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Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet) by Orson…
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Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet) (original 1977; edition 1994)

by Orson Scott Card (Author)

Series: Ender's Game (1), Ender Saga (1), Enderverse (8)

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41,284105048 (4.31)1 / 1166
Child-hero Ender Wiggin must fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race if mankind is to survive.
▾Book information
Member:rffischer
Title:Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet)
Authors:Orson Scott Card (Author)
Info:Tor Science Fiction (1994), 352 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

Work Information

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1977)

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Recently added byIrina79, jlockwoodclassroom, private library, orangedragon, kcvij, LLonaVahine, umbet
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 Name that Book: YA sci fi3 unread / 3Caramellunacy, January 2021

» See also 1166 mentions

▾Member reviews
English (1,021)  Spanish (11)  French (6)  Italian (3)  Icelandic (1)  German (1)  Latin (1)  All languages (1,044)
date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 1021 (next | show all)
bello e disturbante
ritmo eccellente

TRAMA E SPOILER
bambino genio viene addestrato (nel peggior modo) a comandare la flotta contro invasori alieni
sorella genio e fratello maggiore genio si ingegnano per ottenere potere governativo ( )
  LLonaVahine | May 22, 2024 |
Thought at first it was going to be good but it bogged down in repetition of action and interaction and became boring and bleak until near the end. Would have been a better book with at least 100 fewer pages. ( )
  Abcdarian | May 18, 2024 |
The 1991 introduction was very interesting. It told how Orson Scott Card's career path veered toward play writing, the book came to be written, and the reaction to it, both positive and some very negative reactions.

Man tends to behave abominably towards his fellow creatures. By chapter 6 I was wondering if perhaps it would be better for the Buggers to win than the humans.

Ender is observant, a quick learner.

Friends turn out to be fickle or untrustworthy.

The last chapter was the best chapter. It (at least partially) made up for the deceitfulness of the adults and the meanness of the children. Although the last chapter was “redeeming,” yet there were some things in that chapter that went far beyond the usual suspension of disbelief. Since those concern the end, I placed those notes in a spoiler section of the review.


After Ender won, the prohibition against having more than two children was repealed because people from Earth set out to colonize other worlds. But wait, wasn’t it terribly expensive to just lift one person off the earth?

“Between 1970 and 2000, the cost to launch a kilogram to space remained fairly steady, with an average of US$18,500 per kilogram. When the space shuttle was in operation, it could launch a payload of 27,500 kilograms for $1.5 billion, or $54,500 per kilogram. For a SpaceX Falcon 9, the rocket used to access the ISS, the cost is just $2,720 per kilogram.” Note: The ISS is not outer space. Getting totally beyond Earth’s gravity is more expensive than getting to the ISS. Let’s do a calculation. Assuming a person has negligible luggage. With luggage 80 kg at $2,000 per kg is $160,000. Not only would a person need personal effects, but they also need a lot of food and facilities to care for their bodily needs. (Yes, they migh grow food - that requires energy, which isn’t free either.)

The buggers “knew” several years in advance that Ender would defeat them. Thus, they took some actions in advance. Okay, the ability to prophesy might not be so unusual. This goes beyond prophecy, this was the domain of a seer - seeing into the future.

They created the environment on their planet that he would recognize. They hacked the training game that Ender played inserting into it scenes on their planet that they he would later see and recognize. Hacking the computers of a completely different civilization, with totally different language and technology. They didn’t even use language!

They communicated mentally with him perhaps 5 years after they were all extinct, claiming to be a peaceful society. Their home planet was blown up into subatomic particles. Where again was this bugger planet that Ender temporarily lived on?

In such a large universe it’s amazing that we managed to locate their home planet.

Communicating mentally with another species from another planet years after being all dead? We can’t even reliably communicate with people of our own species. Not only that, they “knew” his future actions - that he would be “there” to receive that communication.

Tell me again about those bugger warships in the first invasion. Granted we initiated the 2nd and 3rd invasions. Still, they had warships that were terribly effective. Anyone familiar with the “arms race” knows that large weapons are not cheap to develop. You don’t spend massive resources developing weapons without a reason.

