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Summary: Personal Experience with Ender's Game
Review: I love this book; it is definately going to be a classic (and already is, now that you mention it). Except for my Western loving dad, who found the book to be "OK," everyone I've spoken to who has read the book loved every minute of it. I opened it as I was walking down the steps to the car. I read the first sentence and was immediately hooked, I read it as I got in the car, got buckled, rode with my parents to the restaurant, read it while waiting on the table, walking to the table, sitting at the table, eating my dinner, as my dad paid for the meal, as I got back in the car, all the way home, etc. until I finished the book. This, my friends, does not happen very often.
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Summary: Simply Inspiring
Review: I can't think of any other book that has had more impact in my life. It might be because I was the lonely kid that received praise from my teachers and then, in turn, evil and distrusting looks from my peers.It is a requirement for all my closest friends to read this book not just to enjoy such an intense and revealing book but also to help them understand who I am since I have drawn Ender's experience into my life; it has become part of who I am. Everyone that I have recommended this book to and who have read it started and finished reading it within days. They have thanked me for leading them to such a thought-provoking and introspective gaze through the eyes of a little boy-genius. Simply inspiring.
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Summary: THIS IS THE BEST!
Review: This is definetly the best book I have ever read. I want to read it again and again! Ender has to face many challenges and the men purposly put him up to these challenges to see how tough he is so that he can fight in the war with the "buggers", an alien race that is threatening human kind. I have read the second one, Speaker For the Dead, and am currently reading Xenocide, the third one. Orson Scott Card is definatly the best author and I love his work and am inspired by him. You will have to read this book!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not great
Review: I'm not a big sci-fi reader. I have read books like 1984 and Contact and some Micheal Crichton books, but that's about it. Actually, Ender's Game is my first sci-fi novel that is a part of a series of books. I thought it was pretty good, but not great. The main guy in the book is Ender described as a child super-genius. (Actually, Ender's genius mainly lies in being good in what can be thought of as a computer-game called the Simulator, and I wouldn't classify good gamers as geniuses, but oh well I'm rambling.) So this kid is really smart and thinks way too much about everything, and he also has to save the world from aliens (which of course look like giant bugs - no points for originality here). Ender is interesting to read about as we get to know him in the beginning of the book, but as the story moves on he gets pretty boring and predictable. He is your typical lonely depressed genius. The book doesn't really try to develop other characters. There's Valentine (Ender's sister) and Peter (Ender's brother). A note about Peter - this kid is smart like Ender, but he's also mean and witty, and that made him pretty entertaining. Maybe it's just me, but I was amused by this guy and would have liked to read more about him. The book starts off very well, but it gets boring and repetitious in the middle, but it picks up again in the end. Orson Scott has a few interesting ideas about the future, but he's more interested in telling us what Ender thinks all the time than anything else. I don't mind being in the mind of an interesting character, but Ender wasn't interesting to me. The Battle Room games are described in great detail, but I found them tedious and hard to follow. Another problem was that sometimes the kids didn't talk like kids. It would have been easier to digest some of the weighty dialogue if the characters were 16 or 26 instead of 6 year olds. I know I've mainly focused on what I didn't like about the book, but I still give it a good recommendation. The book starts off well, and I loved the surprises in the last two or three chapters. *** stars
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Summary: Amazing
Review: I've read thousands of books... and this is definitely in the top 10. It was so incredible that I devoured it within hours of getting it (even though I had a paper due the next day). I completely identified with Ender as a brilliant, isolated child. The things he goes through are not only exciting to read about, they make you think. Somehow Card has hit upon human truths that people normally don't realize. I was also very happy that someone has finally understood how intelligent children are. Adults seem to think that kids are quite innocent and ignorant, whereas they have many of the same problems and emotions, and often feel things even more strongly. I am rendered speechless by how wonderful this book was. I will just say that it could change your life. You'll be so glad you bought it. [Warning: the next 3 books in the Ender series are very unlike this one. They're more about ethical dilemmas than action.]
