Rating: Summary: An enjoyable book Review: Being new to the sci-fi genre (this is really the first sci-fi book I have read, if you don't count C. S. Lewis's Narnia series) I write this review with the knowledge that there are probably many things I don't get in this story. Therefore, this review will probably lack some of the depth that could come from a more knowledgeable reader. However, maybe as an "outsider" to the sci-fi genre I'll have a few worthwhile thoughts. Ender Wiggin is a tormented child genius, charged with saving the earth from alien invaders. The book tells the story of how Ender is recognized as the potential "savior of the earth", how he is trained and how he ultimately defeats the alien invaders. The plot is a good one, but the development of the character of Ender is the highlight of the book. When we first meet him, he is the kid who gets picked on by his evil older brother and the bullies in the neighborhood. Ender is a sensitive kid who doesn't want to hurt anyone. However, throughout the book he is put into positions where he has to defend himself. When he does defend himself he doesn't merely defeat his enemy, he destroys him. Then he feels guilty about it afterward. The rulers of the earth monitor Ender and notice this, along with his brilliance in computer simulated war games. The earth has been attacked twice by alien invaders and nearly wiped out each time. The powers that be expect another alien invasion and so they conscript Ender into leading them in battle against these aliens. While Ender is whisked away into outer space to be trained to save the earth, back on earth his evil brother Peter concocts a plan to rule the earth, and he conscripts his and Ender's sister, Valentine to join him in this. Peter and Valentine take on cyber identities of Locke and Demosthenes and interject themselves and their opinions into the affairs of the day, and eventually grow to wield great power on the earth. There is a sense in which this is a psychological thriller because much of the story has to do with what is going on in Ender's head. Here he is, the sensitive young boy (did I mention he is only 10?) who is being taught to destroy others and eventually destroy an entire alien race. His interior wrestlings with this dominate the book. We also see him agonize with fears of becomgin like his brother Peter, and deal with the fact that the world leaders are using him. The fact that the author chose the names Demosthenes and Locke for two of the main supporting characters is interesting. Demosthenes is an ancient Greek writer known for his orations against Phillip of Macedon and Locke is known for his anti-authoritarian views. Since I don't know what was going on in the head of Orson Scott Card when he was writing I can only speculate why he chose these names. As Demosthenes and Locke, Valentine and Phillip do, over time, undermine the existing authorities and raise themselves to levels of power. This hints at one of the subtle messages of the book, which is certainly seen in the case of Ender - you can't trust the authorities. In this book, the authorities can't be trusted. Demosthenes and Locke undermine authority, and Ender grates against the way he is used by the authorities. There is a religious element to the book, albeit a subdued element. It appears that at the time of the story, religion has either been outlawed or done away with. Ender's mother secretly prayed, and if memory serves me correctly, may have even had the kids baptized or dedicated as small children. Rather than having faith, Ender is an object of faith in this book. In that sense, he is a kind of Christ figure, but only in a loose sense. He is the savior of the world. And, in fact, at the end of the book, he becomes the founder of a new religion. There is even a place in the book where, when wrestling with deeds he has done, he confesses to a real love for his enemies, which is a very Christian theme. At the end of the book, he finds that he is unable to return to earth, and goes off to colonize another world - his kingdom is "not of this earth," again a very Christian theme. I admit these religious elements are only there in a loose sense, I am not arguing that Orson Scott Card was operating from any Christian or religous presuppositions, but it is still fascinating to me to see potential connections. The story has a great and unexpected ending - I wouldn't have expected it. Overall, its an enjoyable book - probably good enough to make me want to read the next one. Who knows, maybe I'll become a sci-fi aficionado.
Rating: Summary: OH MY GOSH! Review: this is the greatest book of all time. I'm not really into science fiction, but this book took my breath away! it is science fiction, but it isn't just shoot em up, it has feeling.I would definetally read this, Even if you don't like the review, you have to give this book a chance, it will suck you right in!
Rating: Summary: Great short science fiction novel Review: This is the story of an exceptionally gifted child and how he is trained to fly and command battle fleets, and the things he learns as the consequence of his actions. This is an extremely enjoyable science fiction story that blends future politics, warfare, alien first-contact, relativistic space travel and computer technology. The main character learns important lessons about might vs. right. It also shows us how extermely brilliant people can be manipulated by less gifted, powerhungry political forces. Ender's Game is fast paced, easy to read and extremely fun. It's also interesting to see how Card wrote about things like electronic bulletin boards that would not emerge for many more years. Maybe he is prescient about other aspects as well? Some of the sequels are good as well, although none quite stand up to the sparkle of the original. This is a story that you'll compare to many others for years to come.
Rating: Summary: Really Enjoyed This One Review: Although a bit predictable at times, this was a very enjoyable read. I don't read too many Sci-Fi novels, but this one had been on my read list for some time. Ender is a great character and I'm anxious to read more in Card's Ender series. This book is appropriate for all ages (minor language stuff is all). It is easy to read and comprehend.
