devoured every book upon its release.
About the book itself, it can get a little melodramatic at times, but I kind of remember liking melodrama as a kid myself. The dialogues may seem too witty to be coming out of the mouths of nine-, ten-, and eleven-year old children, but you just need to remember that every single child at battle school is there because they’re geniuses.
The book changes pace completely at least twice, and I loved those 180º turns. Orson Scott Card knows how to end things at their high, before they start to get boring; that way, you part from a segment of the story wanting more instead of uttering a sharp “finally!” to no one in particular. So this book manages to keep you on the edge of you seat at every moment. The emotions conveyed throughout the pages are the purest form of young-adult literature I’ve seen so far. Normally I don’t care much for introspective characters, but Ender’s mind and emotions are so vivid, so real (although a little over the top sometimes) that I couldn’t avoid getting back to my childhood days and imagining myself feeling the same things — Ender’s problems seem like the problems of every kid his age through a magnifying lens — and a very big one at that.
So, if you haven’t read this book as a kid, wait no longer and pick it up as soon as you can. And if you have a 9- to 11-year-old close to you, please please please hand a copy over to them! You’ll be doing them the very best of favours.
Everyone should read this book, even if you don’t like Sci-Fi. The characters are so well-written, and the action is breathtaking. Orson Scott Card is my favorite author (next to Jane Austen).
Hidden in a small package, there is so much story to read. This book has many different themes, coming of age, military, psychological thriller, and so much more. You are always on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is happening, and even the end of the book is a shock.
I highly recommend this book. I did read the rest of the series, and although good, they are not as compelling as the first.
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It really takes you into the head of key characters. You definitely want to read the book before you see the movie.
One of the all-time classics of science fiction. It’s also entirely possible in our lifetime (although probably not against an alien race).
My all time favorite book, I pestered my wife for a year to read it. Now she’s hooked and can’t put it down, too!
The best thing about this book is that I couldn’t even guess the ending until the end. It builds over time, introducing new characters, which we learn about as the book goes on. After reading it, I have tried to get my hands on everything I can that relates to Ender’s Game. I just learned that that is a new set of Prequels that I’ll have to get.
I enjoyed Ender’s Game. I thought it was scary in ways that aren’t as much horror as fear for what governments can possibly do to people. The fact that children are being used in this way is disturbing to say the least. The characters were well developed throughout the story and I felt you got to know Ender and some of the others in a way that not all novels can accomplish. I’m not a big Sci Fi reader, but I found myself drawn in to this story and wanting to know more.
A classic. A must read for any Sci Fi fan. This book turned me on to Orson Scott Card, and I have read everything he has done since, I dont bother with review or synopsis. If he wrote it…Im reading it.
I reread “Ender’s Game” every year. It’s just that good. One of the things I love most is that it’s a book for all ages: it’s written simply enough for children to enjoy, but raises questions about morality and survival that will challenge adult readers as well. Plus, Orson Scott Card’s concept of fight strategy in space is totally cool. As a kid I used to daydream about going to Battle School and commanding my own child army.
As someone who isn’t a huge sci-fi fan, I appreciate that the future world that “Ender’s Game” takes place in isn’t that much more far-fetched than, say, “1984”’s. The technology and advancements seem plausible to me, which makes it easier for me to get into the story. It’s the kind of book that almost everyone can get something out of. Plus, the huge plot twists will leave you reeling even after the book is over. I recommend “Ender’s Game” to almost everyone.
This book is fascinating. I was riveted; I couldn’t put it down!
I read Ender’s Game with my Page to Screen Book Club before the movie came out. I am not always a huge science fiction fan, but I seriously couldn’t put this book down. Loved it!
This is one of my favorite books of all time! Orson Scott Card is absolutely brilliant with the twisted plot and in-depth character building and storytelling techniques. This book will leave you guessing until the end, and then leave you desiring even more! The way the characters are used to tell the story, and the rich plot full of intricate details and creative twists is just the tip of the iceberg for this story! I recommend this book to anyone who is a sci-fi dystopian novel fan and appreciates the author’s work, just as much as the twists in the story.