Ender's Game

Book Description

 ndrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.


But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.

Newsday said of this novel "Card has done strong work before, but this could be the book to break him out of the pack." It was. Ender's Game took the sf world by storm, sweeping the awards. It won both the Hugo and Nebula, and rose to the top of national bestseller lists. 

My Thoughts

Ender's Game is riddled with illegal point of view shifts, flowing from predominantly third person POV to small bits of first person narrative with no notice. The thing is, Orson Scott Card pulls this off beautifully. Instead of annoying me the way it does when I read a piece by an amateur author who slips POV unknowingly, Card's technique pulls me further into his work, involves me with his characters, and deepens my desire to learn their fates as the story unfolds. It is a technique that (I believe) should only be used in the rarest of circumstances-Orson Scott Card is a talented enough author to make this a powerful choice.


I have never been a sci-fi lover; this is not because I dislike the genre-I just have never read much of it. Ender's Game was one of my first forays into the world of skiffy; this book guarantees more room on my shelve for this genre. Card presents a set-up much like that of 1950s sci-fi movies: a future Earth is in danger of a deadly alien attack-a hero must arise and save the day. Where he diverges from the 1950s cinema is where Ender's Game becomes so compelling. The heroes we are hoping will stop the aliens are kids-Ender being our prime candidate. Sent to battle school to learn the ins-and-outs of commanding an army when he is only six years old, young Andrew Wiggin is just the man to save Earth. Orson Scott Card's use of children puts this work in a different league from the normal apocalyptic fair. His characters are dynamic, rounded, tangible individuals. It is near impossible not to become attached to them, to feel their pain, rejoice at their triumphs, vent frustration along side them. Rarely have I read an author who made you feel the characters the way Card does.


Beyond telling a intriguing story, Card give a wonderful glimpse into the human nature. Perhaps it is because he is giving the readers the unedited thoughts of young children, intermixed with the words and deeds of those who are training them to be hardened soldiers-to eradicate Earth of the potential problem before it shows up; character motivations in Ender's Game are real to life. They show people for who they really are, and they capture the whole of human psyche nicely. When reading this book, ones knows Card is on an intimate level with his characters. He is not just writing them-he knows them. After all (to quote Ender's Game): "I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves."


If you are a sci-fi reader, this is definitely a book to add to your collection (actually, if you are an avid sci-fi reader, chances are this book is in your collection. If you have never wandered into the realm of science fiction, I highly suggest letting Ender Wiggin lead the way. This is a wonderful book for all readers.

About the Author

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novelsEnder's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.

Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret. 

(apologies to those who read Rae's Reads and have now been double posted. I am just really enthusiastic about this book and think it is great entertainment with good values--thus I am sharing it in both places)