Rating: Summary: Best Book EVER! Review: My 9th grade English teacher for an upcoming book report first introduced me to this book. It was by far the best book I have ever read in my entire life. I think that it may be classified as a Science Fiction book, but to me the book includes a lot of other aspects of storytelling. It had drama, it had comedy, and everything in between. Orson Scott Card could not have delivered the story any better, expressing that it's extremely difficult to work under extreme conditions. The story takes place in the future, where aliens (referred to as Bugger's in the book) have invaded earth twice now, and is planning a third visit to wipe out the human race completely. Now I know when first hearing this it seems as if the book would have this sort of Star Wars kind of feel to it, but there is more to it than meets the eye. The story follows a young boy named Ender, who is actually a genius (and a very humble one at that.) He as well as many other 'child geniuses' is drafted into the military to train to become commanders. Their training unsurprisingly represents 'games' in which teams of children battle to be first in the standings. The future of the human race lies in their hands, but it may be too much for Ender to handle.
Rating: Summary: Place your hope in Ender Review: This book was recommended to me by a fellow Marine, and I was a little leary after thumbing through it, as it initially comes off as a typical sci-fi novel about aliens and space stations. With a little prodding, I started to read it and, to my surprise, I couldn't put it down. Ender's Game hosts allegories to the struggles and sacrifices that unit commanders face to accomplish the mission, and touches on issues of battlefield morality and the psychology of warfare. Written in the third person, it allows the reader to experience the effects of training on a young boy who is pressed into ultra realistic and accelerated training to face an expected threat from a misunderstood and hostile alien race. Any business professional or person who is interested in success topics would enjoy this book. It deals with the pros and cons of winning at all costs and places the reader right in the stress of split-second decisions and intuitive and creative thinking. Highly recommended and a book on the Marine Corps professional reading list.
Rating: Summary: Ender's Game Review: Ender's Game By: Orson Scott Card Reviewed by: D. Kaul Period: P-1 Andrew (Ender) Wiggin, a boy genius, is chosen to train in Battle School, a floating satellite high above the Earth's orbit. He is the last hope of mankinds' to defeat the "buggers", aliens who have attacked the Earth two times before. Ender is to lead all of the Earth's army against the buggers, trying to wipe them out in an epic tale of survival. He is isolated from the rest of his classmates and put through difficult, almost impossible tests, that take place in the Battle Room. But will the pressure and stress get to Ender, or will he save the Earth from extinction? Read Ender's Game to find out! I really liked Ender's Game. This book was easy to read but yet hooked me for hours on end. Mr. Card explains subjects and ideas perfectly, and his descriptions produced vivid images in my mind. The story line was futuristic, but still in the realm of reality. It also taught me some things that made sense only after reading it in this book ("But since adults always said it when it was going to hurt, he could count on that statement as an accurate prediction of the future. Sometimes lies were more dependable than the truth.") I disliked this book because some of the concepts weren't really necessary, and some of the ideas could have been made to fit the story line better. My favorite parts of the book were the battles in the Battle Room. They were so exciting, and it always put Ender in difficult situations. But it was fun to see how he got out of his predicament.
Rating: Summary: The greatist siencficftion book ever written!!! Review: Hi, my name is Jessica and I am ten. I am a very good reader and I like to read in my head so my dad introduced this book to me. I really love this book but I can't quite explain why. It is intresting and you will never want to let go of it.It takes place in the future and makes you think, will this stuff or stuff like this ever happen in the future? I think that this book is a bit confusing some of the time and it is nice to have someone who has alredy read it there to talk to about it. It does have some volilence but I am glad I read it. Now, about the book. You are only aloud to have to cildren but this one cuple is aloud to have a third because they were going to give a perfect child to the IF to rase as a army to protect earth form some ailens called buggers. There first child, Peter, is to rough, strong and tough, and stuff.There second child, Valentine, was to soft. She was to kind and would give in way to esaliy. They neded someone who was very smart, wich both were, but they also needed someone who was inbetween Peter and Valentine. The third child, Andrew, who gose by Ender, is not to week, to strond, and is very smart. A kid tried to beat him up at school,but ender made him fall to the ground and then he did somthing else becaouse he is smarter then other firtgraders. At the age of 6 he was at battle school and at 7 and a half he was at a army and was no lonnger a lounchy, at the age of 9 he was a commander of a new army. It was the best army ever and he was winning evrybody. Menwhile down on earth his brother was trying to roll the world. He tried to do this by getting himself and his sister fake ieds and they wrote on the nets all over the place. He talked his sister into doing it and then one night at dinner his dad was using some of the lines that she wrote. This book has such good detail and a very good plot and I could write a millon words about it but we can only write 1,000. I don't know where to begin or end this reveiw but there are a cuple of things I do know. THIS BOOK IS GREAT. YOU SHOULD READ IT AND IF YOU DON'T YOU ARE MISSING OUT. I HOPE YOU READ IT AND ENJOY IT.
Rating: Summary: Ender's Game Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is a great book! Once I layed my hand on it I coudn't put it down. This book was the best book I have ever read. What I liked about this particular novel is that It is action packed from start to finish. This book is long but it keeps your attention. Ender was a great character because he was smart and serious, but he still managed to make you laugh. My favorite part was when he was fighting in null gravity. I will always remember the fighting scenes because of the way they were described. Overall I think the ending was perfect. I never expected for it to be this good. But I'm not going to tell you. I leave it to you to read this must read novel.
Rating: Summary: Female College Student from NY Review: I must admit that I'm not a big sci-fi fan. IMHO, I find that sci-fi authors are typically so in awe of themselves. In general, they get so caught up in the "brilliance" of their world-building that they neglect their own characters. Card's "Ender's Game" gets a 5 from me because the technical mumbo-jumbo plays second fiddle to the development of the main character. As a novice at sci-fi, I could easily understand what was going on in this book without having to resort to reading a companion book on gadgetry and mechanics.
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