A fun little book. A very quick read, took me about 2 hours tops. I would love to have Card write more books in the Ender's universe, I can't get enough. ( )

The Little Bookworm

A short novella from the Enderverse focuses on Dink Meeker and the small act of giving a Sinterklaas present to one of his friends. Little does he know that this is going to incite a war among the Battle School students. Zeke Morgan comes from a fundamentalist Christian family. His father preaches that everyone is full of sin and that is why they cannot hear the Lord's Word. He "purifies" Zeke, but knows nothing of Zeke's phenomental metal abilities until the Fleet come for Zeke to bring him to Battle School. There Zeke does his best to remain a pacifist, believing that God does not glory in war. But when Dink leaves his friend a Sinterklass present as a token of friendship, Zeke takes it upon himself to turn this simple act and turn it into something bigger. And Dink retaliates in return. But Ender Wiggin seeks to create an understanding in the Battle School between Dink and Zeke and the conflict they have bought to it.

One of my favorite books is Ender's Game. And I love reading stories set in this world and getting to know more of Ender's world and his time spent in Battle School. It's stories like this that add to the over-all story and later are alluded to in Ender in Exile. A War of Gifts presents an excellent commentary on the true nature of religion and the religion that children will create around their parents and for their parents. Zeke's struggle to become pure is interesting one since he was only taught he was impure by his father. This leads to an incident where Ender can show what a great leader he is becoming, helping Zeke without Zeke really understand what is happening.

This is little more than a short story really. 128 pages in hardback is somehow being stretched to over 200 pages in the forthcoming paperback version - I can only suppose by adding pictures, big fonts or lots of white space. I read through the book in one sitting yesterday afternoon.

Its not a bad story though. Zeck is raised in an abusive household where his father is some kind of freelance minister of religion who believes he is the only true pure person on earth. Zeck, being a small boy, internalises this philosophy despite his photographic memory and gift for reading people that would look like a savant tendency even in a mature adult.

And then he is taken away to battle school, where his religion is outlawed and where he refuses to co-operate.

The story is about coming of age, and healing of the past and of friendships too. And it is readable - good for anyone who has read all the Ender books. Probably not the place to start for anyone else, as too much of the scenario is undescribed. What and where is battle school? why can the IF steal children? who are the Formics? Who is Ender Wiggin? I think anyone who cannot answer these questions might be a little frustrated by this story. Thus a book for "Ender" series completists only.

The story is also problematic in other ways. Card rattles out these abusive church scenarios too commonly (for anyone who has read a lot of his work). Not that I think he should not do it. People often abuse positions of trust and have inflated opinions of themselves which they prey off, so why should he not write about such things? But I found Zeck's father to be too fantastic. He is too obvious, and I think a character with much more false humility would have been more believable. The line "we are puritans, not fundamentalists" seemed to suggest that there is some kind of fundamentalist orthdoxy that describes that group, which is not true. Moreover they did not sound like puritans.

Likewise these battle school kids are simply too deep! Geniuses they certainly are, but where did they get all that wisdom at the age of 8 or 9? The more I read of this series, the more poorly it reflects on some of the initial concepts - and I think Ender is a project that Card really should lay to rest, and move on to something new.

So in summary, if you want a short and fun read with nothing too deep, and if you already enjoy Ender Wiggin books, and don't mind the fact this one is so short - then you will enjoy this book. Otherwise you might want to move along to something else. ( )

This is very short, as it says on the cover, it is an Ender story, not a novel. This occurs just after Ender joins Battle School and before he takes over his own army. It features a bit character not previously featured in the story, and how Dink and Ender bring the boy in and change his life. Its exactly what you would expect from an Ender story, but it is still great to read. ( )

Orson Scott Card is a decent enough writer and one of the few sci-fi writers still writing today that I read. BUT, enough is enough with the Ender series! Actually, I don't really mind sequels, but this retelling-from-a-different-perspective stuff just seems like a cash-in. The Battle School is an interesting setting and it's always stuck in my mind, but this story adds nothing to it that I didn't already get out of Ender's Game or Ender's Shadow. So, I'm left wondering why I read this. ( )

http://booklog.molehill.org/2009/03/0... ( )

Another addition to the Ender stories, and a welcome one at that. While it isn't exactly an important story to the over all arch of the Ender series, it is an important element to the character development within the Enderverse. We are given another glimpse into Battle School and the children who are there; at the same time, we are given a bit ofanother window into what Ender's family was going through after his departure, being shown that his mother missed him, his brother still envied him.

