Ender's Game

Compared to my previous two books, Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, felt quite fast and quick, but that doesn’t mean the story doesn’t develop just as well as the books I read last year, not at all!

The state of the world is not a good one, Humanity hasn’t really conquered the stars and flourished just yet, other than a few stations. Earth has been at war with the buggers, some insectoid alien race that had come in contact with the planet twice already. The first time it was just exploration, and Humanity managed to hold out. The second time, was colonization, and we almost lost. Thankfully, the genius strategist Mazer Rackham managed to stop them and became the hero of the story. We lived happily ever after.

But decades have passed since then, and a third invasion is on the horizon.

Now, kids are being monitored from birth, and those who show promise are drafted to become part of the army at a really young age, with the hopes of finding the next genius, who will command the fleet and protect the planet from the buggers.

Ender ends up drafted, and since he shows the most promise, he’s put into tremendous pressure by his superiors, making him go through quite a ton of hardships. Learning the tactics and strategy, by a series of games that put him and his army to the test. Zero G battles, Simulations, Games—as some might say.

The story really played with my feelings and morals quite a bit, no matter how cool and epic battles and victories were, things were just, wrong all the time, and yet, what else could be done? It really makes me think and feel uncomfortable, and it somehow remained hopeful, even if just a little.

The writing was great, the pacing felt alright, I couldn’t stay away from the book for long. It was a really intricate story where the protagonist has to sacrifice everything for the greater good—if there is any greater good at all. And the characters, the characters were amazing. Ender is such a complex character and the people that sorround him are really interesting too. The kids at school, his family, his superiors. Some of them only served for the story, sure, but they did so quite well.

Tragically, I had already watched the movie adaptation, and had an idea of the main plot and the finale. I was a little dissapointed by the fact that such a movie—which is pretty average—spoiled it for me. But I was still rather surprised by the twists and turns, as well as the points in the story that differ between the book and the film, or that aren’t even in it.

I am glad I gave it a read, highly recommended.

Ender’s Game has long since become a staple in the Science Fiction community and has often been touted a literary classic. Written by Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game touches the reader in a way that many books have tried and failed. A completely character driven story, Card weaves a tail that sucks you in by the sheer desire to know what happens to Ender and how he will make it through. Poor Ender.

Ender’s Game is the story of Andrew (Ender) Wiggins, a young genius that is taken from his family with hopes of him being able to save the Earth from destruction. The threat on Earth comes from a group of beings known as “buggers”. Ender enters the elite Battle School to be introduced to battle tactics, group dynamics, and leadership skills. Through the trials the adults setup for Ender, he finds himself conflicted by what he really is and what he does. This story leads to Ender’s advancement in training and his acceptance of what he is capable of.

My expectations going into Ender’s Game were mixed. I have heard it’s a classic Sci-Fi novel, but those labels often leave me confused. I guessed it could be good, but prepared myself to be let down. I was surprised by the quality, though, of the book and it’s great differences from my expectations. Ender’s Game is a character driven strory. With statements like “the end of the world”, “Battle School“, “aliens called buggers“, and “new commander to save Earth”; I thought the book would be full of action. Although there are excellent scenes of action in the book, that’s not what keeps you reading. Ender and his experiences are the driving force of this novel. I’m not usally drawn to these types of books, as they bore me, but this one gripped me quite well.

I often had to assume Ender was of a different age. Card places him at 6 years old at the beginning and by the end he’s only 12 (or so). To me, Ender didn’t fit at that age, and therefore I moved him up a few years in my mind. Card says that Ender couldn’t be around 16 due to his blind trust of the adults, but I disagree. As I’ve seen many times with very bright teenagers, trust of the adults is something they cling to as they feel it ensures intelectual growth. It also confused me at times the way the children would enter into a crazy/nonsensical use of grammar, but then be spectacularly eloquent the next.

Ender’s Game was a surprisingly enjoyable read, that I can recommend to anyone…even those that don’t like Sci-Fi. It’s simply a deep character story that can tug on the emotions of any reader.