Rating: 
Summary: My favourite book
Review: Ender's Game is the reason I started to get into reading as a kid. Since then, i have read it 2 more times, and each time, it seems better. I'm not usually a big fan of science fiction, but this book really moved me. I really had a hard time putting it down. I can not say enough about this book - the style is excellent and easy to read, the plot is well developed, and the characters are surprisingly realistic. Even if you don't particularly like science fiction, I think this book would still appeal to you. You can feel the character's emotions as if you were there yourself. Card's descriptive style is incredible. By the first 30 pages, you already feel a connection to Ender (the protagonist), in which you can't help but find yourself rooting for him. Also, the author's potrayal of society and the government and its role in the story really makes you think. Everyone I've recommended it to(which is a lot of people) really loved it as well. I also recommend the book's sequel 'Speaker For The Dead'. Its nothing like the first book, but still just as good. Read Ender's Game first though, and if you liked it, then read the next one. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Science Fiction
Review: To me, the best science fiction novels are those that can incorporate character, location and emotion into the work. This helps add to the flavor and makes the reader care about the novel as a whole. Dune does it (by all accounts the masterpiece by which all other Sci Fi novels should be gauged in my book), Hyperion does it (hugely!) and now, so does Ender's Game. The story revolves around the life of a young boy named Ender Wiggin; he's basically been inducted into the military without his knowing it (sounds kinda scary...and familiar!). His life, as it turns out, has been set---in the stars so to speak. The military, seeing his genious (spelling?), exploit his gift for strategy at every turn. And the most amazing thing, is that Ender knows it! He's not smart and oblivious to what's going on! Come on! But it isn't the fact that he HAS to do what the brass wants. It's that, if he doesn't, mankind MIGHT be exterminated from the universe (or at least from earth). The final 'game' that Ender plays....well....you'll just have to read it, because I don't want to spoil it ALL for you. But I will tell you that you must go on and read Xenocide after this one. If you don't, you lose the perspective that Ender had at the end of this book. The remainder of the series is questionable, but these first two novels are top-notch.
Rating: 
Summary: Intelligent Sci-Fi at its best!
Review: Where can I start? Wow. Even as I write this, I can't truly put into words the messages that this truly astounding little sci-fi novel so effortlessly conveys. Briefly put, it's a story that takes place in an unspecified future. The human race barely survived two invasions by an alien race simply called "buggers." Seventy years after the last invasion, amidst political uproar and the constant threat of another bugger invasion, children are being bred and engineered to become super-intelligent military weapons to prepare for the next invasion. From birth, they are closely monitored, and an elite few are chosen by the military to train to become soldiers. This is the story of a child named Ender Wiggin, a "Third,"--that is, a third child. (Apparently, it's considered in bad taste to produce more than three children.) But Ender was what the government had been hoping for. I could go into detail, but I'd rather sum it up as much as possible. Officials in the military come to believe that six-year-old Ender is the "one"--humanity's last hope at survival. Like most children, he craves love, but he fears there is something dark within himself--something capable of murder. Becoming like his older brother Peter is his worst nightmare, but incidentally, it's what the military sees as his best trait. He is trained rigorously at Battle School and gradutes into Command School prematurely. The book follows his inner struggles as well as the war games he's forced to play, and you slowly see that Ender is becoming what he fears the most: a killer. The character of Ender is strongly written, and extremely believable. He enables us to sympathize with him in his struggles, and to understand the way he thinks and all his fears. At age eleven, he commands the fleet and destroys the buggers, and at the same time destroys his soul. He eventually discovers that the buggers didn't realize they were hurting anyone, and forgave Ender for destroying them. At its core, it is a simply-written book, but complicated in its look at the human condition. Words cannot do this novel justice. To truly understand this excellent book, one must read it for his/herself.
