REVIEW

Book Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Written by Bonnie
Published July 03, 2006

I carry around, in my head, a long list of books I ought to read. The list of seminal science fiction books I ought to have read but haven't dates back to when I was 12 or 13, when I was first getting into genre fiction. The list in my head was almost entirely composed of things I had seen on Prisoners of Gravity, which I watched diligently every week. Almost all of my SF education came from Commander Rick's clandestine broadcasts.

I am pretty sure that was where I first heard of Orson Scott Card and Ender's Game. It feels like one of those books that I have known about forever, although now that I have actually read it, I realize I hadn't really known anything about it. I probably stayed away from it thinking it was hard, military SF, not the squidgier, character-driven "what if" stuff that I generally like. Whatever the reason, it took almost 20 years —and the intervention of a friend— before I finally sat down with the book.

I'm not sure if Ender's Game was specifically written for a youth audience, or if it got coloured as a book for teens because of the age of the protagonist. In many ways, it reads like a "young adult" title. It's a quick read, not the kind of book in which you need to spend time savouring the language or pondering character motivations; it's straightforward. This isn't to say it's an insubstantial book. There are some very chewy ethical issues that present themselves, but even if they don't interest you the story moves forward in a compelling way. The book works as a superficial read, and as something more ponderous.

In the future, aliens have threatened Earth, and though we won the round, it was not a reassuring victory. The military machinery is hard at work, trying to figure out how to make the victory permanent, how to protect the planet from the inevitable second round. To do this, they turn to children. The goal? Find children with the right temperament and sufficient intelligence that they can be molded into soldiers in an army that can win decisively. Unlike his siblings, who were too empathetic and too sadistic, Ender turns out to be the most promising candidate seen by the top brass. The book follows him as he is taken away from his family and trained to become, well, all that he can be.

These kids are young when they are taken from their homes, barely school-aged. Ender is six years old when he begins at the Battle School, and it is sometimes jarring to be reminded of this. My suspension of disbelief wavered at times, but it held, simply because there were so many affirmations that Ender was extraordinary; the constant reaffirmation that Ender was virtually uniquely gifted made the flashes of insight and wisdom seem plausible in spite of his youth. Still, I don't think I ever pictured the children in these books as young as they are described. I just couldn't.

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Bonnie writes about books every Thursday at Fourth-Rate Reader, about everything else at Signifying Nothing, and sometimes she resorts to pictures. She lives in Toronto.
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Book Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Published: July 03, 2006
Type: Review
Section: Books
Filed Under: Books: Literature and Fiction, Books: SF
Writer: Bonnie
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#1 — July 3, 2006 @ 21:07PM — Gordon Hauptfleisch [URL]

Wonderfully-written review--cohesive, insightful.

#2 — July 3, 2006 @ 23:39PM — Vern Halen

Theh two parallel Ender series are endlessly diverting. The first folllows Ender as an adult into his future, where via the processes of relativity he has aged 20 years while his society has aged thousands, and he gets to see his childhood as a historical event.

The second series picks up right where Ender's Game finishes, and focuses on his battle school comrades, particularly Bean.

Card's a great writer - might even be remembered as one when all's said and done.

#3 — April 17, 2007 @ 00:54AM — Madison

Hi my name is Madison and I go to a high school located in San Diego. I had the opportunity to read the novel, Ender's Game, because it was mandatory for my English class. I assure to you that I am a credible student qualified to comment on this particular book because I have read and overall evaluated it along with my classmates.

Every one person has his or her own opinion on different books, in general. I for one, had both likes and dislikes on Ender's Game. I liked this book because it was an easy read, very interesting, and understandable. For example, when Card wrote scenes about Ender winning battles with his army, it was so easy to paint that picture in your mind, to understand the scenario. However, there were a few dislikes about the book as well, and that was because it was a sci-fi. I don't normally like sci-fi books because of the fact that its not real; and compared to a non-fictional or even a fictional book, it makes it harder to relate to in the real world.

I postulate that Orson Scott Card paced his book smoothly and evenly. There were a few chapters that were a bit lengthy but only to help keep the reader guessing and wanting more. Once you got into this book, it seems as if you didn't ever want to put it down. And this only made it that more enjoyable to read. The characters kept a stable personality in which concluded in more of a boring connection to the audience. So the audience always knew how each character would react before it happened. Take Valentine for instance, people are always saying how she is so sweet and thoughtful. I would say that I somewhat resemble her because I am always trying to be nice to others and put them before myself. Valentine is a caring character who is polite to everyone she spends time with, especially Ender.

Card explicably uses many literary techniques in his novel to help emphasize meanings. One obvious technique is incluing, which he describes a different world other than Earth, where Ender goes to battle school. Throughout the story people, like Graff, are constantly saying how Ender is their only hope for killing the buggers and being the best soldier ever; this is the hyperbole technique. Card also shows some personification for the buggers; even though they are aliens, they have emotions of how their entire species will become extinct. In addition, Card uses a lot of conflict, especially with Ender and Peter; who are competitive brothers who always fight.

I am sure that many people would love this book. But specifically I believe Card targets kids who love science fiction, who are into "fighting off bad guys." Also it could be intended for those who are unsure of themselves and need better self-security; finding out who they are and what they will become in life. I think people who won't like it are those that dislike the imaginary and futuristic approach in books. There is a lot of violence in this book, so if you don't like aggression, then you wouldn't like it; but also this is a warning to parents of allowing or disallowing their kids of reading this particular novel.

#4 — June 1, 2007 @ 17:20PM — Adam

The enemy's gate is down.

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