Ender's Game

Rating:
Summary: Really addicting and descriptive
Review: despite some boring parts. this is a great si-fi book, good for those who like science fiction, but others may find it boring. It makes you feel immersed in the world inside the book

Rating:
Summary: enders game was great
Review: enders game had to be one of the best the tactics that he thought up for ender to think up were so realistic. The plot was great the action was not lacking the plot was intelegent and exciting instead of cofusing muddled and boring. Great story line what can i say? Its an overall great book

Rating:
Summary: Tale in Simplest Form
Review: Ender's Game has many layers of meaning behind the cover. It is like an onion with its subsequent layers of meaning. On the first layer there is a story about a young boy who is being trained to fight in the Third Invasion of the Bugger, the aliens. His training is in the form of "games". The adults in the novel think he is the one who will defeat the buggers. Layer one of Ender's Game is the story and Ender's actions. At this level everyone relates to Ender in one way or another. The reader begins the game of decoding these layers when the first page is read. Orson Scott Card said about this decoding game, "...If you don't care to play the game, that's fine with me. I designed Ender's Game to be as clear and accessible as any story of mine could possibly be. My goal was that the reader wouldn't have to be trained in literature...to receive the tale in its simplest form." That is what exactly what Orson Scott Card has done with Ender's Game. At one junior high in Provo, Utah, a librarian reported that Ender's Game is the book that is lost the most. This book is popular not only among young adults, but it is also extremely popular among adults as well. It has a broad general young adult and adult interest. As time progresses and more people read Ender's Game its popularity will soar.

Rating:
Summary: People are funny
Review: I don't know if this is a review of the book or of all the bad reviews I read. I personally liked the book very much. As far as the few who complained about the science in the book, well it's fiction not a science book. Most if not all science in Sci-Fi can be torn to shreds if you really wanted to, but isn't the idea of fiction (especially Sci-Fi, Fantasy and horror) escapism? I guess if you don't have an imagination don't read the book, but if you want an escape into a unique universe then read "Ender's Game".

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: When I first read this book in eight grade for a report, it stayed with me all those years (I am now in college). I couldn't remember the title of the book, but I knew some of the contents. So, I went to amazon and looked up what I knew. I found the title and immediately had to purchase it to read again. If you think the first reading was good, read it again after some time has gone by and re-live Ender's world all over again! I could not put it down. I finished it in a matter of days. If you even have a slither of interest in sci-fi at all, give this book a read! I can't wait to see what happens next (there are 7 total books in the series)! Have fun reading this book, I sure did!

Rating:
Summary: This is a game worth playing!
Review: Reading the negative reviews is very revealing. The majority of the one-star reviews resort to insulting those who have enjoyed the book. Criticism that consists of name-calling is a high form of praise.

Which is not to say that a little bit of controversy surrounding Ender's Game isn't inappropriate. A six year old child is taken from his family and trained for battle with other children and ultimately commits genocide - xenocide, to be more accurate. Not a happy, uplifting tale by any stretch of the imagination. Yet there is something nevertheless compelling in the tale of how Ender overcomes every obstacle placed in his path to not only succeed but, ultimately, grow into a better person than most. Card's prose is at times spartan, but the pages turn so fast one doesn't notice.

Be warned that the "sequel," Speaker for the Dead, is not really a sequel at all. It would be difficult to find two more different books marketed as the same series. Ender returns, but where Ender's Game is largely action-driven, Speaker for the Dead dwells upon inner turmoil and family struggles. Speaker is by far the more powerful and provocative book, and one does not need to read Ender's Game to appreciate it.

Rating:
Summary: Ender's Game: There Are *MUCH* Better Sci-Fi Books
Review: Before I begin my review, I want to quickly comment on the considerable following enjoyed by Orson Scott Card's 1977 novel, Ender's Game. If you read through some of the Amazon reviews, you'll freqently see comments like "Best Novel of All Time", "My Favorite Book", "The Best Sci-Fi Has to Offer", etc. etc. I don't normally take this type of hyperbole seriously, but then I noticed that I had to scroll through more than two dozen reviews before I found one that rated the book with less than 5 stars. I couldn't find one reviewer who rated it with less than three.

