Rating: 
Summary: Adventure novel with sci-fi setting
Review: This is not going to be a popular opinion, but I didn't like this book and can't figure out why it's such a classic. Basically, genius kid is recruited by interplanetary military and trained in the art of war so that he can destroy an alien species deemed to be a threat to earth. Meanwhile, back on earth, genius brother and sister of genius kid post op-ed pieces on the internet and quickly attain worldwide followings and more or less control world politics. These are all little kids, and they don't get much older in the course of the book.There are two main problems for me. First, I don't like books where the characters end up being world political leaders and changing the course of history. Most books with this kind of plot are incapable of capturing the charisma and brilliance that such people actually have, and so I'm never really convinced that these characters could have accomplished these great feats. That's the case here, too. There just wasn't anything about the kids - other than that they didn't sound like little kids when they talked - that seemed especially brilliant or interesting or charismatic, or that could have enabled them to accomplish the things they did. There was a bit more effort in that area with Ender, but his brother and sister seemed completely unconvincing to me. There was no way in which they didn't sound like ordinary people. The most interesting part of the story was Ender's trials at battle school, where his teachers manipulated him into isolation from his friends. The detailed descriptions of his victories gave some small credence to the claim that he was intelligent, but nevertheless were not overly shocking in their brilliance. Still, this part of the book was pretty interesting and kept me reading. It wasn't until the last quarter of the book, where all the kids wound up being world famous leaders and changing history, that I was annoyed at the silliness and unlikelihood of that. The second problem I had with the book is that as sci-fi I didn't find it speculative or original enough. It was an action-driven book with a relatively simplistic inter-species war theme, and a less than surprising "surprise" ending. I don't want to give it away for those who might actually enjoy this book, but I'll just say that the whole thing was just not very sophisticated sci-fi. If the kind of sci-fi you like is more along the lines of Vernor Vinge or Neil Stephenson, complex and speculative, then this is probably not the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Most Stunning Novels Ever Written
Review: I'm sure when it happened. Maybe it started as far back as when Jules Verne and H.G. Wells first began reflecting our society through the mirror of alien worlds, but at some point in the last century a surprising trend became evident: The most brilliant minds in the literary universe were writing science fiction. No book emphasizes this point more then Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game", one of the most chokingly powerful books I have ever read (and as a librarian, I've read quite a few). "Ender" is comparatively underread, though, because its story of one boy's redemption in the face of unspeakable crimes is disguised as a rollicking space-story. So if you are one of those people who as a rule stick to just one genre (or as a buddy of mine told me the other day: "I'll read anything but science fiction") please, PLEASE don't let that stop you from reading this incredible book. And if you do give it a chance, please don't read anything further about the plot; the full impact of Scott's genius is best felt with no prior preperation (that's why I haven't given a plot summerary). When he finally pulls all the threads of the story together, you'll feel like you've just slammed into a brick wall. This is a novel that stays with you forever, warning you of the ease of losing your soul , and filling you with hope if you're looking to regain it. Absolutely not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Ender: good kid, good book
Review: In the futuristic setting of Ender's Game, Earth was in danger of a third invasion of an alien race referred to as the buggers. Ender Wiggin was a child genius and the last hope for human survival. Two bugger invasions of Earth had failed, but a third was anticipated to come in the near future, and Earth needed to be ready. Ender was believed to be the one who could defeat the buggers once and for all. At the age of six he was separated from his family and sent to an off-world battle school to become the commander that humanity desperately needed, a commander compassionate enough to understand the buggers, intelligent enough to outsmart them and tough enough to destroy them. Ender had to deal with many internal struggles when he found himself in situations where he knew what he should do, but did what he had to do. At times he was forced to physically stand up for himself and then later hated himself for doing it. He was constantly being manipulated even though he was just a child. Earth needed a savior and Ender's feelings were not of any importance. Ender Wiggin was a child yet he never had a childhood.
