Ender's Game

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: I'm usually disinclined to the sci-fi genre, so I had misgivings when I saw "Ender's Game" on my summer reading list freshman year. I expected a plot-driven, purely theoretical novel, a book that would examine machines in more detail than it would humanity. How wrong I was-- I have never read a novel of such emotional impact. "Ender's Game," through its starkly and brilliantly defined characters, takes the reader to the very core of human behavior, from manipulation and murder to love, empathy, and redemption. While the plot is superbly captivating and suspenseful, to me it serves as a device to illustrate much grander ideals. The internal battles that each character struggles with are as immediate and compelling as the raging inter-species war. Realism and idealism face off in a world where they cannot coexist-- Ender's fundamentally loving and nonviolent philosophies are swallowed in the immediacy of Earth's desperate situation. Valentine, Peter, and Ender together create an intriguing triumvirate of pacifism and moderation, conquest and ambition, and all that lies between the poles. This is no ordinary sci-fi paperback; "Ender's Game" catapults itself into a stratosphere beyond which any other novels of the genre have reached. A triumph on every level!

Rating:
Summary: Stunningly human science fiction!
Review: Ender's Game, the origin of Orson Scott Card's grand saga of Earth's future, is perhaps the best science fiction novel I have read. It is getting on in years now, and many who have never read it may relegate it as a relic of those dusty, "Golden Age" science fiction stories where dry expositions on hypothetical technology supersede--and often completely nullify--the impact of the story.

Ender's Game is a novel of much higher caliber. The characters are true and real, deeply human and agonizingly flawed. Humanity, faced with extinction in a decades-long war with an alien race, has its back to the wall. We cheer for our fellow humans, but not blindly. We see their flaws and we feel their pain, and we shake our heads at the mistakes of the "grown-ups" when faced with children so brilliant as Ender and his contemporaries.

The impending doom of all humanity pushes the urgency of the story to a near fever-pitch. This is one book that is easily readable in one sitting, simply for its rapid-fire pace and adrenaline injected plot.

While Ender's Game is chock-full of adventure and war, Card has also created a wealth of emotional, moral, and religious conflicts that cling to the reader long after he has set the book down. It is here, where Ender grapples with his destiny, where the genius-children--victims of their society--fight among themselves and challenge their world, that Ender's Game truly hits home. This book, and its lessons, questions, conflicts, and triumphs, is one to re-read over and over.

I know I do, and I get something different and wonderful every time.

Rating:
Summary: ENDER'S GAME IS THE MOST COOLEST BOOK IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!!!!
Review: The trouble with most science fiction books is that they bore the mainstream reader with numbing scientific facts and speculations, confusing some and crossing the line into unintelligent literature. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game takes a calculated leap beyond mere scientific blather, and infuses fantastical science with real emotion and a relevant message.
In Ender's Game, the young Ender Wiggen is enrolled in the orbiting battle school at the age of six, part of a military program that is training military geniuses to fight off an alien threat. However, Ender is not like the other abnormally intelligent six year olds enrolled in the battle school. He is a genius among geniuses, and is forced to develop his leadership and tactical skills to their full extent by Lieutenant Graff because of his immense potential. The book documents Ender's intense journey through school, closely studying his relationship with his planet-side family, his peers, his teachers, and perhaps most importantly, himself.
In reading this book I found myself wondering, what relevance can this boy's incredible sacrifice have in our very different world? I discovered that his situation is merely a metaphor for the sacrifices we make daily for the rest of humanity. People we don't even know are affected by how we act everywhere we go, and Ender's stride towards excellence at immense personal cost is an example of how we often strive to act in our lives. Card's straightforward writing style makes it easy for any reader to see the high moral standard he is constructing through his vibrant fantasy world. Another important aspect of the book is his use of children as the main characters. Their constant struggle for recognition in Ender's Game as well as their complex range of emotions sheds light on the station of children in our own world. Card reaches out to embrace the mind of a child, an underappreciated resource in our society. Truly Ender's Game is a masterpiece going beyond entertaining science fiction, bringing a comprehensive message to our world.


Rating:
Summary: brilliant and instructive, not to mention enjoyable
Review: When I wanted advice on how to lead people, I turned to this book. One of the most important things I learned from it was that a good leader does not need to make stupid threats. I feel that it transcends science fiction in a way that nothing else in the genre does, excepting of course the Dune series, and it really invites the reader in. I was very well satisfied when I was done, and it is a book I can keep reading with major interest unabated. I was incredibly happy when I learned that the story was being expanded and lengthened with the stories of Bean and Peter Wiggin, and those are also incredibly essential reads. I don't think much of the books that are older that came after this one, like Xenocide, but if that is your thing than check it out.
This is the book that kindled my interest in the genius of Orson Scott Card. Highly recommended for everyone, and one of the few fiction books I have real respect for.

Rating:
Summary: How to determine great literature...
Review: I originally read a short story called Ender's Game in OMNI magazine in the late 70's. Ender's Game went on to be published as a novel in 1985; and now, nearing 30 years later (20 years after its novelization), it STILL produces discussion, 5-star ratings by readers who were not even born when it was written, and continuing dialogue concerning its applicability to human nature today. THAT'S what true literature does. Orson Scott Card is a writer of literature. Over and OVER again I see, in these reviews and many others, the statement that "I am not a sci-fi fan but...". That is as strong an indicator as any other that Ender's Game is a work of literature, not just good writing. It reaches far beyond the genre of science fiction and speaks to the soul, individually and collectively, of humanity. Great works of literature do just that. I remain to this day a dedicated fan of OSC and of his novel Ender's Game. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: I LOVED IT!!!! One of the best Sci-F Books EVER. I love the rest of the series aswell. Can't wait for 'Shadow of the Giant'

Rating:
Summary: Can you give 6 stars?
Review: One of my favorite reads of all time. If you like this one, be sure to check out Ender's Shadow, which has the unique feature of paralleling Ender's Game, but from Bean's perspective.

Rating:
Summary: It's OK
Review: While I enjoyed reading the book, at the end I though "is that it?" It got a bit repetitive, and the ending is guessable about 3/4 the way through. Based on the reviews, I was looking for more.