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.
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Product Details
Author:
Orson Scott Card
Paperback:
336 pages
Publisher:
Starscape
Publication Date:
February 18, 2002
Language:
English
ISBN:
0765342294
Package Length:
7.5 inches
Package Width:
5.2 inches
Package Height:
1.0 inches
Package Weight:
0.55 pounds
Average Customer Rating:
based on 2545 reviews
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An excellent young-adult (and adult) sci-fi work. Dec 31, 2008 'Ender's Game' was written by Orson Scott Card and first published in 1977. It has won both the Nebula and Hugo Award for Science fiction novels.
I picked up this book after some discussion with another amazon friend who was a great fan of this series (now at 6 books, I believe). This recommendation turn out to be a good piece of advice as I enjoyed reading this work.
The tale was well thought out and superbly written; the story itself was intriguing, with enough action and interesting events to make you eager to get back to this book whenever you could.
The Story...*SPOILER*
This is the tale of Ender Wiggin, who we meet as a six year old boy. We then follow Ender through the next five years of his ongoing training and development; development that the authorities of the day hope will lead them find the next military leader they need to save the world from an alien invasion.
One Concern...*SPOILER*
The one negative I'd have (and loss of 1/2 Star) would deal with the aspect of believability (or lack thereof). Somehow taking a six year old boy (despite his high aptitude for the job) and training him to take over an intergalactic space armada seems a little (well, a lot) preposterous. Replacing the six year old with someone a bit older, would have added some credibility to this otherwise excellent story.
Conclusion:
Although toted to be 'Young-Adult', this book will appeal to any sci-fi fan because it is both well written and superbly presented. Maybe the believability factor could have been enhanced somewhat with an slightly older protagonist. 4 1/2 Stars.
Ray Nicholson
great sci-fi military novel Dec 27, 2008 Have you ever wondered what it is like to have an army or have to freeze your own legs to pass a school test? In Ender's Game, Ender does that and much much more, all before he's 13! At age 6 Ender left his family to go to the Battle School. From the very start older kids hated him because he could beat them at all the games in the game room. After only a couple of months, he was put in an army, but could not participate in training, and during battles he was not to enter the fighting. Not long after, he was transferred to a Rat Army where they used his ideas to win lots of battles. After a lot of moving around, he found himself the leader of the Dragon Army, where again he put his abilities to use to win battle after battle.
Do not get this book if you hate action, battle, science fiction, and excitement; otherwise, you must read it.
Great book Dec 19, 2008 I bought this book after I watched 'Benders Game', the 3rd Futurama movie. I knew it had nothing to do with the movie but after reading some Wiki I thought it sounded like a good read.
I shouldn't have read so much Wiki about it, almost ruined the book for me, but not quite. It is well written and is a great story. At times I felt like the book was much mor erecent than it is, with the way they descibe the computer networks used, seemed like the internet in the not so distant future. I really liked the ending and will be picking up the next book soon.
Excellent, Very moving Dec 18, 2008 I've read this book several times, and I have very strong empathy for the characters in the story. It is well written, and I highly recommend it.
Escape From Reality! Dec 17, 2008 Ender's Game was first published in August 1977 as a novelette in Analog magazine. Card later expanded that short story into a full-length book, which is now his best known novel. Ender's Game is a vision of the future in which gifted children are used to fight in an adult war against alien invaders. It will challenge your assumptions of reality.
While written with YA readers in mind, Ender's Game can be enjoyed by readers of any age from 12 on up. The book is clearly Science Fiction yet is not so technical that it can't be understood easily. There's enough room to imgaine yourself in Ender's world - which makes this a wonderful escape from the pressures of everyday life. At the end of the story, most readers are hungry for more, which the author has provided. This was the first but is most definitely not the last novel starring Ender and his friends.
If you like Science Fiction, this is clearly a book you should read.
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based on 2545 reviews
An excellent young-adult (and adult) sci-fi work. Dec 31, 2008
great sci-fi military novel Dec 27, 2008