Making the situation even more puzzling, intriguing, and finally astounding is the sheer number of postings for this book: more than 1960 independent reviewers took the time to review this book as of mid January 2004 -- this means that Ender's Game has been reviewed on Amazon more than the following five SF classics *combined*...
1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (205 reviews)
2) Dune (830 reviews)
3) Childhood's End (202 reviews)
4) Rendevous with Rama (173 reviews)
5) Stranger in a Strange Land (443 reviews)

The above situation is really what drove me to read the book in the first place, as I figured all these people couldn't have been wrong (avg. rating is 4.5 stars). Now having read Ender's Game, I am now not only intrigued/puzzled/astounded, but I am also befuddled and mystified at how all (most) of the reviewers could be driven to over-hype what is really an uninspired science fiction novel about manipulation, deceipt, and the devastating effects of revenge and fear.

Here's the story (w/o spoilers): at the start we come across Andrew Wiggin (a.k.a. Ender), a 6 year old boy who, at the behest of the American government, is bred, somewhat brutally monitored/analyzed, and finally -- by the time he is eleven -- trained to Command all of humanities troops against a once invading alien force, that has for several decades been retreated to its home planets. During the training, Ender brutally beats to death two of his peers (one six, one slightly older) as he "perceives" them to be so threatened by his greatness that they will stop at nothing short of his destruction. His teachers/handlers observe the megalomaniacal behavior and beatings (murders) passively and consider it part of Ender's training. Card continues to attempt to rationalize and justify Ender's treatment of these two children throughout the book -- and maybe this worked in the 70s -- but in this post Columbine world, it made me sick to my stomach.

If I told any more, it would spoil the story for those who haven't read it. So let me net it out from here:

Pro's...
+ Must read for sci-fi fans as it consistenly makes most top ten lists
+ Unique stoccato style delivery of the prose that makes for quick reading
+ Card does a great job of building tension in some of the trials that Ender is put through

Con's...
+ Very difficult to suspend disbelief as six year old Ender acts as proud and decisive as Russel Crowe's character in the Gladiator
+ Very little science fiction
+ Completely failed thread of a sub-plot involving Ender's brother and sister
+ Exhaustive and finally meaningless use of sibling rivalry

And one suggestion: if your version of Ender's Game was published post 1991, make sure that you read Orson Scott Card's introduction last. He really slings the B.S. in the intro and reveals some personal things that quite frankly ruined the book for me.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Read!!
Review: I came across this book in the Middle Eastern desert during Operation Iraqi Freedom. This book was on the Untied States Marine Corps Commandant's Reading List and handed to me by my lieutenant. During lulls in operations, I would read this book. It kept me hooked, so much so that I carried it in my cargo pocket every where I went. The concept was fresh, the characters interesting, to the point I wish I wrote it myself. The only problem I had with the book was the ending which I didn't too much like, but it's still a good read. Upon completion, I did the Marine thing and passed it to one of my young non-comissioned officers to read. I am looking forward to learning more about the character Bean in Ender's Shadow!! Get this book, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A Great, Short Novel
Review: Ender's Game is an enjoyable, easy to read book. It is classified as a SciFi book, although it does not suffer from long, technical explanations. As soon as I started to read it, I found it very difficult to put the book down. Although the book is short, it has a good morale to it. There is a lot of great action in the book, although the book is based on the character, not fighting.

The main character in the book is Ender, a young boy that is training to be a military officer. Unfortunately for him, he has been chosen to become a great commander, and must go through trials his other peers do not have to face. This book follows Ender from the age of six to right before starting adolescence. The reader will experience the significant trials Ender most go from, from both his teachers, and his fellow peers.

The only flaw with the book is that the ending was a bit dry. It did fit in with the rest of the story, but in my opinion, it could have been a little bit more developed. The ending was horrible however, and the book only suffers very slightly for it. I would recommend everyone that is looking for a short, great book to read Ender's Game.

Rating:
Summary: This is an exceptional piece of Sci-Fi!
Review: Even the most ADD prone reader will cut through this book like a knife through butter!

I didn't plan on doing a review for this, however, in reading what some others had to say I was compelled to register my opinion. Lets start with what this book is:

1. A very fun read (remember those, so few books are more fun to read than a great movie)!

2. An interesting commentary on human nature (almost like a futuristic Lord of the Flies).

3. A prophetic detail of futuristic warfare.

What it's not:

1. Hamlet, Hobbit, or even Snow Crash (it is very approachable by all reader skill levels, both in word and meaning).

Just my opinion.

Enjoy...