Ender's Game

Rating:
Summary: The best in science fiction.
Review: This book is without doubt one of the great science fiction books, without all of the stuff you don't want to hear! It takes you into the life of a young boy, nicknamed Ender, who quite literally has the world depending on him. I felt strongly for Ender, he was more than a character in a book to me, but that I can't explain. This is a must read, and I suggest it to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Future of War
Review: Not expecting such a good read I was surprised with Ender's Game. It's about a genius whiz kid who beats the aliens. I was dissapointed that the story didn't take Ender into adulthood. I thought it was a bit unrealistic that he was commanding the fleet before he was 16. I could see him being a genius fighting the enemy. However when you see a child in command it reminds me of wars being fought in different countries where the chidren are being taught to handle a rifle before learning ABC's....so from that point of view I could see wars in future being fought this way.

Rating:
Summary: Too Much
Review: This book had an interesting plot, vivid characters, and imaginative settings. However, for what I was looking for, I felt that it just had too much societal criticism in there. If you enjoyed 1984 and Farenheit 451, you will most likely enjoy this. They difference between this novel and those is that it feels as if Card is straining to make his point heard, and consequently comes of as excessive and almost sappy. Nonetheless, it is worth sifting through the garbage to read, because it does have some literary value.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent SF
Review: Like fantasy, science fiction has been plagued by dull space operas, endless descriptions of funny-looking aliens and Earthlike planets. "Ender's Game," though not the most scintillating read out there, is nevertheless a thought-provoking and intriguing read.

In the future, Earth has been attacked by the alien "buggers," which were barely repelled by a very lucky military commander. Now, as they threaten Earth again, sights are set on one boy to be humanity's new champion: Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, the youngest child of a family of geniuses. His brother Peter was rejected for being too ruthless and vicious, while his sister Valentine was rejected for being too gentle and pacifistic. Ender, the third child in a society where families with more than two children are penalized, is their hope.

Meanwhile, Ender brought to the Battle School, where careful training and interactions bring out the best and worst in him. He makes friends and enemies easily, beats seemingly unbeatable games, and his military prowess comes out into the open. On Earth, his brother and sister try to alter the increasingly unstable politics of Earth by subtle manipulation of the public, a situation that may bring the ruthless Peter into greater power. And as Ender reaches the end of his training, he faces both the buggers and the knowledge of what he is capable of.

While this was an intriguing and thought-provoking read, I felt that it could have been tightened up slightly, and it didn't grab me quite the way other original SF works such as "Fool's Run" have. Children can probably read this book, young adults certainly can; there is profanity, mild violence, and some verbal and visual crudity, but nothing too corrupting. The most objectionable element that I found was the part about Peter skinning live squirrels; that was truly disgusting and disturbing. If children do read this, parents may want to discuss elements such as the "third child" policy and the portrayal of war for self-preservation at the cost of the soul.

Ender is an intriguing contradiction, a young boy who loses his naivete over the course of the novel; ruthless but determined to not be a killer; a brilliant fighter and commander who is often being yanked by puppet strings; both a child and a man before hitting puberty. Card never overdoes the genius-child persona, which would have been easy to do. Valentine is a little too nice for my taste; Peter at first simply seems to be psychotic, but is gradually revealed to be a ruthless genius who works anything and anyone for his goals, which may or may not be self-serving. Bonzo, Bean, Alai and the others add extra spice to it, as enemies or supporters.

Dialogue is highly realistic, as is the atmosphere of Ender's vision near the end. Surroundings, such as the lakeside, are excellent in their atmosphere and feeling, as is the stark way that Card displays the growing influence of "Demosthenes" and "Locke. Truly exceptional writing comes out in the ruthless military-government's way of viewing Ender; with nothing but dialogue, Card shows how they view him and the things that are happening to him. One area in which Card fails is action, as I could visualize what he was writing, but it wasn't very well described.

On the subject of quality, I would like to advise that new readers buy the children's edition published by Starscape Books. I much preferred the "camera's eye" view of Ender and the other boys in the Battle School simulations to a rather boring generic SF cover, like the one on the adult edition. They say never to judge a book by its cover, but that is what kept me from reading "Ender's Game" for several years.

"Ender's Game" is a pretty good sci-fi adventure, with some intriguing ethical and social questions, and a good storyline that reminds us that an astounding genius is, after all, only a human being.

