Title: Ender’s Game
Author: Orson Scott Card
Genre: Science Fiction
Summary:
Earth is currently under attack from the infamous alien species known as the Formics. Earth has
been attacked twice already and the world government has resorted to training children from a
young age to learn to combat the global threat. Ender Wiggin, recruited at six years old, quickly
learns the ins and outs of battle school and what it requires to be a leader and a cunning, tactical,
and strategic master. Despite his success, Ender’s emotional troubles bother him throughout his
years, whether it would be from losing his beloved sister back on Earth or struggling to find
where his real home lies. All of the above builds up into a slow, yet dramatic test to see whether
Ender can truly live up to his potential and face the rewards of success, or the consequences?
Opinion:
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, is an interesting take on the typical science fiction/space
genre, which most everyone is accustomed to from various franchises over the years such as Star
Wars or Star Trek. While it may be your typical humans vs. alien scenario, Card takes a slower,
methodical, and more tactical approach. The book primarily focuses on Ender and specifically
his struggles as just another kid in the system to one of the greatest and smartest the world has
ever seen by discussing his newer and more effective strategy of how the combat simulation is
run at Battle School. Personally, I’m not a fan of just how descriptive and dragged out the
narration of Ender’s thought processes are and is typically always this way for the rest of the
Ender series. I did find the book to be an overall enjoyable read primarily due to its concept. I
was also disappointed in the ending as I found it slightly anticlimactic.
Cover: I think the cover is a simple yet adequate one for the book and what it entails. A majority
of the novel centers around the battle simulation and the image on the cover can help a reader
visualize the suits they wear and the zero-gravity environment they are placed in.
Rating:
I give Ender’s Game a three as it was a good read and a beginning to an interesting series. I’m
not going any higher primarily due to Card's writing style of over-explaining Ender’s thoughts.
Card did however write this book primarily to set up for the second book in the series so the
Ender’s Game story was not even the original vision Card had for the series which is something
to keep in mind.