My memory of Ender's Game is a bit fuzzy, but I want to say I remember the boy who wouldn't shoot his weapon in battle games, and this is his story, primarily. It is a quick and easy read, and a nice way to get back into the Ender story line... although the comics are a nice way to do that, too.

This is a winter season read, which I enjoyed, even though it is now February. It will likely be a novella I pick up in the future in December, as a way to remind myself that gifts are not just for receiving... they do a lot for the happiness of the giver, too. ( )

Have you read Ender's Game? Ever wonder about the story beyond Ender's big story, the story of daily life at Battle School and the other kids who were there and how they managed and got along? This book is a small snapshot of "a day in the life." Zeck has been recruited to Battle School, but due to his Christian beliefs, does not believe in violence, and refuses to fight. He's also upset that students aren't allowed to practice their religious beliefs. When he notices two students celebrating the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas Day, Zeck starts a quiet war that only Ender can fully resolve. ( )

What a writer! The author, Orson Scott Card, has a superb skill in writing dialogue that demonstrates his moral, his point of view. This is an amazing story. At first I thought it was going to be a boring story of a very right wing, conservative, male god point of view, instead it is the story of something much deeper than any overt religion. The story is about behavior of human beings told from the point of view of children. Amazing! ( )

Short and sweet. I recommend reading the other Ender books before reading this one.

A depressingly weak contribution from Card. This book is a sloppy Ender story masquerading as a real book, and is effectively an overpriced advertisement for Card's webzine. ( )

This is a lovely little “gift” from Orson Scott Card for fans of the Ender series. The story is not so much about the interstellar war or even the Battle School in which promising young children are trained to be the future defenders of Earth. Instead, it is about the group dynamics back in the barracks. Dink Meeker, Ender Wiggin, and Colonel Graff all play major roles in this novella, as does a new character, Zeck Morgan. The main protagonist, however, is Saint Nick, in all his guises, from Santa Claus to Sinterklaas. This book takes only one evening’s investment to read, but it will be a lovely evening indeed.

(JAF) ( )

More a short story or novella than a novel, this book fits nicely into the Ender universe. I was surprised how quickly Card was able to evoke real empathy for the characters; perhaps because of the familiar setting.

Overall, not as good as Ender's Game but worth reading if you enjoyed other books in this series. ( )

This book was all right. It doesn't come close to the quality main Ender books, but it's a sweet story, if a little cheesy at times. I imagine it would make a good stocking stuffer type gift for someone. ( )

This was a very quick read but I enjoyed the story. It's a Christmas story set in outer space, but really outer space has very little to do with it. It's a story about abuse, tolerance, and love. Perhaps a little overboard on sentiment near the end, but overall a good read. ( )

This short novel introduces Zeck Morgan, the son of an overbearing Puritan preacher and an unwilling student in the battle school. When Dink Meeker and another Dutch student exchange gifts for Sinterklaas Day, the religious Zeck sees an opportunity to get out of battle school, but instead creates a war of gifts that requires the help of Ender Wiggin to end it. All in all, I enjoyed this story, but it was very short. I felt that Card tried too hard to tie everything up quickly; if he had let things play out for another fifty pages or so, the book would have been much more powerful. It was nice to see what other students in the battle school did and thought, and it was refreshing to read an Ender story that did not focus on him very much at all, at least until the very end. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the Ender Series, particularly the first book and the Shadow books. ( )