Rating:
Summary: Ender's Game Succeeds on Two Levels
Review: Since you are most likely going to read Ender's Game yourself, I'm not going to bore you with a summary. Really, aside from deep characters and a wonderful plot, Ender's Game is a brief read, yet endlessly satisfying. On one hand, it is a straight forward science fiction story (one of the best) that will please any younger reader. On the other, it is a human drama that deals with much more than starships and space battles. Ender's Game also thrusts unique characters (in some ways, not too unlike us) into difficult situations that rarely have the outcome we expect. It gives older readers so much to think about and leaves you literally screaming for more books about Ender. Orson Scott Card keeps your eyes riveted to each page and eager to see what happens next. Even if you don't like science fiction, you will probably be pleased with the skill and dedication that clearly went into the writing of this book.

Rating:
Summary: too bad there's only 5 stars :)
Review: 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card is the story of Ender Wiggin, a little boy. The government has limits on the population in this future, and families are only allowed 2 children. Ender is a 'third', and so he is always picked on. He has his monitor on longer than anyone has, so he is picked on for that also. His older brother Peter is a violent yet genius boy who skins squirrels and threatens murder, yet apoligizes in the middle of the night. Valentine, his sister, is a pacifist and extremely sweet and caring. When Ender is taken away to Battle School, which is in space, to be trained for war, she cries "I'll love you forever! Come back to me!" At Battle School, Colonel Graff knows that they have little time to find and train the military genius who will lead Earth's fleet against the enemy - the Buggers, or the PC term Formics. He mounts everything against Ender from the first day on the shuttle because he believes Ender is the only one smart enough to save them, and he is a perfect mix of his brother and sister. Ender is years younger than all of the other students, yet he is placed into an army when he should still be a Launchie, or just starting out. Soon after, he is given an army of his own - Dragon. It is thrown back into the mix of armies after being removed years before owing to "accidents" that we don't hear much about. He is given supposedly the worst army in the school and he rises to the top of the standings, with his whole army in the top 50. He is pushed though, when Colonel Graff begins testing, if not abusing him, by giving him battles every day and weeks sooner than normal, 2 battles a day, and then even 2 armies at once. He breaks, and then is whisked away to Command School, which is hidden on a secret asteroid. He is trained by the famous Mazer Rackham, who beat the Buggers in the first invasion, to beat them again.

Alongside Ender's story, there is also a story on Earth. Ender's brother and sister have been watching world movements and have predicted that war is going to break out on Earth the moment the Buggers are defeated. They log onto discussion forums on the nets and write articles about what is happening. They are 2 separate people though, and pretend not to know of each other, under the names of Locke and Demosthenes.

This is an amazing book, as you can tell by my long review. It is my favorite book, and I read it a few times ever year. I first read it when I was about 13, and loved it. This year I read it, being almost 16, and loved it on an entirely different level - my eyes tearing at the end. I think that this book can be read by anyone, and loved by anyone. The characters are wonderful, multi-faceted, and all too human sometimes. Ender changes dramatically throughout the book, not surprising with all of the emotional tests he is forced through. This novel is BRILLIANT.

Rating:
Summary: Preying upon our insecurities
Review: While some thematic content is similar to another Sci-Fi military classic, Starship Troopers, Ender's Game approaches the topic of what constitutes a great military strategist from a unique perspective; that of a child. It does an excellent job of presenting the duality behind human behavior and our ability to turn our good and bad buttons on and off. Scott Card also examines the aspects of fear and weakness and how they are developmentally related to violence and war. Throughout the book, there is a comparative occuring between Ender's experiences in boot camp and the war with the buggers. His later regret over the violence committed in the name of his own self preservation, mirrors the devastating consequences of the war. Ender and the human race learn that self preservation often comes at a high price that unfortunately can never be refunded.

Rating:
Summary: Ender's Game is one of my top ten Sci-Fi novels
Review: I've loved science fiction since I first discovered Asimov and Heinlein while I was in junior high. As the greats passed from our midst (Asimov, Heinlein and Herbert) I wondered who would come along to fill those big space boots. Well, Orson Scott Card is doing a pretty good job of that. Ender's Game is on my top-ten list of sci-fi novels and here's why:

The novel (which was expanded from a short story) deals with a future in which Earth has been threatened by an alien race of Bugs. They nearly wiped out the planet, but for a seemingly all-but-impossible victory won by a nearly-cashiered junior officer named Mazer Rackham. Now, the Bugs threaten again, and the generals and leaders of Earth's greatest alliance of nations is looking to train young military geniuses to lead the next assault.