This book is filled with excitement and adventure along with serious personal moral issues. The character development is excellent and in depth. The plot is strong and well thought out. The book provides the reader with entertainment along with significant messages. This book explores many important issues such as; intelligence, hate, manipulation, sacrifice, survival, friendship and love in a way that is both exciting and touching. The book is an insightful peek into the life of a boy who accomplishes much but understands life too well to be proud of what he is. This book is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Ever
Review: Although I'm an avid fiction reader and amazon shopper, this is the first time I've ever actually written a review...Notice, I didn't say I was a "science fiction reader". Not being partial to sci-fi books, I was shocked by how taken I was with Ender's Game. It is one of the top 5 books I've ever read....And I'm a 35 year-old female--Part of a market I doubt this book was aimed at.
Rating: 
Summary: An imaginative and thrilling novel
Review: What's this? Nancy's reading a Sci fi book? Yes, Strangely enough it's true. Sci fi has never been my favorite type of book but I actually really enjoyed this one. It tells the story of Andrew "Ender" Wiggum. Ender lives in a futuristic world where humanity has already been ravaged twice by an alien race called the Buggers. To prepare for the next attack they start training commanders from a very early age. So when Ender reaches the age that most of us were still eating paste and finger-painting, he's sent away to Battle School. Ender hates Battle school. Because of his superior intellect he is forced to be separated from all of the other students. He is teased and made fun of. But once he gets used to the school he finds out that he not only enjoys the battle games that the students are forced to play, he's talented. So talented that he surpasses all of his peers easily. But once he gets comfortable everything is taken away from him. Suddenly things are not so fun anymore. And Ender discovers that his destiny is much more complicated than he thinks. People have been recommending this book to me ever since started getting into fantasy but I've always been iffy about it considering I'm not into Sci fi at all. But when about the 6th person recommended it to me, I knew I had to read it. I'm glad I did. Ender's story, although rarely realistic, is absolutely fascinating. The characters are complex and interesting. My personal favorite character is Ender's sister Valentine. I am very interested in reading more about Ender, Peter, Valentine, and the other characters from this book. I'll probably read the rest of the series. Maybe someone could give one to me for Christmas (hint hint). I recommend this book to pretty much everyone into fantasy or sci-fi.
Rating:
Summary: This is absolutely the best science fiction book I have ever
Review: read. But a word to the wise, if you are going to get this book, go ahead and order the rest in the series. Once you start, you'll want to read them all.
Rating:
Summary: I would give it a 6 if I could...
Review: I was very impressed with Ender's Game. There are not too many books that can hold my attention like this one has. We, being my English 1 Honors class, had to read this for an assignment. Seeing as how this was for class, I wasn't too sure about the quality of Ender's Game. In the first chapter, this book grabbed me and held on tight through the entire novel. In my opinion, this book had the right amount of action along with a splash of political and phychologic aspects. Though these elements got pretty confusing, the story fleshed it out enough for me and much of my class to understand. The main character, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, goes to a Battle School to train so that he may fight an insectoid race of aliens, known as buggers. Science fiction is not my niche in novels (alliteration is fun), but killing aliens is almost always cool in my eyes. Throughout the book, Ender faces a lot of conflict, both with other characters and also within himself. I do not want to give a lot of the plot away, because Ender's Game is something you have to read and experience for yourself.
Overall, this book was very enjoyable. It was hard to put this book down, and when I did, I wanted to read it even more. I hope you decide to try this book out, and if you do, I do not think you will be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: I love all Orson Scott Card but this one holds a special place in my heart. Ender's Game is one of those books that is extremely life changing. I read it as an adolescent and I think this is the best time to read this book to truly empathize with a displaced, estranged child. This science fiction book is perfect for both the sci fi lover and those who never touch the stuff. The book is really about Ender and his struggles in adjusting as a small boy with a big mind in a cruel place. It avoids some of the tiring technical information that you find in many other science fiction books. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: Intense, captivating, a powerful must read novel
Review: Ender Wiggin is just a little boy. He has a mom, a dad, a sister and a brother. He plays with blocks, he goes to school. He's six years old. He's also a super-genius.
