Ender's Game

I mostly read this because the movie is coming up and I was thinking about teaching it to my students... before the movie came out and gave them all sorts of wrong ideas. I don'tsee how any movie could do this book justice. There's too much going on and you really have to focus in order to catch all the nuances.

I found myself mostly wondering whether or not the children in this book were sociopaths. Obviously Peter shows the signs, but in the end he seems to be the most peaceful of his siblings, while Ender, our "hero," ends up being a violent killer of multitudes. Does it matter that he was manipulated? And what does the attitude of the adults say about our society now?

This book left me with loads of moral/philosophical questions, show more which is (in my opinion) the sign of a really good book. On the other hand, I didn't feel that any of the characters were especially positive characters. I did feel sorry for Ender, and as a former GT student, I could somewhat identify with him, but I'm not sure I really liked him. He flip-flopped between whiny child and cold, calculating soldier so quickly that I didn't believe either was genuine and thus could not truly like him... Hence, not a full five stars for this book.

Most definitely going to try to teach this to my students, but mostly because of the possible discussions more than anything. Maybe I can get funding to take them to see the movie... show less

I strongly resisted reading this book. Everyone who recommended it to me liked the sci-fi genre and I didn't. For that reason alone I thought that it wasn't for me. When I finally caved and picked it up I couldn't put it down. I tore through it and went on to rapidly read seven more books in the series.

Andrew (Ender) Wiggin is a young boy recruited for battle school. The earth is in the midst of a long war with an alien race and they've been trying to train kids to be war generals.

The book deals with moral ambiguities, children's rights and genocide; all big enough issues on their own, but together they create a book of epic proportions. It spawned two separate trilogies, a companion book and additional sequels and short stories.

In show more the midst of all these reasons to read it is Ender. He and the other major characters, Petra, Bean, Valentine, etc. are what make the book stand apart from other sci-fi novels. They are such strong, complex people that you can't resist them. Bean's character even got his own book, Ender's Shadow, to explain his past.

Ender's intelligence, along with his helplessness in the face of an overwhelming situation, is a big part of the book's allure. It's easy to forget that at the beginning of the book Ender is only a child. He is taken from his family and forced to train for war. No matter how brilliant he is that would still be incredibly hard.

This is the book that opened my eyes to genre stereotyping. It's the book that made me decide I shouldn't judge by covers or genres. I may not love sci-fi or bibliographies or whatever else, but I can certainly love books within those genres. I think there are books that are so wonderful they rise above any category you could put them in and knowing that has taught me that I should give each book someone recommends a chance. I never know which one will be the next I fall in love with. show less

First sentence: "I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one. Or at least as close as we're going to get."

ETA: My most recent 'read' of the book is July 2025. I listened on audio. I wanted to reread this one after rewatching the film a few weeks ago. I did like it more than I did in 2020, but less than I have in the past. I think the older I get the more I see how much harm and damage they caused Ender and am more outraged on his behalf. I see less 'cool adventure' and more this is so incredibly wrong.

Premise/plot: Andrew Wiggin, aka "Ender," is six years old and potentially the earth's savior. Two wars have been fought and barely won against the aliens known to readers as Buggers. The show more third war will take much preparation--decades worth of the International Fleet training up children to be commanders and soldiers.

Ender is one such student or trainee. His older brother, Peter, and older sister, Valentine, didn't make it so far as Battle School in space. Ender's life is wearisome and burdensome. He doesn't make friends easily and his biggest fear is being just as violent and out of control as his brother, Peter. He is prone to self-reflection and self-loathing. But in terms of military genius, strategizing, leadership...he excels.

When the time comes to fight the war, will he be ready?

My thoughts: For a decade I would have considered this one of my favorite, favorite books. Now that it's been almost twenty years or so since I first read it--well, my thoughts and impressions have changed some. I love the last fourth of the novel. That hasn't changed. But the first fourth of the novel, well, it's DISTURBING, uncomfortable, awkward, a bit off. I did NOT remember the use of the n word. I did not remember the jokesy approach to different races (or ethnicities). I did not remember the chokehold scene where Peter is trying to kill his brother. I did not remember some of the crudeness.

One thing that bothers me is Peter. Peter is a psychopath in my opinion. He is cruel to his brother and sister. He is cruel to small animals. He is a bully. He is manipulative. He is egocentric and a narcissist. He dreams of world domination. He is just a sick, sick, sick individual. And I think what readers are outright told about him is just the tip of the iceberg. If Valentine is to be believed about the files and records she's been keeping of her brother. Chances are he might have done even more than she knew about. There was one line that disturbed me where she is telling Ender that you don't know what I had to do to keep Peter from hurting you. Of course, we don't know--she doesn't say. But Card later seems to redeem the character of Peter and seeks to make him sympathetic.

Card does do flawed humans well. I will give him that. Are any of the characters in this one not flawed?!?! I think the most likable characters may be Bean and Petra. show less

Science Fiction is the genre that made me love reading. I began with it before branching out to Fantasy. I'd heard for years how Ender's Game is a classic of SciFi. I'd read many of the greats, like Asimov, Heinlein, and McCaffrey, but never got around to it until now. I regret waiting!