Ender Wiggin is a "third" or a fluke. He's a the third child in a family with the allotted two kids, in a world where having more than two is against the law. But he's no illegal child--he was conceived by offical mandate, since the elder Wiggin kids had military promise but didn't quite come up to snuff. Ender is chosen to go to Battle School, an artificial asteroid in space where young prodigies are trainied in military tactics,strategy,history and everything else they would need to become the next Alexander or Napoleon.

This is sci-fi at its very best. The characters are well-drawn, though not terribly deep. The real jewel in these books is the plot and action. If you like military strategy and battle scenes, this is for you. The scenes in Battle School are really compelling. The chief activity in the school is a kind of team sport, where armies of students lead by the best kids who are chosen as their commanders, fight in zero gravity. These scenes are so vivid, you can see the action as if it were a movie in your head.

And you will be able to see it as a movie on the big screen. Orson Scott Card has written a screenplay version and Chartoff Productions and Fresco Pictures will produce it. With Card's ability to write action scenes, I think the screenplay will be fantastic. Couple that with state-of-the-art special effects and maybe the film will come up to the excellence of this novel.

There are two sets of sequels to Ender's Game: Speaker for the Dead and the series leading up to Xenocide were the first "trilogy" Card wrote. But recently, he wrote a simultaneous sequel, Ender's Shadow, which features Bean, the brilliant small soldier who is Ender's unwilling disciple. This book is as brilliant as Ender's Game. It's followed by "Shadow of the Hegemon" and a soon-to-be released additional novel. These are so good, I can hardly believe it. Don't miss any of them.

Rating:
Summary: Card is a genius!
Review: This is the best Science Fiction Book i have ever read. It captivates the reader's interest and there are suprises and plot twists. It is a highly original plot and executed very well. The book has a good resolution and the very end was a nice lead-on to Speaker for the Dead...I am a girl and have no complaints about the book. Women arent allowed into battle in real life, so where's your complaint? And the training they were undergoing had almost everything to do with physical exercises as well as mental exercises. While i agree that girls couldve done everything that the boys did, it's a work of fiction...Good work Card

Rating:
Summary: Haha. Defending.
Review: Obviously, I must be pretty bored to sift through the majority of these reviews. I'm responding more towards the negative reviews, because there is no need for yet ANOTHER review praising Ender's Game and addressing its plot. (Nobody's gonna read it anyway). I've read Ender's Game in the course of two days, and I hadn't seen any flaws--reading these reviews though, very good points were brought up. Card's lack of literary gimmicks has been criticized. However, this was what made this book refreshing, the type of book you can pick up to read again and again. The prose was /very/ simple. My brother in 7th grade read it easily and without questions.

Neither do the readers receive descriptions about Ender's physical appearance, or, for that matter, his siblings'. I don't know about you, but this wasn't something I was preoccupied with. I was more embroiled in the mental conflicts. There were also several complaints about Ender's one-dimensional personality. This too, made me think. This technique has been effectively employed in other books: fleshing out a character solely through actions and speech. This makes Ender a difficult character. However, it does not make his experiences any less dramatic. On the contrary, the readers' attention is drawn towards the contrast between Ender's actions and thoughts. For an example, we see him cry, but we don't get an inside view of what's going on in his mind. This causes his actions to be all the more starkly vivid.

Another small error is that the entire time, we are set up for this huge battle with the Buggers, the supposed climax, but we never reach it. I can only excuse this with the possible fact that Card's main focus was the psychology of Ender's growth. Card has a very clear understanding of the way a human mind, be it a child's or an adult's, works. The ending, although, was not surprising. It was, as mentioned in some of the reviews, a letdown, for the previously stated reason. By this point though, the reader focuses on the stress Ender and his commanders are under, rather than the actual battles.

All in all, this is a book everyone should pick up. It's definitely on my "favorite books" list. It requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief, but once you get past that, the rest is one enjoyable ride. A page-turner. I intend to start the companion series, the series about Bean.

One last note: The adult reviewers who say something along the lines of "leaving this read for the teens", as if implying that only teens, severely lacking in intelligence, would enjoy Ender's Game, are patronizing. Gets on my (insert curse) nerves. The book may be simple in its prose, but it has a fairly good grasp of concepts and is far from "See Spot Run". So please, for the love of God, /stop it/.