Rating:
Summary: Full of emotion
Review: ...I happen to be 37 years old, and this is one of my favorite books of all time. I consider myself fairly well-read, and along with books such as The Hobbit, and Asimov's Foundation series, I found Ender's Game and its sequels to be some of the most thought provoking books in recent memory. Now for the review itself. This book is about outer space, like so many other sci-fi books. Normally, I would yawn at a thing like this. If it weren't for my my 14-year old son's strong recommendation, I would have easily overlooked it. I've never been a huge fan of sci-fi, and while certain abnormalities in the genre have amazed me, in general, I'm just not into the whole space-ship and outer space craze. Ender's Game totally changed my perspective! This is the story of Earth in the future. The world is at war with an alien race called buggers, but they really don't have much to do with this book itself. Ender's Game focuses more on a young child-genius named Ender who has been chosen to enter battle school, and become a commander of the fleets to help destroy the buggers. At the age of 8 (I believe it was) Ender was ejected from his unpleasant life on earth where he was made fun of, and abused solely because he was the third child in a time when the world is becoming so overpopulated that only 2 children are permitted per family, and Ender was an exception for particular reasons. In battle school, high above the earth, Ender lives a life where "teachers" watch the students at all times, and encourage them to play war games which will help them to understand the tactics of battle. I do not intend to re-tell or spoil the story in any way, but Ender end's up being one of the most brilliant students in battle school. Life is tough, so far above the earth, and naturally, he has enemies. Ender tries to tell the other students that the real enemies are not the teachers, or the other students, but the buggers! Many of the students can't seem to understand this, but Ender and a handful of other children see this, and are chosen to command Earth's fleets in space. Ok, so I'll admit it, the book's plot REALLY doesn't sound very appealing. Even now, after I've read it, everytime I read the back of the book, I feel amazed at how cliche the storyline would seem at a glance! The real joy in the book isn't necessarily to do with the plot, though. It's to do with the incredible morals and questions which are raised in reading Ender's Game. One of the most interesting aspects of the book was the internal struggle Ender was constantly facing. While to the other students in battle school, he seemed like the perfect commander who showed no fear and couldn't be beat, he was far from it... Unsure of himself and searching for answers, he hid a lot of his emotions deep inside his heart. Reading the book Ender's Shadow, the parallel novel to Ender's Game made the story even more interesting. I've probably given away much more than I should have, but in the end, this book is amazing. Ender himself is my favorite character ever to appear in a book, and by reading the sequels, you'll learn much more about him. I recommend this book to teenagers, and adults, but probably not for younger children, because it may put ideas in their head about what the future may be like, and would probably be way over their head anyway...you should at least give Ender's Game a shot... The worst that can happen would be not liking it, in which case you simply put it down - everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Highly imaginative, spellbinding plot, sympathetic hero
Review: Of the many science fiction novels I've read, I don't think any have surprised me as much as ENDER'S GAME. I expected some kind of arcade hero in real life, along the lines of The Last Starfighter or something like that. What I got was far beyond Space Invaders! ENDER'S GAME revolves around several moral dilemmas while simultaneously building to a completely unexpected climax. In retrospect, the climax seems obvious, but Orson Scott Card is such a masterful storyteller that the aroma of surprise still lingers on a second read, even though we remember what happens. Ender Wiggin is a completely believable and lovable hero, a child forced to battle an enemy he doesn't see as well as the 'allies' who seem all too intent on destroying him first. Card's descriptions of the various battle simulators and military training are vivid, remarkably original, and continually surprising in their scope. This is the first in a series of novels about Ender Wiggin and, more recently, his sidekick Bean. They are all wonderfully conceived and written, and all struggle with morality as well as technology and religion, but none of them pack the wallop of a good story like ENDER'S GAME. I would rate this novel alongside THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, the FOUNDATION series, and the DUNE series. It isn't just a good science fiction novel: ENDER'S GAME is one of the best novels I've read, period.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable and predictable
Review: I'm sorry, I just didn't like this novel. I found it unbelievable (seven years olds doing all that! Come on!), predictable (like everybody except Ender himself didn't all see THAT ending coming), and obviously written and with sequels in mind (which I refuse to waste my time reading). It's a good book for young teenagers, but not for us 30-somethings, and CERTAINLY undeserving of the Hugo and Nebula awards!
Rating:
Summary: Best in the series
Review: Packed with futuristic drama and warfare, this book is a stand-alone novel that gives Science Fiction a legitimate look. Ender is a child with superior mental abilities. He's been bred and trained that way...and to save humanity. But he doesn't know this, nor does the reader; at least not completely. The ending is an awesome spectacle to behold after following Ender's development throughout his young life. Five stars and no less for this great novel. Mr. Card is obviously a master storyteller along the same lines as Dan Simmons, Frank Herbert and Isaac Asimov. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: He was so young, yet so talented...
Review: Your mission today is simple. Kill the buggers before they kill you. All you will have to do is defeat the ten thousand alien spacecraft with your fleet of eighty ships. Ender Wiggin is the earth's last hope...and he is only eleven years old.
Rating:
Summary: Ender's Game is a great read!
Review: I would never put myself in the category of a sci-fi or sci-fantasy fan. This book was recommended by a book clerk who promised it was accessible, interesting and challenging. All true. I fell in love with the characters, their adventures, and their dilemmas. A wonderfully spun tale that compelled me to question my definition of humanity. Bravo Orson Scott Card.
Rating:
Summary: Card Is The Master!
Review: If I had to pick my top three authors, Card would defintently be one of them. I have just recently finished Speaker for the Dead and Ender's Shadow, and though EXTREMALLY well writen, they can not compare to Ender's Game.I could not put Ender's Game down for a moment, it had me glued to my chair. When I was finished, I was still not satisfied, knowing that Card had written more novels, and I had not read them. So if you're looking for a book, you've come to the right place.Here is a summary of what Ender's Game is about: Ender is a extremally bright young boy who is teased mercilessly by his peers, and his older brother Peter. He lives in a universe of little hope, scince space wars continue to rage against the Buggers(aliens) up above. When uniformed men come to take him away to the battle school in space, his only fear is losing his only friend, his sister Valentine. Battle School is a school for only the brightest children. He finds himself trapped in a world full of hatred and anger, not much difference from earth, excpet fpr the fact that the fate of mankind now lies in his hands. (please excuse all grammer, usage, and spelling mistakes)
|
