Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

DragonGoddess recommended Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card to me awhile back, so I took the opportunity to list it as a choice for the first month of the SFF reading club I’m trying to get going on Book Obsessed. Apparently a lot of others wanted to read it as well!

This was my first Orson Scott Card read, but it definitely won’t be my last.

Ender Wiggin, the third child in his family, was born expressly for his potential at saving the world, like his sister and brother before him. Monitored until he was six, Ender succeeded where his siblings had failed, and was taken up to battle school to begin learning how to be a soldier. Moving up quickly through the ranks, Ender makes many enemies as his brilliance shines through, as he’s constantly pushed to excel against unfair odds and unbeatable situations. Time and again Ender comes through, and by the time he’s 11, he’s taken to Command School as the world’s best hope against aliens known as the Buggers, an insectoid race, who have attacked the humans twice before.

I can’t say much more about the storyline without spoiling it. You are with Ender the whole way, at each new challenge, wondering how much more he can take, asking how can they do this to a child, and cheering with each of his victories. It’s the story of a boy whose whole life has been to serve a purpose that he had no true choice in, and his struggle to understand and come to terms with himself, and what’s being asked of him.

An excellent and very poignant story that asks some difficult questions, most notably in my mind, does the end justify the means, and is it right to sacrifice a small number for the common good, and who gets to make that decision? I highly recommend it! I think even non Sci-Fi buffs can get into this one, as the Sci-Fi aspect, while the vehicle, really takes a back seat to Ender’s experience.

Thanks for the Recommend DG, I really enjoyed it!