Ender’s Game
A Book Review by Elizabeth Horner
Ender’s Game is the type of sci-fi novel I would normally not pick up
if I saw it in a store. Doomsday prophecies, war and bloodshed, not
even a whiff of romance seemed like a formula for my displeasure.
However, I had read several other books by the same author, Orson Scott
Card, and loved every moment of it, so I thought that I would give
Ender’s Game a try. It was a shocker as page by page and chapter
by chapter, it cracked my all time top ten favorites! It is truly an
engaging read but I will CAUTION against very young readers!
The story is about Earth being terrorized by an alien species called
the buggers. In order to prepare for these aliens’ future invasions,
the government breeds very young military geniuses in a Battle
School. One of them is Ender Wiggin, a product of some sort of
genetic experimentation, who started schooling at age six, and exceeded
everyone’s expectations in war games played in zero gravity. The
question is no longer, “Do they have someone to lead the military
forces into battle?” It is “Is Ender willing to?”
The different characters in this novel are well-developed. The audience
comes to understand their motivations so that even the villains seem
relatable and human. Ender is especially endearing. He goes
through constant turmoil over right and wrong, duties versus his own
emotional needs and developing personal morals--- that sometimes he
wishes to fade into obscurity. The story is fast-paced. Card never lets
the level of anticipation and suspense drop, though he does sprinkle in
bits of humor to keep the book balanced. There are bothersome points to me – the use
of slang and printed accents, and the violence may not be for younger
readers. Having said that, it is a great book deserving of
the awards and recognitions it received.
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