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Summary: Examination of militaristic thinking, power and genuis
Review: I got this novel as a gift from a friend about a year ago. I started reading it and I have to say that initially, I was not incredibly impressed with it. Then, I picked it up again and finished it off. The introduction was powerful (apparently, the novel is used in some military schools and several child prodigies have thoroughly identified with Ender) and there was an element in me that just wanted to read the novel to find out if all the hype was true; in large part, it is true. The background of the novel is that humanity has withstood two alien invasions (by the "buggers") and has temporally united to fight them again. I liked that fact that this was another utopian world government; there is still political friction on Earth despite the war. Due to the fact that humanity is overwhelmingly outgunned and outnumbered, a genetic engineering program has been implemented to produce an ideal military commander. One family, the Wiggins, have had three children altered for the program. Peter is manipulative, cruel and destructive. Valentine is wise but lacks the hardness that a successful commander needs. The third and youngest, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the family's last hope. When he is only very young (around 6), the military recruits him for military school. Following this is Ender's journey to become a commander. He is pushed very hard to succeed. He is manipulated, put into fights, and just plain pressured to do well. Ender is then propelled through military school at an unheard of pace, but he learns to be innovative, how to trust his commanders and how to be a good leader. However, Ender's brother and sister are busy with other plans. Together, they become influential on Earth's networks, writing columns and slowly becoming powerful. Eventually, Peter becomes Hegemon (this is position is similar to the US Presidency but with much more territory) and Valentine leaves Earth with Ender to found human colonies on the former bugger worlds. One of the ways in which I measure novels is the way I feel after I finish it. I had a very satisfied feeling upon finishing and I immediately went out to buy the sequel, "Speaker for the Dead" (which according to the author, can also be read as a stand-alone novel) and plan to read it soon. Throughout the novel, there is great commentary on the nature of power and what military training can do to a person. In addition it is fascinating to see that when a society feels threatened it will do anything to preserve itself. In this novel, that means a genetic engineering program and putting young children (6-18) into military training and thence battle. Indeed, after the final victory in the novel, the adults say that only children could win the battles as adult response time and other factors would be too slow and adults would be over cautious. This is one highly recommended novel and you need not be a science fiction reader to enjoy it. The characterization and motivations of the characters alone make the novel worth reading.
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Summary: Mind Blowing
Review: This is, perhaps, the best book I've ever read in my entire life. It touched me in a way that no other book has. Though it never really hits you with an emotion you can attach a name to, I remained emotional almost thoughout the entire book. I found myself begging to make time in my day to read this book. I finished it in three days, and never felt so empty as I did after finishing. It lives in my dreams and in my thoughts now. I recommend this book to anyone with the ability to read, as you will be unable to put it down from the first moment you crack it open. Very, very excellent book.
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Summary: Ender's game is stunning!
Review: Ender (Andrew Wiggin)is getting the shaft from just about everyone he knows. His older brother (Peter) has about as much compassion as a rock. He is a cold blooded killer, and his sister (Valentine) is a pacifist. Ender gets the nickname because his sister could not pronounce the name Andrew, and it came out Ender. Ender almost kills another boy at school, With his willingness to fight, and his genius like abilities; he is taken from his home and family to battle school. where he and other children are trained in tactics so when they are older they can join in the battle against the "buggers" (original huh?). Part of these tactics is a computer game (in Enders mind) in mock battle against the buggers. What is really happening; is that his playing the game is directing real soldiers in real battle against the buggers, and Ender is unaware that he is indirectly responsible for the death of millions on both sides of the war. After Ender learns what he has done, he starts a new philosophy or religion that he calls "Speaker for the dead". As a speaker foe the dead; he is asked to come to a planet (which if he lands; he will have to spend the rest of his life there because of the Descolada virus that causes lifeforms to mutate into symbiotic lifeforms, and any person trying to leave the surface will be destroyed because the hegemony will not allow this contaigion to spread to other planets) to speak on behalf of two humans that were killed by the Pequienos (an indiginous sentient lifeform that looks like a mixture between pig and man. I like the second volume "Speaker for the dead" much better. A friend had both books in one volume called "Ender's War". I have no idea where he bought it, or if it is still available. Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)
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Summary: Amazing Adventure
Review: I'm not a huge science fiction fan, but I was hooked by Ender's Game right away. Card managed to suspend any disbelief on my part that kids Ender's age could carry out such courageous and calculated acts by reminding us that Ender really was human, and a child at that. Ender just wanted friends, people he could trust, rely on, and love. Instead, his personal well-being (and sanity!) was sacrificed for the military objectives of human kind. It's a tragedy that a big-hearted kid like Ender is turned into a killing machine, but it's a joy to read his triumphs and finally his ability to start a somewhat normal life in the end. Kids saving the human race, kids ruling the planet ... as fantastic as it may seem, and is, it made for a compelling story. Five out of five stars.
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Summary: I'm not a sci-fi lover but i loved this book
Review: Ender's Game is a science fiction book about a little genius boy named Ender Wiggins, and the world of military training and 'games' that he finds himself thrown into. This was recommended to me by a friend, and though I was hesitant at first, once i started it I couldn't put it down. Orson Scott Card's style of writing captivates the reader, and you feel yourself being drawn to Ender, and experiencing events the way he does. The ending is terrific - I won't give it away - but it dosen't ruin the book when you're reading it for the 2nd or 3rd time. I highly recommend Ender's Game, and i'm not normally a person who's a fan of science fiction or fantasy.
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