In the future, Earth has endured two invasions of the Buggers, an insect-like species that is trying to colonize our planet. Expecting another invasion, the military has resorted to finding genius-level children to train into the ultimate force, with one special child as the Fleet commander. It was inevitable that the "big plot twist" would have been spoiled for me with the book out for nearly 30 years. Never-the-less, the story and protagonist sucked me show more in immediately and the ending still managed to hold some surprises. Card weaves his "technobabble" seamlessly into the plot so readers can picture this world without feeling lost, and though supporting characters don't get enough development, Ender is never less than real. I think everyone has felt like an outcast at one time or another, and struggled with who they want to be rather than who others want them to be. This makes Ender instantly relatable, which is critical since the book is told almost exclusively from his POV.

Where I think the book falls down a bit is the ending after the big reveal. This book is very short, and the conclusion makes that glaringly obvious. It was rushed, and Card added more than one "epilogue" to the tale that felt tacked on. It was almost as if he was sure the book would be a failure and he wanted readers to know where the world would end up. I wish he/his editors had fleshed out the conclusion to give it the weight and substance it deserved.

Overall: Ender's Game, though flawed, is still a brilliant work of SciFi that deserves the awards and praise heaped upon it. I enjoyed it immensely and will definitely read some more of the series. It's been said, but bears repeating: if you love Science Fiction, you owe it to yourself to read this classic of the genre. show less

This is science fiction that hooked me from the beginning. I read it in two days and would have finished it the same day that I started it if real life had not intruded. Ender is the name of the main character, and though when we first meet him, he is only six, he is about to learn that the fate of the earth may rest on his small shoulders. The story moves quickly, and by the time I reached the apex of the action, I was exhausted. Then came what I wasn't expecting - the story kept going long after I thought it had reached its perfect ending. At first, I was annoyed that the author was dragging things out and was probably going to leave me with a bad taste in my mouth simply because he couldn't wrap things up. I hate when the ending show more doesn't match up with the quality of the rest of the book. I need not have worried - the ending was GOOD. Very good. And satisfying. I would recommend it for anyone - you don't have to be a science fiction fan to enjoy this story.

I collect quotes, and here is one of my favorite from this book, "Maybe knowing about craziness means you don't have to fall for it." show less

I was twenty when I first read “Ender’s Game” back in 1987. I was completely absorbed in it., turning the pages eagerly to know what would happen next and being shocked, even outraged, when I understood the sustained deceit and betrayal on which the book was based.

Twenty-six years later, I decided to listen to the audio book version. It was a delight. The narrators give it the feel of a radio play without missing a word of the original prose.

Perhaps because I knew the ending or perhaps because I am older, this time my attention was caught by the sadness of the book. Ender is almost always alone, almost always being pushed into situations where none of his options are good, and always burdened by the knowledge the choices that he show more takes change who he is. I was also more sympathetic to the adults who do the terrible things that shape Ender’s fate; knowing that they are terrible, necessary and unforgiveable. Ender’s assailed innocence and the compromised integrity of the adults are a lesson it what it means to be “grown up” and why children deserve to have time to be children.

The book focuses relentlessly on the violence we are willing to commit and the “sins” we are willing to live with in order to survive. It doesn’t glorify these things but it doesn’t diminish them either. It tackles what it means to be different and how often an inability to communicate turns difference into conflict.

At its heart, “Ender’s Game” tells us that all games are real, all choices matter, everything that creates an enemy has a consequence. What makes the book remarkable is that it tackles all this while doing a good job of seeing the world through the eyes of a (very bright) vulnerable, lonely, child who is equally gifted with empathy and ruthlessness.

Re-reading the book more than twenty years on adds other points of interest: Card’s imagining of the role of the web, the “desks” the children work on and the concept of war executed by tele-presence are all pleasingly accurate. This time round I was very aware that the ending of the book felt like an add-on to set up “Speaker for the Dead” – which I also read twenty-six years ago.- whereas, on the first read, I saw it as a slightly clumsy effort at redemption. The audio book includes an interview with Card, where he explains that he did indeed rewrite the ending and how that came about. I now find Card’s politics a little thin and unconvincing – too American to be truly global- but I found the way he writes Ender’s sister much more moving than before.

The movie will be out soon here in Europe. I don’t have high hopes of it, although I’ll watch it all the same. In my view, the most entertaining and engaging way to experience “Ender’ Game” is to listen to this audio version. I recommend it to you. show less

I'm not sure how I've never made the time to read Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game". It came to my attention about 15 years ago because of it's prescient inclusion of something like the Internet - a supercomputing, connected and communication experience. Viewing Ender's "desk" through the lens of 2010, one can't help but also applaud Card's anticipation of the iPad.

The book is not standard sci-fi fare. Oh, it has its aliens (called "buggers" throughout the book), space- ships, travel, and battles, but it has much more than that. It has a unique depth. After reading it, I see now why schools are including it on their reading lists.

Ender is a genius. A six-year-old genius. It becomes clear early in the book that Ender's intelligence is show more ridiculously off the charts, even by the standards of Card's fictional future. Card's mastery is on full display in how deep and dimensional he's able to make the characters. Like many children who have some distinguishing characteristic, whether it's a good or bad, Ender finds those characteristics under attack. He's very withdrawn, insecure and closed off to most of the real world. I couldn't help but feel Ender's claustrophobic view of his world.I couldn't help but feel his anger, frustration and outrage.

I'm looking forward to reading more on Ender Wiggin. But like Ender, I need to step away for a while. I need some fresh air. I need to stretch out and catch my breath before I re-enter Ender's game...and Orson Scott Card's world. show less