A modern classic, Ender's Game is the gripping tale of adventure in space and lost childhood and a scathing indictment of the military mind, noted in a recent New York Times survey as one of the best-loved books of all time. Aliens have attacked earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses and then training them to the arts of war ... Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses and he is smart enough to know that time is running out. Ender's Game is a Nebula Award and Hugo Award winner, and a New York Times bestseller.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Brilliant boy bred to battle the buggers Comment: Imagine a futuristic earth-world where buggers and astronauts has replaced cowboys and Indians as children's make-believe game of choice, space travel has replaced automobiles, and the planet's citizens' primary concern is to defeat an alien race before it can annihilate them.
After the powers that be decide that his too cruel brother, Peter, and too mild sister, Valentine, don't have what it takes, a third Wiggin child, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, is created in hopes that his intelligence, abilities and temperament will prove to be just right for his sole purpose in life: to become an officer in the International Fleet capable of defeating the enemy. Constantly watched (through the use of a device implanted in his brain) and tested, at age six, he is strong-armed into choosing to attend Battle School, where, they tell him, (p 24) "It's like playing buggers and astronauts-except that you have weapons that work, and fellow soldiers fighting beside you, and your whole future and the future of the human race depends on how well you learn, how well you fight." And where he won't be eligible for his first leave until he is twelve-years old. Might one small boy have what it takes to survive the rigorous training, defeat the buggers, and save the human race?
Ender's Game, especially in the detail and visual descriptions of the battle scenes, is a wonderful sci-fi story about a brave little boy who holds the future of the human race in his hands. With a relatively high incidence of profanity (illegitimate male, the hot place), violence (including death), and enough references to flatulence to tire even the silliest of children, the suggested age of "10 and up" might be a bit in the low side. Also good: The Giver by Lois Lowery, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (though sexist), and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Customer Rating: Summary: An Enthralling Introduction into Science Fiction Comment: It is difficult to write a review on a book considered by many to be a modern-day classic of science fiction. I risk either falling flat in an attempt to give an honest, insightful review, or raving in a manner which invariably leads to disappointed hopes. I will err on the cautious side, therefore.
I think what draws people to Ender's Game is that it is as much psychological suspense as it is science fiction. Thus, readers who rarely enjoy SF are enthralled by Orson Scott Card's imaginative prose and engaging characters. Ender's Game is a fantastic introduction into a genre that is often classified as "nerdy." It can be enjoyed equally by hard core sci-fi fans and pedantic literary critics.
Customer Rating: Summary: absolute tops SciFi book of all time Comment: For any budding or even die-hard science fiction reader, this is a library staple. The storyline is so well crafted that it can be read again and again. Customer Rating: Summary: I cant believe I read a SiFi Book! Comment: I first read Ender's Game in 9th grade English class. At the time, it was one of only a handful of books I actually enjoyed from my public school required reading list. I had never heard of Ender's Game or Orson Scott Card and had no idea what to expect from the book. I enjoyed it and read it in less than two days. (a big deal for me at the time)
When I was done reading it I was SHOCKED that I had read a Science Fiction book. Me, a Jane Austin junky.
It opened my eyes and broke all prejudice that Sifi is for geeky boys, it can be for romantic girls too.
Over 12 years later I still have great respect for the book and enjoy it just as much as when I first read it. Customer Rating: Summary: A child is humanity's last best hope Comment: An alien species has twice attacked earth and nearly destroyed humanity, and now a third war is fast approaching. The hero of this story is a young boy with extraordinary military gifts. Ender Wiggin has a natural ability to plan and carry out strategy in three-dimensional space, but along with this, Ender has another, rarer quality: the right balance of empathy and self-sacrifice that enable him to act in the service of humanity (rather than himself), combined with a ruthlessness to do whatever is necessary to win not only the present war, but all future wars as well. (This is in contrast to his siblings, both of whom share Ender's remarkable strategic abilities; but while Ender's brother is cruel and sociopathic, his sister is soft-hearted, and neither would make a suitable soldier.)
Ender is removed from his family at the age of six and sent to the multi-national Battle School, where along with mundane subjects like math and history, students plan and act out mock battles in gravity-free chambers. Ender rises through the ranks more quickly than the other boys, making friends and enemies along the way, and graduates to Command School not a day too soon (and possibly, he is told, a few years too late). At Command School, the battle games reach a new level, and the eleven-year-old Ender learns that he is humanity's last best hope. (Meanwhile, back on earth, nations are threatening one another with war, and Ender's remarkable adolescent siblings are hatching a plot to rule the world.)
From this point the story moves fast, taking some interesting turns and revealing some suprises, as Ender learns the about the true nature of the war he is about to enter, and the alien species he must fight. The ending is all at once tragic and hopeful, horrific and ironic.