Were the buggers and the humans the only sentient creatures in the universe? The humans went around inhabiting former bugger worlds. Why didn’t the humans inhabit world that had not previously had buggers on them? Had the buggers taken over the whole known universe eliminating all other sentient species?

Thus, I conclude that Ender was probably deceived into believing that the buggers were a peaceful society. If so, then it is a scary thought that he was induced into taking that cocoon to plant on another world.

 ( )
  bread2u | May 15, 2024 |
As a fervent aficionado of science fiction and a professor of English, I find Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” to be a seminal work in the genre, deftly blending the intricacies of human psychology with the grandeur of space opera. The novel’s exploration of strategic warfare and the ethical quandaries of leadership through the young, prodigious Ender Wiggin is both profound and provocative. Card’s eloquent prose and the depth of his character development invite readers to ponder the moral implications of war and the price of genius. It’s a compelling narrative that not only entertains but also challenges the intellect, making “Ender’s Game” an essential read for both enthusiasts and scholars of speculative fiction. ( )
  mlheintz | May 6, 2024 |
Update: Listened to this again with Mariah, finishing on 7/9/2020. Overall, the book is definitely less impactful via audiobook, when I’m no longer a child, and when I already know the main plot/plot twist elements. Still fun, but didn’t love it. Curious if I’ll still love Ender’s Shadow on audiobook - thats next! ( )
  mrbearbooks | Apr 22, 2024 |
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Showing 1-5 of 1021 (next | show all)
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▾Published reviews
I am aware that this sounds like the synopsis of a grade Z, made-for-television, science-fiction-rip-off movie. But Mr. Card has shaped this unpromising material into an affecting novel full of surprises that seem inevitable once they are explained. The key, of course, is Ender Wiggin himself. Mr. Card never makes the mistake of patronizing or sentimentalizing his hero.
added by Shortride | editThe New York Times Book Review, Gerald Jonas (Jun 16, 1985)
 
▾Other authors

» Add other authors (16 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Card, Orson Scott—primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Birney, DavidNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brick, ScottNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cuir, Gabrielle DeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ellison, HarlanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Harris, JohnCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lemoine, DanielTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rodelgo, José MaríaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rubinstein, JohnNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rudnicki, StefanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Salwowski, MarkCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sánchez, AntonioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Velez, WalterIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Zuddas, GianluigiTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
▾Series and work relationships
▾Awards and Honors
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▾Common Knowledge
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For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Ender's Game
Original title
Ender's Game
Alternative titles
Original publication date
1985-01
People/Characters
Ender Wiggin
Bean
Valentine Wiggin
Peter Wiggin
Petra Arkanian
Important places
Battle School (Space Station)
Command School
Earth
Eros
Important events
Xenocide of the Formics (Buggers)
Related movies
Ender's Game (2013 | IMDb)
Epigraph
Dedication
For Geoffrey,
Who makes me remember
How young and how old
Children can be
First words
"I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one."
Quotations
And then a worse fear, that he was a killer, only better at it than Peter ever was; that it was this very trait that pleased the teachers.
Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.
-- Valentine Wiggin
Humanity does not ask us to be happy. It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf. Survival first, then happiness as we can manage it.
Remember, the enemy's gate is down.
[P]ower will always end up with the sort of people who crave it....
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
This is the novel form of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Please do not combine the original novella or the movie to this work, as each are uniquely different entities.
Publisher's editors
McDougal, Harriet
Blurbers
Bova, Ben
Wolfe, Gene
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC
▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

▾Book descriptions
Child-hero Ender Wiggin must fight a desperate battle against a deadly alien race if mankind is to survive.
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Book description
Ender Wiggin is a very bright young boy with a powerful skill. One of a group of children bred to be military geniuses and save Earth from an inevitable attack by aliens, known here as "buggers," Ender becomes unbeatable in war games and seems poised to lead Earth to triumph over the buggers. Meanwhile, his brother and sister plot to wrest power from Ender. Twists, surprises and interesting characters elevate this novel into status as a bona fide page turner.
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WorldCat

Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

813.54Literature › English (North America) › American fiction › 20th Century › 1945-1999

LC Classification

PS3553.A655Language and Literature › American literature › American literature › Individual authors › 1961-

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