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Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) (Paperback)
by Orson Scott Card
| Category:
Sci-Fiction, Fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
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 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A fast-paced sci-fi fantasy based solidly in the near future, Card’s masterpiece is an absolute classic. |
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Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
Pub. in: July, 1994
ISBN: 0812550706
Pages: 384
Measurements: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.9 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00552
Other information: Reprint edition
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- Awards & Credential -
Winner of Hugo Book Award and Nebula Award (Sci-Fi). Ranked # 860 in books on Amazon.com. American Library Association listed it in "100 Best Books for Teens.” |
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- MSL Picks -
Ender's Game has become a staple in American Literature in the 20 years since it first came out. If you don't believe me then head down to your local high school or junior high and you might be surprised that is often read amongst other titles by authors such as Shakespeare, Twain, Salinger, Homer and Harper Lee (7th - 9th grade English). This may be somewhat surprising to some but not undeserving to most that have read it.
The plot has been mentioned in the 1000+ other reviews so I would rather examine what makes this book so good. First, the main character of Ender is your classic underdog and he is an extremely identifiable character. There is a little bit of Ender is all of us as he must battle the unjust and overcome extreme odds to succeed. You root for him from the beginning, he succeeds on intelligence alone, and yet he is still flawed enough to be entirely too human. His companions are just as loveable and fallible as him and have spawned their own separate books. Second, the plot moves fast, is entirely unique, and is filled with action. Card deftly handles the ingenious battle room sequences with skill in what would normally be very hard scenes to write clearly for most writers. Finally, like all of the best science fiction, the book transcends it genre by having multiple identifiable and relevant themes running through the text. It also appeals to teens since as stories about adolescence and identity often do.
Ender's Game is a Gen Y (and to some extent a Gen X) phenomenon. From my experience, it ranks amongst these peoples favorite book more regularly then any other single book besides Catch 22. (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings as series seem just as popular but one can make an argument that no single book from those series is as good as Ender's Game) It also seems to be one of those books that people who don't regularly read have picked up and loved.
In 1986 Ender's Game was immediately recognized as gold by the Sci-Fi community. The book won both the Hugo and Nebula award beating other popular books like The Postman and Footfall in what was a strong year for sci-fi in general.
Now is a better time then ever to pick up this book since the long awaited movie adaptation is prevalent in the near future. A great book for young adults from 5th grade on and up as well.
Bottom Line: One of the few books that can really appeal to everyone. Card's masterpiece with an overall level of quality that few others have been able to replicate. Deserving all its praise.
(From quoting Sam Rifkin, USA)
Target readers:
Both children 9 years up and adults.
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- Better with -
Better with
Ender's Shadow (Ender, Book 5)
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Born in Richland, Washington in 1951, Orson Scott Card grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He lived in Brazil for two years as an unpaid missionary for the Mormon Church and received degrees from Brigham Young University (1975) and the University of Utah (1981). The author of numerous books, Card was the first writer to receive both the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel two years in a row, first for Ender's Game and then for the sequel Speaker for the Dead. He lives with his wife and children in North Carolina.
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From the Publisher:
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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The New York Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-11 00:00>
Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses - and then training them in the arts of war... The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'… Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet? |
Booklist (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-11 00:00>
Card has taken the venerable sf concepts of a superman and interstellar war against aliens, and, with superb characterization, pacing and language, combined them into a seamless story of compelling power. This is Card at the height of his very considerable powers - a major sf novel by any reasonable standards. |
An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-11 00:00>
In 1985, Orson Scott Card made his major debut with Ender's Game. It remains one of my favorite books after years of reading other books. I first read Ender's Game in my eighth grade English class. One of my best friends said he had read it and it was an amazing book, which was surprising. It turned out that he was right. It won the Hugo and Nebula Awards and many others, is being made into a movie, and has a substantial following.
