Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 5/5

Goodreads Synopsis:

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. 

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. 
Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.



My Thoughts:

I received a copy of Ender's Game as one of someone's favorite books of all time from my book club. I was very excited to have had the opportunity to read it! A story about a child learning to fight aliens in a war was intriguing.

Ender Wiggins is a child who is handpicked to be trained a commander in the future's army against alien "buggers." He begins near the first grade and is chosen to go to battle school where he plays games. He quickly excels and begins beating preteens. The adults manipulate his situation to see what he can actually accomplish. 

The theory about using a child as a tool in war is something I have never thought about before. The adult reasoning was that a child could win a war if they could win a game because they have a different outlook than adults do. This theory led to a surprise ending for me. Honestly, it was worth reading the book just for the last forty pages!

I became very attached to Ender in the book. He had formed some very militaristic characteristics after going to battle school. He had hurt people as part of the game and he understood the nature of combat. Yet even though he was completing mature achievements, he was still a child. It was interesting viewing a war commander through a child's eyes. 

One example of this situation was the relationship with his friends. He had a large cohort of other "students" that he was in command of. He had to learn the value of their friendship, but also that sometimes friendship suffers under command. My favorite quote of the book was at the end of an actual battle. They were wondering what they would have to do after the battle. Ender's friend Petra says, "We're kids. They'll probably make us go to school. It's a law." The humor underlying that quote was deeply inlaid because you have think, What more can these kids learn from school that they haven't learned already?

I loved this book and I can see why it is known as a classic in certain sci fi circles. I would really recommend it to anyone who loves alternate realities or war games (like The Hunger Games).