Ender lives in a world still in shock from the impact of two alien invasions that a generation ago almost destroyed the human race. All the media, even the games little children play reflect these attacks and Ender was created solely to be a military genius who can protect planet Earth from a third invasion by the aliens. He's been sent to a military school in outer space where boys are trained to give up their childhood and become soldiers and commanders. As Ender was bred to be the detached, powerful commander of this army of boys, he's not allowed to make friends or even socialize with the other children. His teachers isolate him from the start, leaving him no outlet for human contact save as a leader in the war-games the students are trained through. So ender throws his life into
these games, winning them all and quickly becoming the greatest commander ever to train at the battle school. He earns the awe and respect of all the boys at the school and becomes an unapproachable, god-like hero to all of them. Ender doesn't want to be a hero.. He wants to be a little boy who can laugh and cry and make mistakes. But he knows this is impossible, and he's miserable because of it. He's willing to give up his life, though, for what he believes is the greater good of mankind. As time goes on, however, he begins to suspect that there was much more to the historic alien invasions that he's been told through the propaganda everyone's been brainwashed with since birth. Ender fears that perhaps the battle school is only a byproduct of a political power struggle back on Earth. He's being forced to waste his life supposedly protecting his home planet from invasion by aliens when the real enemies may indeed be the humans who already inhabit it. And the horrible truth is that there's nothing he can do about it.
Rating:
Summary: A good book on many levels
Review: Orson Scott Card, in my opinion, has outdone himself with this novel. In fact, I find it to be better than any of his other works. For those who enjoy his tight, focused writing style, imagination, and plotlines, this book is sure to exceed expectations.
The story concerns a young boy, Ender, who is a genius in a family of geniuses, a third child in a world where the limit is two per family. Humankind has been at war with an alien race for some time, and those children that possess the intelligence are culled from the rest and sent to an orbital school to train as future commanders. This training takes the form of classes in part, but also includes the Game, where the children are set against each other in armies, battling clothed in suits that react to the light guns they fire at one another.
Ender is very young and is viewed as useless by his superiors among the students, but he soon proves his tactical genius and eventually ends up as the commander of his own army composed entirely of the young and inexperienced. As their leader, he crafts this band of misfits into an army that emerges undefeated from every conflict.
As a backdrop to this, Ender's genius brother and sister, the former to hateful and the latter too kind to have entered the school, begin their own work back on Earth. They use careful release of ideas and manipulation of public thought to exact a slow but effective political takeover of the world's governments.
Meanwhile, Ender's exploits do not go unnoticed; when the teachers at the school realize his potential they begin to stack the odds against Ender, giving his army's adversaries multiple advantages. Amazingly, he and his army continue to defeat all comers, and he is eventually shipped out to begin his final training, and the revelation at its end that will alter the course of his life and his own view of himself forever.
This book is interesting in many ways and for several reasons. Firstly, it is a fascinating look inside the mind of a young boy. Granted, not a very ordinary one, but the way Ender and his thoughts are portrayed hearkens back to the way we all viewed the world at one time or another. Card has done an excellent job at capturing this on the page.
Another reason this book is different is that, while questions about such things as forgiveness, guilt, penance, conflict resolution, authority, leadership, and many more are raised, they are answered in a way that does not delve deeply into boring, soapbox philosophy or vague, bland plot-movers. Ender's internal struggles with the power his phenomenal intelligence has granted him, the actions he is forced to take, and the deeds he is unwittingly made to commit are fascinating to witness. He is also introduced to a darker, baser element within himself by the combat in the Game and the violence perpetrated against him by his fellows at the school. His inner grapplings with these demons of the self perhaps have something to say to everyone. On a side note, I would say that while this book may involve children, it is most assuredly not children's level reading, and probably not for most children either. There are several violent episodes involving bodily injury and even death when Ender is drawn into fights with his classmates, and these may be judged to be too much for younger readers.
This book is an excellent commentary on the rights and wrongs of conflict, and will likely cause the reader to examine his or her own views on the same. But over and beyond that, it is an enjoyable read and is backed up by several sequels and parallel novels, meaning that the adventure does not end with this book. However, I regard this to be the best of the series.
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