Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Kristi's take: If someone told me (before I read this) that I'd like a book centered around military tactics and war, I'd have said they were crazy. But I loved this book, because the book isn't just about war, it's about Ender Wiggin. His character felt so real and heart-breaking to me, and his connection (or lack thereof) to the humanity (or lack thereof) around him had me rooting for him in every battle. Also, I love it when I'm thrown by an ending and this book did that to me. This book was also one that I thought about long after I put it down. Has anyone else read this? What did you think?
I recently won a signed copy of this novel which is awesome because it's a total modern classic. I read it years ago but now need to get another copy, because I'm not touching the signed one.
ReplyDeleteI must admit, with a touch of embarassment, that I've never read Orson Scott Card. However, his novel PATHFINDER is sitting on my to be read pile!
ReplyDeleteMatthew--I don't blame you for not touching the signed copy!
ReplyDeleteHeather--I haven't read anything else of his, but I plan on it. :)
I just read Ender's Game a couple months ago. I loved it! It was hard to put down. I spent most of the book worrying that something horrible was going to happen to Ender's sister since she was spending so much time with their scary brother.
ReplyDeleteHeather-I know what you mean. He wouldn't win any brother of the year contests!
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