The book follows Ender "Andrew" Wiggin, childhood genius, his peers, adults, and more. I do not want to give anything away, because part of the novel's fun is accomplishment when you figure out what a term means or what is actually going on in the world Ender has been put into, but I'll tell you that the story is intricate and impressive. Because children are pure and fresh thinking, and because they have not been molded into anything yet, it is up to the government to train the brightest ones into war machines, so they can defeat the alien race called the "buggers." The brightest children are sent to train in an isolated space station. Ender, as it turns out, is one of these kids.
I was an apathetic reader until Ender's Game. Orson Scott Card puts you in the feet of a child genius, which undeniably made me feel good, and inspired me to read and write more frequently. His writing does not go out to impress, but it certainly does. People complain about vocabulary, as if that has a lot to do with someone's intelligence. The characters in Ender's Game have suitable vocabularies, and to complain about that is ridiculous. Card's writing is poignant and flowing. It is easy to read, hard to put down, and touching when you finally do put it down. The book is just all-in-all awesomeness. Escapism at its finest.
There are some minor faults in Ender's Game, though they do not detract too much, they might even add to the experience, they just seem like technicalities. Firstly, I do not like the big deal Graf makes about taking Ender to space. They suspect that he will be the messiah-esque figure, but do not immediately take him. No one else in the station is near his level, but they are reluctant to take him. Just the fact that they think he could be the one, is enough. He does not even have to be the one, as long as he is close. There are many kids in the station. They say his brother and sister tested out impossible when, compared to others in space, they were very suitable. They could have aided Ender well. They exceeded many in the station, especially when you read Ender's Shadow. That actually brings out another point. In Ender's Shadow, everyone wonders where Bean came from because he is such a genius. Everyone thinks that his parents must be geniuses and well known to breed such a child. A major motif in the novel is searching for his parents. For Ender, I wonder how Ender's parents made three genius children, one tame and weak (Valentine), one balanced (Ender), and one extreme and evil (Peter), but the parents are boring and unimportant. Even though Peter and Valentine are very gifted, I still wonder also how Locke and Demosthenes got so far in the political world. In addition, why are the adults so lacking? It seems so strange having such brilliant children at such a young age. Sure, it makes you feel good to be in the minds of these child geniuses, but it really does not make sense. Lastly, the descriptions of the battle room and battles are excessive at times. Still, these faults are not too great. I would give this book four and a half, but it is not possible. Anyway, these faults demonstrate how much I really care about the book to mind the faults. If it were a trashy book, I would not care enough to bother.
Ender's Game is a classic in all respects and must be read. I am a harsh reviewer, but I cannot deny this book's quality. I am off to read it again. |
Silverman (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-11 00:00>
A winner of multiple science fiction awards, its back cover says that the American Library Association listed it in "100 Best Books for Teens." I have nothing but respect for the association, but they're mistaken. It's good, make no doubt about that. Ender, a permitted `third' child in a world of childbirth limits, is removed from his parents' home to train in the hopes of becoming the great military leader that the powers that be feel is so badly needed. The character development is great for Ender and subtly strong for many secondary characters. The pacing is compelling. The future that Card creates is not unlike others, but is clear and well made. Truth be told at this point, I enjoyed it. I would, however, be very reluctant to lend it to a teenager.
To quote a different kind of authority: "What's done to children, they will do to society." - Karl A. Menninger, psychiatrist (1893-1990) I agree and it's what the book's adults do to Ender that makes me so wary of lending it. They model and act as if the ends justify the means. They often believe that misleading children is necessary for growth. They frequently overlook or tacitly encourage violence if it suits their purposes. They function on the premise that support and love are counterproductive to the growth they want. These are difficult enough concepts for an adult to be able to set aside as fiction, but they're entirely too challenging for a young mind to try to incorporate into a meaningful world. Those and the whole premise of the value of pre-emptive strike based on past actions and not current threats make a chilling package. The end does reveal some of the fallacies of those actions, and in some ways suggests that another ending, one which relied on cleverness and communication, would have not only been possible, but wiser and much more suitable to a young adult audience. I'd recommend it to an adult who has the wherewithal to cast a jaundiced eye on some portions of the tale, but would probably not recommend it to anyone below college age. |
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