Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Ender's Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with the Formics, an insectoid alien species they dub the "buggers". In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, children, including the novel's protagonist, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, are trained from a very young age by putting them through increasingly difficult games, including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed.

The book originated as a short story of the same name, published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. The novel was published on January 15, 1985. Later, by elaborating on characters and plotlines depicted in the novel, Card was able to write additional books in the Ender's Game series. Card also released an updated version of Ender's Game in 1991, changing some political facts to reflect the times more accurately (e.g., to include the recent collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War). The novel has been translated into 34 languages. Reception of the book has been mostly positive. It has become suggested reading for many military organizations, including the United States Marine Corps. Ender's Game was recognized as "best novel" by the 1985 Nebula Award[3] and the 1986 Hugo Award[4] in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Its four sequels—Speaker for the Dead (1986), Xenocide (1991), Children of the Mind (1996), and Ender in Exile (2008)—follow Ender's subsequent travels to many different worlds in the galaxy. In addition, the later novella A War of Gifts (2007) and novel Ender's Shadow (1999), plus other novels in the Shadow saga, take place during the same time period as the original. ---------- See also: - [Ender's Game: 1/2](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19647657W/Ender's_Game._1_2) [1]: http://www.hatrack.com/osc/books/endersgame/

It's hard to rate this book. I was bored most of the time, and the main twist near the end was predictable. However, the ending was good and it made all the book worth reading. Unfortunately, that's not enough to make me read the next book in this series.

Many people* (men) have recommended this to me as their favorite book — emphatically, as it shaped their worldview — so even though I typically don't like science fiction, I thought I might enjoy this one. Wrong!In fact, I struggled to finish and skimmed most of the last 50 pages. I know this is a young adult book from the ‘70s but my god is it sexist. Only a precious few girls (only one mentioned) make it into this school, presumably because they aren't good at strategy and math. And the most fleshed-out female character of the book, Valentine, is of course portrayed as beautiful and selfless and ultimately powerless, the way every man would imagine a perfect woman to be. *vomit Also anyone else feel like Ender's relationship with his sister was a sub for a romantic plot line and maybe just a little messed up? Maybe?

Not only that, but I'm supposed to buy into the fact that this kid has these kind of mature, nuanced thoughts as a 6-10 year old? I get the whole precocious kid thing, but that's been done in fantasy books a million times over and far more believably. Just because it's sci-fi or fantasy shouldn't mean I have to suspend belief. If kids in this world (presumably ours, in the future) are that fucking smart, you need to make me REALLY believe that. Whereas to me it felt ridiculous.

That and the plot just dragged on through tons of dumb battles. It was like reading a play-by-play of action scenes, or watching different levels of a video game. Which I truly don't give a shit about. I'm just not compelled by battle/action scenes. Not in movies, not in books. They have no substance for me. And the characters were just as flat — no growth, no development (which maybe makes sense if you have the internal life of a 50 year old man as an elementary school child? Like what the heck!).

Oh and lest I forget the dialogue! Just terrible.

Anyways I can see how a middle school boy would eat this up but as a grown woman, I think this is a pretty terrible book.

2/5 stars

Though I finished Ender's Game three days ago, it feels like ages since I read it. In all honestly, I finished this book while curled up in a chair at the library, where the only sound was the ocassional footsteps and the birds flapping past the windows. So when I think of Ender's Game, I think of the peacefulness that I felt as I read the last 50 pages or so. And it isn't a feeling most people would get when reading this kind of book, but in all honestly this wasn't quite the book for me.

I'm not a heavy science fiction fan, and most of this book felt like the exact same scenes over and over again. I grew tired of the consistency and the blatant hints of the author's personal beliefs. Also the lack of strong female characters really left a hole in this book that was impossible to fill. I understand why this book is so loved, but it's just not my kind of book. I only read this book because I loved the movie, and honestly I think I might actually prefer the movie.